Faculty Resources
In addition to offering individual tutoring sessions for students, the Writing Center provides a range of support for faculty who want to put more emphasis on writing in their classes.
Below, we suggest some ways that the Writing Center might be a part of your class each semester. If you have other ideas, we’d like to hear them. We’re always happy to talk with you about new ways we might interact with faculty and students.
Include us on your syllabus
One of the most essential ways to let students know that you want them to make use of the Writing Center is to include a supportive statement on your syllabus, on Canvas, or on individual assignments. Feel free to copy the example below and paste it into your class materials.
As you work on the writing assignments in this class, consider making a tutoring appointment with the Washington College Writing Center. You can meet with a knowledgeable peer tutor and receive direct feedback on any kind of writing, at any stage in your writing process: before you begin writing, once you have started, or as you are editing a final draft. In this exchange, you will get a new perspective on your ideas and gain some strategies to help you produce your best work.
Visit the Writing Center's website for more information and click here to schedule your appointment.
The Writing Center is a free resource that is available to all members of the college community.
Invite us to your class
At any point in the semester, you can contact us to have a member of the Writing Center come by your class for a brief introduction. We’ll take 10-15 minutes to introduce students to our services. We’d recommend that a visit like this should occur either early in the semester or a week or two before the due date for a significant assignment.
Offer students an incentive
The best way to encourage students to be responsible about their writing and to make effective use of the Writing Center is to offer them an incentive. This might take the form of a quiz grade, a few bonus points on an assignment, or some other extra credit. You can even turn the experience into an excellent opportunity for reflection. Below is a response form that Professor Alisha Knight developed for her classes. Feel free to modify this form or create something similar. However, we would ask that you please talk with us first if you plan on creating a formal incentive for your students. That way, we’ll be on the same page when your students come in for tutoring sessions, and we’ll be able to help them meet your expectations.
If a student participates in a consultation session in the Writing Center and submits a brief report to me after the session, then I will drop her/his lowest quiz grade. This is a standing offer that can be redeemed multiple times this semester. In other words, submit a debriefing form after each visit to receive extra credit.
Your Name ___________________________________________________________________
Writing Center Consultant’s Name ______________________________________________
Date of Visit __________________________________________________________________
What was the original purpose of your visit? (E.g., to brainstorm for ideas, to develop
an outline prior to drafting an essay, to discuss your thesis statement, etc.)
What did you actually discuss and how did you apply what you discussed to the completion
of the assignment? (Continue your debriefing on the back of this form.)
Connect with a Peer Writing Consultant
We’d be happy to collaborate with you on an in-class workshop or activity. A member of the Writing Center can arrange to visit your class to facilitate peer review or to engage students in work on a particular writing topic or concept.
If you’d like more hands-on support, we can often provide you with a dedicated Peer Writing Consultant (or peer tutor) who can visit your class when needed throughout the semester and provide a point of connection to the Writing Center for your students. Our Peer Writing Consultants can work with you in any of the following ways:
- Helping to facilitate in-class activities like peer review
- Developing writing resources and materials for your class
- Leading brief in-class lessons on writing concepts
- Facilitating group work with students outside of class
- Meeting with students individually to work on class writing assignments
If you’d like to request a Peer Writing Consultant for your class, or if you’d like to learn more about how we can support your teaching of writing, contact Dr. Rachel Rodriguez, Director of the Writing Center at rrodriguez2FREEwashcoll.
Offer students extra support on oral presentation projects
Some of our Peer Writing Consultants have received additional training in strategies to support students who are working on oral presentation projects. These Peer Writing and Presentation Consultants are available to work individually with students or to work in the classroom with faculty on oral presentation assignments. Whether your students are designing a presentation slide or practicing their delivery, we can help! When students log in to our online schedule, they can make appointments with our Peer Writing and Presentation Consultants by selecting that option in the “Limit To” drop-down menu.
Talk with us about your course plans
We’re happy to talk with you at any time about ways of making writing more central to your own teaching. We can brainstorm with you about writing assignments, offer insight into the kinds of feedback students find most helpful, and provide resources to support the writing activities you already have in place. Feel free to contact Dr. Rachel Rodriguez, Director of the Writing Center, to set up a time to talk.