Mandatory Writing Center Visits: An Unexpectedly Positive Experience
Kristen Fackler
When I first began working in the Writing Center, I was not sure how I felt about teachers requiring their students to go to writing centers as part of their class curricula. I thought that the sessions would be helpful for all students, but at the same time I had the feeling that if these visits were compulsory, students might come in to the center with negative attitudes. Then, recently, I had a client come in to the Writing Center who helped me establish a firm opinion on the matter.
The client wanted to work on a bibliography for a research paper due that day. She told me that she’d used “Son of a citation machine,” a program that constructs bibliographies when the user inputs necessary information, and that she’d also gotten some of the suggested citations from the particular sources she’d used in her paper. When she pulled up the document from her flash drive, I was pretty shocked. The first thing that really stood out to me was that there were at least three different types of fonts used. Some titles of journal articles were written entirely in capital letters, while in others the first letter of each word was capitalized. The citations were in random order, not alphabetical, and were all left aligned. I couldn’t believe that the girl didn’t have any idea of how to construct a bibliography. I thought she at least would have seen a problem with the fact that all of the citations were not uniform, but apparently she didn’t even realize that this was incorrect. We had a lot of work to do.
I mentioned various resources and models that the client could use in formatting her bibliography. She had never before been given anything that she could use to construct a good bibliography. Instead of the disbelief I had initially felt, I now felt bad for her. I

helped her with simple things, like how to make the font the same for all of her sources. She was grateful for this, and continued working on her bibliography for the entire hour that I was in the Writing Center that day. I was there to answer questions for her whenever she had them.
After this client’s visit, I couldn’t help thinking that had she been required to come to the Writing Center in her classes, she would have learned a lot sooner how to compose a bibliography, and would have been made aware of the resources available to her in the
Center. If students are not required to go to writing centers, they may never visit on their own, and thus never understand how centers can help them in their assignments. I believe that students in all years and subjects in college should be required to make a visit to the writing center.
I had another interesting experience during a different shift. A girl came in for help with her research paper. “What year are you?” she asked me as she sat down and pulled out her assignment.
“I’m a junior,” I replied, unsure what response I would receive.
She was completely unfazed. “Oh, I’m a senior,” she said. “I feel a little silly being here at this age, but you can always learn, you know?” All seniors may not be as openminded as she was, but that statement could not have been truer. As we went through her paper, we found areas where certain points she made could be strengthened, and we decided she needed a clearer conclusion. Even as a senior who was experienced with writing, she was able to benefit from the session. Many seniors may not be inclined to come in to the writing center because they may feel confident in their writing abilities. They must

understand that every writer can benefit from feedback on his or her assignment, and that the writing center does not exist to aid first-year students only.
On yet another day, a male client entered with a company analysis. What in the
world is that? I thought to myself. As if reading my thoughts, he asked, “Have you ever had to write one of these?” I told him that I had never taken any business courses in college since they did not pertain to either of my majors. He did not seem to care, and I was able to be of help to him.
“I noticed that you stumbled over this section of the analysis. If you, the author of the analysis, are having trouble reading it, your readers are most certainly going to have difficulties, as well,” I told him. He agreed with me and reworked that particular section, then went on to find other areas that needed to flow more smoothly. There were also some inconsistencies in his data, which I was able to point out to him. A fresh pair of eyes and ears was all he needed to make some adjustments to his company analysis.
At the end of our session together, he said, “Thank you so much. You’ve been a big help and I’m sorry for putting you through all of that.” I was glad that the session had been a success, despite my lack of knowledge about company analyses. Many students may only see the writing center as somewhere to come with assignments related to English classes, but it is a helpful place to go for assignments in a variety of subjects.
The writing center serves as a useful resource for subjects as different as English and math, and for students in years ranging from those in their first year to seniors.
Students need to be exposed to writing centers and all they have to offer. Mandatory visits to writing centers will help ensure that this occurs.

Some Background
Before I am able to move forward in this chapter in discussing practices for professors and consultants, it is necessary for me to provide some information regarding the effectiveness of mandatory writing center visits. Many studies have been conducted on this matter.
In one such study done with first-year students who were required to visit the center, it was found that the majority of the students were happy with their visit, regardless of the fact that about fifty percent of them had come into the session unhappy about having to be there. They were glad that the center had helped them with their writing craftsmanship, as well as the fact that they began earning better grades in their classes.
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Similar results were found in a separate study done with composition classes at the
University of Southern California. Seventy-five percent of students who went to the writing center believed that their time spent there was helpful in improving their composition abilities. They also said that the writing center was a necessity at the school.
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So, although students may come into the writing center with negative sentiments, this can be changed throughout the course of the session with the help of the consultant.
With proper rapport building, the consultant can establish a friendly relationship with the client, showing the client that the consultant is there to serve as an ally and not as an enemy. Also, students may not recognize the importance of such a place at their schools until they are required to go there, at which point they will see for themselves what is done in the writing center and will understand its contribution to the student body. This is important for both professors and writing center consultants. Sending students to the writing center can help them see the value in the center.

The writing center is helpful to students because it goes beyond peer tutoring. In the classroom, students are likely to simply read over each other’s papers for punctuation and grammatical errors, whereas in the writing center, consultants are attuned to clients’ needs and help them in ways such as giving them advice on how to brainstorm ideas for their assignments.
3 The consultants working in most writing centers have been trained in some way. In the Writing Center in my school, consultants are required to take a course in which they learn about different methods to work in the Center with clients of a variety of abilities. At the same time, consultants intern at the Center so they are able to have handson experience.
Peer-to-peer tutoring results primarily in concentration on lower-order concerns, including spelling and punctuation errors, while in the writing center the focus is on higher-order concerns, including organization of the assignment and developing ideas.
Also, in the writing center, the writer critiques his or her own paper, learning from his or her own mistakes.
4 The dynamic in the writing center is more of a two-way conversation than peer tutoring. In the center, the client remains in control of his or her paper and the consultant is there as a sounding board, offering advice and support when needed.
The reason that most students give for not going to the writing center is that they are not able to fit it in to their schedules. In the poll done at USC it was found that, “Being too busy is apparently a prime reason students claim they do not attend the Writing Center rather than because they do not recognize the worth of going.” Once pushed to go, students see they have time to add visits into their schedules, and are thus more motivated to go back.
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What to Do
In order to ensure that students have positive experiences in the writing center, it is imperative that professors follow certain guidelines when requiring students to visit. By the same token, consultants must also be sure to treat these clients with care, as with any client in the writing center, since the consultant also has a large impact on the client’s impression of the writing center.
Best Practices for Professors
Understand what the writing center stands for
It has been found that the majority of professors do not truly understand what is done at the writing center.
The goal of the writing center is not to strengthen the specific assignment that the student is working on, but instead to strengthen the student’s overall writing skills.
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Many professors send their students in to the writing center so that they can get help “fixing” a particular paper. I have come in contact with this type of situation multiple times while in the Center. The client will enter with a paper marked in red in many places and the professor has written such things as, “This is a sentence fragment, fix this.” Neither the purpose nor the promise of the writing center is to make sure the student ends up with an A-quality product on that one paper. Instead, we help students with their understanding of the entire writing process, so that they will have the necessary tools to complete future assignments.
Acclimate students to the writing center before required visits
It can be helpful to bring a class to the writing center during a class period so that the students get an idea of what will happen in individual sessions.
7 This can help ease worries

about going to the writing center for the first time. This tip is helpful primarily when working with first-year students who have had no previous experience with the writing center.
Another idea, one that we use in our Writing Center, is to have consultants come to classrooms and talk to students about their experiences in the center. Also, hearing from the consultants themselves makes it clear to students what to expect when going to the center.
Do not only send certain students to the writing center for help—send entire classes
If a student is asked to go to the writing center after doing badly on an assignment, this student will see going to the writing center as a form of punishment.
8 The student will then foster a negative attitude towards the writing center and will not want to make visits on his or her own for help on future assignments.
Electing to send a certain student to the writing center for help is problematic on a few levels. Firstly, as previously mentioned, the center works to help the student with writing overall, not just with one assignment.
Also, everyone can benefit from the writing center, whether the writer is struggling with basic composition, or if he or she is quite comfortable with writing. Sending all students in classes to the writing center clearly demonstrates this point to the students.
Do not provide rewards for students who have visited the writing center
Students who know they will be given bonus points for going to the writing center will simply visit the writing center with this in mind, and they will not be concerned with actually receiving help on their assignments.
9 The reward for making the visit should be the progress a student makes as a writer. This betterment of their writing is, after all, the

intended purpose of the visit, and the professor should not stray from this focus. Perhaps, instead, if the students’ writing has improved after they have visited the writing center throughout the course of the semester, the professor can bring in a treat for the class. The students will then see that the emphasis is placed on the advancement of their writing, not simply on their visits to the writing center.
Best Practices for Consultants
Treat the client as you would any other
Students who are required to come to the writing center should be treated the same way in which students who elect to come on their own are. The goal is still to help the client with how he or she goes about writing in any stage of the process. It is not to help with one specific paper or assignment.
Remain confident; do not get intimidated
Even if a client comes in and is older than the consultant is or is someone who needs help with a subject that the consultant is unaccustomed to, the consultant can still help the student. Age does not matter with writing; seniors may struggle just as much as first-year students. Not only this, but the writing center can also help all clients, no matter what their aptitude is.
In dealing with a client working in a different discipline than the consultant is used to, the consultant must realize that he or she can provide a new outlook for the client and will therefore be of assistance to him or her. In my particular example, although I was unfamiliar with the terminology that the client used in his company analysis, I found that I could help him with aspects of writing that I knew very well, including the readability of his project.

The consultant should keep in mind that he or she can use his or her strengths in writing to assist any client. It is important for the consultant to stay self-assured in all situations. The client will appreciate any help that he or she is given, so there is no reason for the consultant to feel apprehensive.
Stay positive, even if the client seems uninterested
Clients who are required to come to the writing center may not enter with the best attitudes. It is important not to become irritated with the client. The session has the potential to be turned around if the consultant stays upbeat and helpful. In most cases, the client will leave appreciative and glad that he or she came.
Complicating Matters
But what about those clients who remain resistant to help, no matter how cheerful the consultant is? It is true that there are cases in which this occurs. I personally had an experience of the kind. A boy came in to the Writing Center to discuss his paper. He had handed in his abstract, but it was clear he had done badly on it, since his thesis was so vague. Worse than his indecision on what he wanted the focus of his paper to be was that he had no sources to back up any of his arguments. Also, when I suggested ideas and tried to get him to brainstorm, he wasn’t receptive in the least.
“I was told I had to come here,” he finally told me, arms crossed. His professor was requiring all students to come to the Writing Center as part of the assignment. It was frustrating that the client was so unhelpful, but I ended up suggesting he find some sources and solidify his thesis before coming back for help. In this way, I showed the client that we were willing to assist him at the Writing Center, but that he also had to do his part.

If any client says something along the lines of, “My professor made it mandatory for me to come,” I suggest saying something like, “That’s great that your teacher recognizes the importance of the writing center, let’s make this session useful for you.” From there, ask the client what he or she wants to focus on in the session. The client then sees that he or she plays a big role in the success of the session, and that the session is catered to his or her needs.
Some sessions may not be salvaged, no matter how hard the consultant tries. It is important to note that these types of cases are few and far between, and that the improvements that most clients make with the help of consultants is worth consultants having to put up with a few bad sessions.
Another possible issue with the mandatory writing center visits I suggest is that there may be an influx of students to the writing center. This would result in many students having to wait for sessions, since there are only so many consultants working at a time.
Students may get impatient and leave the center without getting to have a session.
There are a variety of possible solutions to this problem. Professors could talk about the usefulness of going to the writing center not only with final drafts, but along the way as well, which would help encourage students to visit at different stages in their assignment, instead of everyone visiting at once with their completed assignments.
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A different option is to have students sign up for consultations, which would monitor the amount of students that were allowed to come at one time and would ensure a consultant would be available to work with the student.
11 Our Writing Center does not currently use the appointment system, but if the number of students visiting us were to drastically increase, as would be the case with professors implementing into their curricula

mandatory visits for their students to the writing center, it would be a worthwhile idea to adopt this strategy.
There is also the argument of extrinsically versus intrinsically motivated writers.
Extrinsically motivated writers write for reasons such as earning good grades, whereas intrinsic writers write for personal reasons. Extrinsically motivated writers do not think that writing has any worth in our society.
12 The question is, what will be the benefit of these extrinsically motivated students visiting the writing center? The hope would be to change these students’ feelings about writing, helping them to understand that it is a powerful communication tool that they will use all their lives. Over time, visits to the writing center could also get these students to enjoy the writing process by making them less anxious about it, and, with repeated visits, may convert them from extrinsically motivated writers to intrinsically motivated writers.
Further Reading
Grimm, Nancy Maloney. Good Intentions: Writing Center Work for Postmodern Times.
Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc., 1999. Print.
Grimm emphasizes the importance of the feeling of relationship in the writing center. She dispels previous beliefs about the writing center, including the notion that it is only a place to come for lower-order concerns. She also addresses what the writing center does and does not stand for, including the idea that the writing center sessions focus on the writer who brings the paper in, not on the consultant in the writing center.
Harris, Muriel. “The Roles a Tutor Plays: Effective Tutor Techniques.” The English Journal
69.9 (1980): 62-65.

In this article, Harris provides some good information about the different forms in which a consultant may have to function during his or her session, including coach, commentator, and counselor. All students benefit from visits to the writing center in a variety of ways, even if the outcome of the session is merely making the student feel better and more confident about his or her writing.
Notes
1.
Gordon, Barbara Lynn. “Requiring First-Year Writing Classes to Visit the Writing Center:
Bad Attitudes or Positive Results?” Teaching English in the Two-Year College 36.2
(2008): 155-157.
2.
Clark, Irene Lurkis. “Leading the Horse: The Writing Center and Required Visits.”
Writing Center Journal 5.2/6.1 (1985): 33.
3.
Harris, Muriel. “Collaboration is Not Collaboration is Not Collaboration: Writing Center
Tutorials vs. Peer Response Groups.” College Composition and Communication 43.4
(1992): 370-371.
4.
Harris, 372-373.
5.
Clark, 33-34.
6.
North, Stephen M. “The Idea of a Writing Center.” College English 46.5 (1984): 433-438.
7.
Bell, Barbara, and Robert Stutts. “The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions: The
Effects of Mandatory Writing Center Visits on Student and Tutor Attitudes.” The Writing
Lab Newsletter 22.1 (1997): 7.
8.
“Writing Center: Faculty Resources.” unc.edu. The Writing Center, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007.
9.
“Writing Center: Faculty Resources.”

10.
Gordon, 159.
11.
Bell and Stutts, 7.
12.
Alden, Scott D., and J. D. Williams. “Motivation in the Composition Class.” Research in the
Teaching of English 17.2 (1983): 101, 107.
Works Cited
Alden, Scott D., and J. D. Williams. “Motivation in the Composition Class.” Research in the
Teaching of English 17.2 (1983): 101-112. Web. 9 Nov. 2009.
Bell, Barbara, and Robert Stutts. “The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions: The
Effects of Mandatory Writing Center Visits on Student and Tutor Attitudes.” The
Writing Lab Newsletter 22.1 (1997): 5-7. Web. 9 Nov. 2009.
Clark, Irene Lurkis. “Leading the Horse: The Writing Center and Required Visits.” Writing
Center Journal 5.2/6.1 (1985): 31-34. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.
Gordon, Barbara Lynn. “Requiring First-Year Writing Classes to Visit the Writing Center:
Bad Attitudes or Positive Results?” Teaching English in the Two-Year College 36.2
(2008): 154-163. JSTOR. Web. 10 Nov. 2009.
Harris, Muriel. “Collaboration is Not Collaboration is Not Collaboration: Writing Center
Tutorials vs. Peer Response Groups.” College Composition and Communication 43.4
(1992): 369-383. JSTOR. Web. 13 Nov. 2009.
North, Stephen M. “The Idea of a Writing Center.” College English 46.5 (1984): 433-446.
JSTOR. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.
“Writing Center: Faculty Resources.” unc.edu. The Writing Center, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2009.