THE WRITING CENTER - UC SAN DIEGO
Issue 5
1
The
Writing
Center
UC San Diego
November 2014
IN THIS ISSUE
STAFF WRITERS: CHIRAG KRISHNA, NICHOLE NOMURA
Writing Across the UC System
Educators from nine University of
California campuses gathered at UC San
Diego on Oct. 10 for the annual UC Writing
Conference. The conference, held at a
different UC campus each year, provides an
opportunity for writing professionals
throughout the system to share ideas and
concerns related to the teaching of writing.
The conference was hosted by UCSD’s six
undergraduate writing programs and the
Writing Center. Logistical support – including
signage, check-in of participants, set-up, and
cleanup – was provided by the Writing
Center’s peer mentors.
Writing Center peer mentors Caitlin Riley and
Nichole Nomura help with logistics at the UC
Writing Conference on Oct. 10.
This year’s conference theme, “Global
Students, Local Contexts,” focused on the
growing international-student body in the
UC system and the questions this poses for
writing instruction and support.
For the first time ever, the conference
included a panel geared specifically towards
writing centers, chaired by UCSD Writing
Center director Madeleine Picciotto.
Sue Cross and Kelley Ruble, representing
the Center for Excellence in Writing and
Communication at UC Irvine, provided an
overview of the shifting demographics of the
UC student population and explained the
rationale for UCI’s decision to hire Englishlanguage instructional staff to support nonnative speakers of English in their writing
center.
UCLA Writing Center director Christine
Holten addressed the challenge of training
undergraduate peer tutors to work with
international students who may have limited
English proficiency – a growing constituency
in all our writing centers.
Dr. Picciotto discussed the situation at
UCSD, where 24% of all Writing Center users
during the 2013-2014 academic year were
international students and 50% of users had
a home language other than English.
All four speakers stressed that writing
centers are uniquely positioned to provide
individualized support, but that they cannot
be the only source of English-language
assistance.
Mentor Spotlights: page 2
By the Numbers: page 2
The Center Goes to the Middle:
page 3
Staff Support
As the Writing Center
has become increasingly
busy, the need for staff
support has grown. This
year, we are fortunate to
have a new part-time
administrative coordinator.
Jenny Haden is a graduate of UC San
Diego, where she majored in Literatures in
English and worked for three years as a peer
writing mentor. Jenny has delivered
presentations about her writing center work at
several regional and national conferences. She
recently had an article about the role of
conversation in writing tutorials published in
Tutors: A Multiliteracy Journal.
Working in the Writing Center has been a
gratifying experience for Jenny. She says, “One
of my favorite aspects is working with our new
writing mentors. It’s exciting to watch them
grow as they begin their work here. ”
Student front-desk staffer Jaci Lerner
stresses the value of having a professional
coordinator. “Being able to depend on Jenny’s
stability and knowledge lets us focus even
more on the students we serve,” she says.
THE WRITING CENTER - UC SAN DIEGO | Issue 5
2
Mentor Spotlights
The 36 peer mentors who currently work at the Writing Center represent a wide range of backgrounds, interests, and experiences.
Get to know some of our talented staff!
Gabby Strasser
Alex Lascher-Posner
Niki Moshiri
Year: Junior
College: Roosevelt
Major: Political Science
Favorite Hobbies: Going to
the beach, dancing, eating
Year: Junior
College: Revelle
Major: Ecology,
Behavior & Evolution
Favorite Hobbies: Soccer,
cycling, reading
Year: Senior
College: Sixth
Major: International
Studies
Favorite Hobbies: Playing
guitar, painting, drawing
I really want to help my peers excel
academically, and that’s what drew me to apply
for a position as a writing mentor. Although I
used to be a very competitive student, working
at the Writing Center has taught me to be more
sympathetic to others. I can identify with a lot
of the students I work with, and that leads to a
more positive experience for everyone.
I’ve noticed that one of the biggest
challenges students face with college-level
writing is learning to rein in their ideas so that
they’re manageable in a paper. Sometimes
they come in with so many thoughts that their
paper would be way too long! My biggest
challenge as a writing mentor so far has been
figuring out how to help students maintain
their own ideas and creativity while guiding
them to focus their writing more effectively. I
try to assist students with organization and
structure so that they can go ahead with their
great ideas, but end up with clearer and more
coherent papers.
I’ve already changed my approach to my
own writing since I began working here this fall.
When I receive prompts in my classes now, I
think about what kind of advice I’d give to
another student, and that makes the paper
seem more conquerable for me.
My decision to apply to work at the
Writing Center this year was heavily
influenced by my professors and TAs in the
Revelle Humanities Program. While they
were demanding, they taught me so much,
and even managed to get me interested in
subjects that I had never enjoyed before.
After making it through the program, I was
inspired to pass on what I had learned about
writing to other students.
It isn’t always easy in a Writing Center
session for me to convey my feedback to
the student I’m working with, and to explain
the thoughts I have in my head. But I feel
that this difficulty helps me relate more to
students who may have trouble translating
their thoughts onto paper. I’ve drawn on my
past experience talking to TAs to help me
with this, and I’ve attempted to use in my
own sessions some of the techniques that
my TAs used to help me.
It’s so satisfying to be able to assist
people with their writing. I’ve tutored math
before, but working with writing is different
and exciting because it’s open-ended. I try
to help students do the best they can with
the ideas they have – an essential skill for
being a good writing mentor.
The atmosphere in our Writing Center is
great – so friendly and welcoming. My
colleagues are a wonderful group of people,
and we have an amazing director. I look
forward to coming to work every day!
I go into each appointment with a friendly
approach, so that students feel comfortable
openly discussing their concerns about
writing. I value active listening, a technique I
employ so that students know that their
concerns are being heard and addressed. I
want to be sure I’ve done all I can to help.
I’ve encountered a myriad of writing
styles in my sessions. With each session, I’ve
learned new ways to help students more
effectively, and I’ve become a better writing
mentor over the past two years. I’ve also
become a better writer. I take a more
objective view of my paper drafts, and I‘ve
developed a more structured approach to my
writing process.
Having the opportunity to talk about my
Writing Center work at academic conferences
and sharing ideas for center improvements
with our director have been invaluable to my
professional development. I know these
experiences have helped to prepare me for
life beyond the Writing Center!
The Writing Center by the Numbers
Since the Writing Center opened for the 2014-2015 academic year, more than 700 students have sought one-on-one or group assistance for writing
projects in 85 different courses (as of Nov. 13, 2014). Over 40% of center users have already returned for more than one session. Sunday evening drop-in
hours have become very popular, and group workshops have drawn in many new Writing Center visitors. A total of 26 different workshop topics are
being offered this quarter, and over 200 students have attended workshops so far. The most heavily attended workshops have been those addressing
writing expectations for the Dimensions of Culture Program in Marshall College, which have drawn capacity crowds.
243 workshop participants
42% multiple visits
716 students
this yearso
THE WRITING CENTER - UC SAN DIEGO | Issue 5
Students Speak Out
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The Center Goes to the Middle
“I’ve been to the Writing Center for every
paper over the past two years – the peer
writing mentors here are awesome!”
Mason Chu, Marshall College
“I came to the Writing Center for help with my
statement of purpose. The writing mentor
helped me improve my writing, and was able
to provide insight on how my application
might be read by the committee.”
Jimmy Nguyen, Revelle College
“The Writing Center is great – I can get
feedback anytime, since it’s so easy to make
an appointment. The sessions are so helpful,
and I feel much more comfortable with my
essay.”
Ricardo Pinto, Roosevelt College
UCSD writing mentor Claire Johnson offers tutoring tips to Chula Vista Middle School students.
“Every time I’ve been to the Writing Center
with an incomplete draft, the writing mentors
have inspired me to think of ways to reflect on
the topic and finish my paper. They’re great at
helping me to understand the paper prompts.”
Yunen Ding, Marshall College
“I come to the Writing Center every quarter,
and the peer writing mentors are so helpful.
I’m not sure what my GPA would be without
their help!”
Edgar Ehrenfeld, Warren College
Find out more about the Writing Center
at UC San Diego:
writingcenter.ucsd.edu
facebook.com/ucsdwritingcenter
twitter.com/writeUCSD
writingcenter@ucsd.edu
Peer writing mentors Niki Moshiri and Marianne Zape
answer audience questions after their presentation at
the IWCA/NCPTW conference in Orlando on Oct. 31.
When a Language Arts teacher at Chula Vista Middle School decided to create a writing
center at her school, she knew she wanted to follow the best practices in the field. To gain a
greater understanding of the operations of college-level writing support services, she contacted
the director of the Writing Center at UC San Diego – and so began an informal partnership
between the writing centers at two very different institutions.
In a fruitful meeting in September, UCSD’s peer writing mentors explained their own
training and preparation to the Chula Vista Middle School writing center director, suggesting
practices that might be useful in a middle school setting. Plans were then made to connect the
student tutors at Chula Vista Middle School with the peer writing mentors at UCSD.
In the past few weeks, several of UCSD’s writing mentors have visited Chula Vista Middle
School to speak with the students serving as peer tutors in the school’s brand-new writing
center. They have offered tips for conducting successful tutorial sessions and have answered
questions on everything from how to be a good tutor to what the food is like in college!
Chirag Krishna, who met with the Chula Vista students on Nov. 3, says, “Speaking with the
students was a wonderful experience. They’re a great group of kids,” he explains, “and I really
appreciated the way that talking to them prompted us to reflect on our own experiences as
writing mentors. I look forward to participating in more volunteer outreach activities.”
The Writing Center Community
From Oct. 29 through Nov. 1, four representatives of the UCSD Writing Center joined over one
thousand writing center professionals from around the world in Orlando, Florida for the annual
conference of the International Writing Centers Association (IWCA). This year the IWCA
conference was held in conjunction with the National Conference for Peer Tutoring in Writing,
drawing undergraduate and graduate-student tutors together with faculty and administrators for
a wide variety of sessions relevant to writing support.
Three of UCSD’s peer writing mentors – Niki Moshiri, Nichole Nomura, and Marianne Zape –
delivered a thought-provoking presentation at the conference. Their talk, entitled “Tutors Taking
Charge: Programmatic, Pedagogical, and Institutional Innovation,” included many examples of
our center’s peer mentors taking the initiative to institute new procedures, policies, and projects
within the Writing Center and beyond.
Marianne Zape notes, “It was a great experience to be able to share my perspective with
fellow writing center personnel, and to hear from them about their views.”
Nichole Nomura adds, “It was interesting to see the ways in which tutors and directors
engaged on an academic level. I was really glad to be able to attend a joint conference.”
Writing Center director Madeleine Picciotto also spoke at the conference, in a panel on
“Collaborative Craft: Writing Programs and Writing Centers Working Across Boundaries.” Dr.
Picciotto observes, “The IWCA conference is always collegial and productive. I’ve come back with
many new ideas that I hope to incorporate into our own practice. Connecting with the broader
writing center community keeps us up-to-date and in the know!”