Spring 2013 Graduate Student Colloquium

Why work at the Writing Center? Why put in the time and effort to help other student writers work on their homework when you could be working on yours? Why stay working at any Writing Center longer than a semester or two?  Most seasoned writing center consultants know the challenges of thinking critically with students as we help them interpret assignments and craft specific language to communicate their critical thoughts in response to the assignment. The energy we spend in the Writing Center can sometimes even make it difficult to produce our own school work and yet we come  back.

Why We Need to Brainstorm (and 4 Methods to Try Out)

I have a confession to make. I hate to write.

Let me take that back: I love the idea of writing. I love writing when I know what I’m doing. I just hate, hate, hate, hate staring down at an open, empty word document or a crisp, clean, blank, lined piece of paper, pen hovering expectantly in my hand, the emptiness mocking my lack of language. I’ve been a writing consultant for three years now, and I still forget to engage in one of the most basic tools I prescribe for other writers who, like me, avoid the blank-page-showdown like fruit cake at Christmas (pretend it’s not there, so you can’t see its stolid inappropriateness).