THE CITY COLLEGE WRITING CENTER
The main goal of the CCNY Writing Center is to help students develop their
skills as writers, not just survive the writing assignment. While we recognize
that instructors will grade "the writing," we also must respond
to the student who wants to know how to achieve success and to develop his
or her own abilities as a writer. By responding to the student writer and
what he or she is trying to do on the page, we can begin to focus on what
the student needs to do to meet his or her written communication goals.
Our services include:
1) One-to-one help sessions with trained peer tutors from across
the academic disciplines. (Limited graduate student service is available.)
Students may drop by or make appointments, though appointments are preferable.
2) Materials and tutoring sessions for those students preparing to take
or retake the SKAT and Proficiency exams.
3) A wide assortment of useful handouts and guides addressing specific writing
problems and tasks.
4) A Mac Lab for word processing. (Help in getting started is available.)
5) Class visits and group orientations by appointment.
During a tutoring session, tutors help students become more proficient writers
by focusing on a piece of writing while the student is actively engaged
in the process of composing it. We emphasize to students that writing is
a process of composing where writers work to clarify their purpose, intention
and meaning - thinking and rethinking what they have to say. Our objective
is to help students develop as writers; in other words, beyond merely changing
the text, we want students to develop their own process of writing that
they can use throughout their academic career.
Through our publicity efforts, we encourage students to come the writing
center whenever they want to talk about their writing and/or writing assignments
with a tutor. When difficulty with a class writing assignment brings a student
to us, we play the valuable role of a careful and thoughtful reader - not
judge or critic. We help students to begin to think about planning their
essays - from brain-storming ideas to proofreading and typing. We also focus
on other writing concerns such as grammar, mechanics, and usage in the context
of a writer communicating meaning to a reader. This type of tutorial actively
engages students in the process of reading and revising their writing.
Tutors are not substitutes for teachers, but they can complement what happens
in the classroom. When a student begins a writing assignment, a tutor can
help the student explore ideas by questioning and encouraging the writer
to "get it on paper." When the student has a draft, the tutor
functions as an interested reader - to listen, to ask questions when something
is not clear, and to offer interpretations of what the writer is trying
to say. As a reader, the tutor's puzzled face lets the writer know that
something does not make sense. That confusion becomes the catalyst for revision.
In a similar way, hearing someone stumble over sentences stresses the role
of grammar, punctuation, and usage in conveying meaning.
When a student brings a paper to be "patched up" or "fixed
here and there," because it is due tomorrow (or that afternoon), the
tutor's role as reader is limited. Often, students will ask a tutor to "correct
the grammar" since many know that is the first target of an instructor's
pen. Tutoring students about their errors is an important part of our work
at the CCNY Writing Center. Tutors help students edit their papers, but
tutors do not proofread papers for students. Instead, the tutor sits
with a student while he or she performs the proofreading, possibly pointing
out errors that the student misses, but trying to help the student recognize
the errors and learn how to correct them.
Since time prohibits looking at every error, tutors must determine if a
pattern of error exists and then focus on one or two of the most important
problems. Tutors try to find the source of some errors, looking to see if
the problem occurred because of haste or a misunderstanding or misinterpretation
of a rule. Instead of merely correcting an error, a tutor helps the student
identify what rules he or she is using and then the tutor either reinforces
the rule or explains its restrictions.
Peer tutors - mostly undergraduates and a few graduate students - staff
the CCNY Writing Center. The tutors are recruited and recommended by instructors
who recognize the student's ability as a writer and as the type of listener
and reader that a writing center needs. In addition, those selected to become
tutors must attend a tutor training course and complete an advanced grammar
course. These are students who are sensitive to the needs of their peers,
but also able to make sensible suggestions for helping other students improve
their writing skills.
City College of New York Writing Center
Professor Fred Reynolds, Director
Kim Jackson, Assistant Director
Harris Hall, Room 015
(212)650-8104