A Concept Map of Writing Center

Graduate Writing Group

Mission   

The main commitment of a graduate writing group  is to form a  writing group within a communal setting who shares their writing commitment in a particular time slot, exchange writing materials, and reflect as peers during the group meeting. Basically this group meets once or twice in a month physically or virtually during the semester. Both group efforts and self - commitment are expected to accomplish the specific graduate writing commitment over the semesters for being scholarly writers.
Group will be committed to respect individual's expectation, time, and availability.
Corresponding email address: shampa.bd@gmail.com.

Graduate Writing Communities (GWCs)

History

Graduate Writing Group was initiated in the Spring 2015 with an intensive volunteering effort of five graduate students who are involved in the writing program. The space of the WSU Graduate and Professional Writing Center was the first face to face meeting place for the group. Group members decided to continue the writing activities in the summer session online


Members of the First Graduate Writing Group 2015 (Face to Face)

• Shampa Biswas, Education
• Matt Frye, English
• LoriBeth, English
• Nadia Frye, English
• Lauren Kelly, English 

 Members of the Second Graduate Writing Group 2015 (Online)

• Shampa Biswas, Education
• Matt Frye, English
• Nadia Frye, English
• Manee Moua, Education
• Yvonne Manning, Agricultural Science
• John, Material Science and Engineering
• Ayman, Chemistry

 Summer graduate writing group paper submission and peer review dates

1. First peer review in May 31 (Paper submission is due on May 29)
2. Second peer review in June 13 (Paper submission is due on June 12)
3. Third peer review in June 27 (Paper submission is due on June 26)
4. Fourth peer review in July 11 (Paper submission is due on July 10)
5. Fifth peer review in July 25 (Paper submission is due on July 24)

Members of the Third Graduate Writing Group 2015 (Face to Face)

• Shampa Biswas, Education
• Matt Frye, English
• Nadia Frye, English
• Manee Moua, Education
• Yvonne Manning, Agricultural Science
• John, Material Science and Engineering
• Lateasha Lewis, Education

 Fall graduate writing group paper submission and peer review discussion

1. First meeting in September 5 
2. Second meeting in September 26 (Paper submission is due on September 23)
3. Third  meeting in October 17 (Paper submission is due on October 14)
4. Fourth  meeting in November 14 (Paper submission is due on November 11)
5. Fifth  meeting in December 12 (Paper submission is due on December 9)

Who can participate?

Any graduate students can participate in the graduate writing group with a shared writing commitment for being future writing scholars and join in google blog for the details information of the group, Graduate Writing Group Blog


Writing submission requirements

1.  Please clarify about your writing type, writing audience, and peer review expectations in 2 or 3 sentences in the written document.
2. Please drop a max 10 page written document with double space for peer review within peer review submission deadline using the following suggested google drive link.

Steps to follow to join and review the graduate writing group

1. Please consider to write an email to Shampa Biswas (shampa.bd@gmail.com), if you are interested for being an active member of the graduate writing group. 
2. If you are interested in online conversation, email me your Skype I'd and also your gmail id.
   Peer feedback will be shared through email, if you are not interested to participate in online conversation or you are not available to attend the group conversation.
3.  Each interested group member is responsible to volunteer as a peer reviewer for the graduate writing group. Assigned paper will be available in google drive. Each paper will be emphasized to be reviewed by 1 or 2 peer reviewers of the group by following specific group's reading schedule.
4.  Assigned reviewers will use the 'track changes' to comment or use 'comment option' of google doc. Each group member commits to upload paper in google drive within scheduled paper submission date and share peer feedback through both in google drive and email within scheduled peer review date.
5.   Note that you will find the email address of peers in reading schedule and instructions file and detailed information about the group in graduate writing group blog, http://graduatewritingcommunites.blogspot.com/

Additional Reviewer Guidelines
Writing Common's Peer Review Guidelines
Questions and documents of WSU Graduate and Professional Writing Center

Basics of Writing Center Professional Development

Writing Center Philosophy

           

         The philosophy of the writing center focuses on different ways of making knowledge (Hobson, 1994). It also encourages us to work with students at their own rate so that they become better writers. If we nurture and facilitate them according to this assumption, students will be able to recognize their own errors (Clark, 1990). 

Writing Center Pedagogy

Writing center pedagogy is one of the important aspects of the writing center work and identity. It is an idea to offer the commitment for teaching writing in multiple spaces and create positive writing learning opportunities through tutors’ professional development (Jackson & McKinney, 2012).

Writing Center Theory & Practice

        Writing Center Theory and Practice (Hobson, 1994; Corbett, 2013) is a combination of multiple theories from multiple disciplinary writing practices. The idea of the writing center as a physical space is moving towards the space of theoretical and practical perspectives of the writing center (Corbett, 2013). Historically, the Writing Center theory and practice was related to the practice of error correction in students’ papers. There is no single theory that can accommodate diverse writing needs of  multidisciplinary writers. However, tutors must know both Writing Center theory and practice to study and critique these inconsistencies. Sometimes, tutors feel guilty about being more interested in the practice of writing center work than its theory. Tutor need to continue to understand, value, and critique, recognize and advertise the credibility of knowledge. Moreover, writing center practitioners need to share their experiences for fostering writing center communities and admit every tutor’s reflection for shaping a new writing center theory and practices (Hughes, 1991).

Writing Center Tutoring Pedagogy or Instruction

Writing Center Tutoring pedagogy (Harris & Silva, 1993) refers to the commitment of facilitating for becoming better writers, not better writing and creating writing knowledge during the tutorial session in the writing center. Writing tutors have the responsibility of prioritizing writing issues or errors in the writing draft through searching for the well written sentence, acknowledging the strength of the paper in the first few minutes of the tutorial session, discussing only two or three concerns, and suggesting writing tools for developing writing processes. The main vision of the writing tutorial pedagogy is to provide a descriptive feedback for every writer (Nakamaru, 2010).

Writing Center Evaluation

           

Writing Center Evaluation is the process of collecting and interpreting data to communicate writing center work effectively (Bell, 2000). It emphasizes on the meaningful self evaluation processes for advancing future writing center practices. Writing center practitioners must not involve decision maker in evaluation who are not knowledgeable about writing center research, process, pedagogy, and policy.

Writing Center Research

Writing Center Research is the systematic process of exploring information on the overall writing center knowledge making processes. Researching in writing center can offer a deeper understanding about students’ writing processes and development; and enrich pedagogies for facilitating writing processes. Most importantly, the primary elements of writing center research: 1) writing center as a site, 2) writing center’s practice, 3) writing center’s research methods, such as empirical, ethnographic, theoretical, and practitioner inquiry (Gillespie, Gillam, Brown, & Stay, 2002).

Writing Center Community

            Writing Center Community is a group of writing center practitioners, who have the common goal for making knowledge about writing center community (Liggett, et al 2011). Liggett et al (2011) offer a theory or taxonomy of methodologies for the writing center how the writing center community makes knowledge that would help us to reflect ourselves as researchers.

Writing Tool

Writing Tool is an instrument for both student and tutor to facilitate writing processes during the tutoring session. It is useful for planning, brainstorming, and clarifying the steps of the writing process to fulfill specific academic writing requirements. De Smet, Brand-Growel, Leijten and Kirschner (2014) suggested that the use of the electronic outlining was helpful for students to improve their planning and writing communication processes in argumentative text structure. Their performances in writing fluency were improved due to the repeated practice of the writing tool, electronic outlining.