THE WRITING CENTER UC SAN DIEGO
Issue 1
1
The
Writing
Center
UC San Diego
May 2013
PRODUCTION EDITOR: BILL PRESANT
STAFF WRITERS: MICHELLE JACONETTE, NICHOLE NOMURA
Inside the Writing Center:
Extending the Conversation
Communicating ideas clearly is what good
academic writing is all about, and what the
peer mentors at the Writing Center focus on
in every session. Unfortunately, at the end of
a session the communication between a
mentor and mentee may either stop or be
put on hold until the next appointment.
This quarter that has changed, thanks to
contributions from generous donors. New
instructional technology – four computers
and enhanced software – is extending the
post-session conversation.
Previously, students took notes during a
session as they saw fit: sometimes becoming
more focused on the note-taking than on the
discussion, or sometimes forgetting to take
notes altogether and leaving with no record
of what was learned.
Now the last few minutes of each session
are reserved for a recap, in which the student
and mentor review the session together as
guided by a new reporting protocol. What
are the most crucial next steps to be taken as
the student proceeds through the writing
process? What additional concerns were
addressed? Wrap-up discussions help to
solidify the progress that was achieved.
This dialogue is summarized in an online
post-session report that is emailed to the
student, providing a spur to further response
and revision. The report includes a checklist
by [Article Author]
of issues that were discussed, as well as open
“Next Steps” and “Comments” sections that
are completed according to individual
session experiences.
Writing mentors such as Jaci Lerner are
particularly happy about the change. She
observes that students can now “walk away
with a solid game plan instead of trying to
remember what was discussed.”
Other mentors praise the system’s
flexibility. It adapts itself to any type of
session, whether the focus is on higher-order
concerns such as organization or on smaller
stylistic matters such as word choice.
The new session report system does not
just help students on an individual level – it
helps the Writing Center improve services by
gaining a fuller understanding of students’
writing needs. Center director Madeleine
Picciotto says, “Using the checklist of issues
discussed in each meeting, we can gather
data about which areas of writing pose the
greatest challenges for students. We can
then gear our mentor training towards the
issues that crop up most frequently.”
By collecting data used to guide training,
providing a game plan, and prompting
students to engage with their work after
each session, the new online reports are
making effective use of technology to
enhance the Writing Center experience.
IN THIS ISSUE
By the Numbers: page 2
An Interview with Dr. Picciotto:
page 3
Spotlight:
Josiah To
“Being an engineer, I’m used
to addressing problems from
a critical standpoint…”
Spotlight:
Adena Zadourian
“I hope to continue mentoring
for as long as I can…”
Spotlight:
Bob Bahr
“I try to make my sessions as
interactive as possible…”
(Spotlights on page 2)
THE WRITING CENTER UC SAN DIEGO | Issue 1
2
Mentor Spotlights
The 27 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!
Josiah To
Bob Bahr
Adena Zadourian
Year: Senior
College: Earl Warren
Major: Bioengineering/Pre-Med
Favorite Hobby: Playing guitar
Year: Senior
College: Eleanor Roosevelt
Major: Political Science
Favorite Hobby: Reading
Year: Sophomore
College: Thurgood Marshall
Major: Physiology/Neuroscience
Favorite Hobby: Photography
As a writing mentor, I strive to help the
students I work with think critically about their
writing. I ask a lot of questions and try to
prompt students to find the answers for
themselves, instead of spoon-feeding them the
information. I find that this helps students to
truly grasp what they’re learning, and to
develop the ability to apply it to future writing
assignments. It is my aim to give each student
the tools he or she needs to feel confident in all
areas of writing.
Being an engineer, I’m used to addressing
problems from a critical standpoint, and I
encourage students to think about how to
approach a concern they have before actually
tackling it. This allows them to step back and
examine exactly what they are being asked to
do and to conceptualize the task at hand. It’s a
skill they can use to problem-solve in any type
of situation, not just when writing.
Working at the Writing Center has helped to
balance my dense engineering classes. I love
the challenge of analyzing a writing prompt
and helping a student achieve that “light bulb”
moment. I’ve also learned how to better
articulate my ideas and communicate with
others. I know that improving my interpersonal
skills will help me when I’m working with
patients as a physician, and I would love to
pursue some kind of tutoring or mentoring in
the future.
My interesting in tutoring began last year
while studying abroad in Thailand. During
my time in Bangkok I was given the
opportunity to teach English at a K-8 school
in a rural area just outside the city. I hadn’t
been planning on teaching while I was
abroad, but the opportunity arose and I
thought it would be a great experience. The
students were eager and excited to learn,
and as a teacher I found the job to be
extremely rewarding.
After returning to UCSD I began working
as a peer writing mentor at the Writing
Center, and have applied the teaching skills
I learned in Thailand to my mentoring here.
I try to make my sessions as interactive as
possible by encouraging students to ask a
lot of questions. I also try to make them feel
comfortable and confident about writing by
giving them positive reinforcement and
constructive criticism.
Being a writing mentor has helped me to
improve my own writing. I find that I’m
much more thoughtful and careful about
what I write. I’ve learned to take my time
and consider each sentence or word that I
choose to put down on paper. I’ve also
grown much more patient with myself and
others. I hope to continue tutoring or
teaching English either in the U.S. or
abroad.
I began mentoring my fellow students in
math and science during high school, which
proved to be great practice for working at the
Writing Center. When I work with students,
first and foremost I try to establish a friendly
and comfortable atmosphere. I always greet
my students, ask them how they’re doing,
and try to discover a common interest we
might share in order to lighten the mood and
take some of the stress or pressure off the
mentoring session.
Next, I let the student talk to me about the
piece they’re working on. Thanks to
mentoring, I’ve learned how to truly listen to
other people. I understand how important it
is to get to the root of the problem by
addressing the needs of the student as well as
the needs of the paper, and the only way to
do this is by actively listening to the student.
One of the most rewarding parts of this job is
watching a struggling student finally make a
connection and grasp what I have been trying
to teach them.
Since I started working as a writing
mentor, I have seen a great improvement in
my own writing abilities as well as in my
patience and competence in dealing with
people from a variety of backgrounds. I hope
to continue mentoring for as long as I can,
because I love helping other people and that
is something I don’t want to give up.
The Writing Center by the Numbers
As of May 15, the Writing Center has served 1,836 students in thousands of one-on-one sessions and 76 group workshop meetings over the course of the
2012-2013 academic year. Students have sought assistance for papers from 204 different UCSD courses as well as for out-of-class writing tasks such as
application essays and cover letters. Approximately 44% of students have been “repeat customers,” returning for two or more visits. Students indicate a
high level of satisfaction with center services, giving the peer mentors an impressive average rating of 4.7 out of 5 on session evaluation forms.
4.7/5.0 average mentor rating
44% of students return
1,836 students
THE WRITING CENTER UC SAN DIEGO | Issue 1
Students Speak Out
“I started to get help from the Writing Center last
quarter. I make an appointment with the same
mentor almost every week, and she has helped
me so much on my papers. I wish I had known
about the Writing Center earlier in my freshman
year.”
-- Yulin Liu, Psychology Major
Thurgood Marshall College
“I really felt that the mentors in the center were
able to take a different look at my paper and give
me insights that I would not have reached on my
own. They are also very helpful in teaching the
skills to write a paper, so that I now feel I need
less help and am able to construct a solid paper
alone.”
-- Katie Boykin, Language Studies Major
Eleanor Roosevelt College
“The UCSD Writing Center is a wonderful
resource for students to receive help with their
writing! Not only can you be assisted by a
knowledgeable individual; they also send you
follow-up notes to confirm that you can improve
your paper to the best of your ability.”
-- Lavinia Osilesi, Political Science Major
Earl 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
Mentors take a break in the Writing Center lounge.
3
The Future of the Writing Center:
An Interview with Director Madeleine Picciotto
Q: What are your thoughts as you come to the end of the Writing
Center’s first full year of operation?
A: The Writing Center has been extremely successful in its first
year, and we’re hoping to build on this success in the years to
come. Many students have visited us for assistance on papers
from the college writing programs, and we look forward to
having them return as they go on to write in other classes. We’d
especially like to see more students coming to us for help with
upper-division courses. To this end, we’re working to build
stronger collaborative relationships with professors from a
variety of departments.
Q: What are you doing to improve the center’s ability to serve student writers across the
disciplines?
A: As more students from a wider range of classes use our services, our peer writing mentors
will need enhanced training in order to be prepared to handle a variety of paper genres and
expectations. The training process is ongoing, as we continually strive to improve and expand
our tutorial abilities.
Q: Will the workshop offerings be broadened, as well?
A: We’ll be introducing new workshops addressing writing for the sciences and social sciences –
for example, how to write abstracts and literature reviews. We want to do more to help
students with lab reports and other forms of scientific writing.
Q: Are there other changes and improvements that you have in mind?
A: We’d like to make better use of technology. We’re currently experimenting with an online
note-taking procedure that enables us to email students helpful reports of their one-on-one
sessions. This quarter we’ve also been working on digitizing all of our paper materials, to
improve our own access to them and to enable electronic distribution to the students who use
our services. We hope to explore more efficient record-keeping and data-collection methods,
too, to make operations at the Writing Center as streamlined as possible.
Q: Have you thought about technological approaches for outreach and publicity?
A: We’re making an effort to increase our social media presence. We’d like to use our current
Facebook page and Twitter account for broader outreach and to disseminate information about
our programs and services.
Q: How would you sum up the Writing Center’s progress so far?
A: Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated peer mentors, the Writing Center is off to a great
start, and we look forward to continuing to serve the writing needs of UCSD undergraduates.
Group Workshops
In a university environment with thousands of undergraduates and many large lecture courses,
it can sometimes be hard for students to get the help they need to write well. The individual
assistance provided by the Writing Center’s peer mentors is one avenue for addressing this
problem. Another is the center’s workshop series, where students facing common challenges in
their writing come together for presentations by Writing Center Director Madeleine Picciotto.
A wide range of workshops is offered each quarter addressing a variety of writing-related
topics, often focusing on specific tasks or assignments (e.g. formulating a thesis, developing a
research proposal, preparing an annotated bibliography, or writing an application essay).
Workshop enrollment ranges from 5 to 28 students; participation and questions are always
encouraged.
Students who have attended Writing Center workshops give very positive reviews, and
workshop attendance continues to grow. One student praises the “passionate” and “energetic”
delivery of workshop content, and adds that the workshops are “a memorable and especially
helpful resource for all students.”
Dr. Picciotto is always willing to develop new workshops or to offer additional sessions of
existing workshops at the request of individual programs, departments, student groups, or faculty
members. Interested parties should contact her via email at mpicciotto@ucsd.edu.