Macomb community college Writing Center The MCC Writing Center is a free resource that provides assistance to the Macomb County community. The Center provides assistance in assessing writing tasks and planning a writing strategy. It offers guidance in editing and reviewing drafts.

Services Provided The Writing Center provides online and face-to-face tutoring. The services provided are listed below: Guidance in using a writing process that connects critical thinking to writing a. Sample essays, power points, web sites, and other documents that illustrate effective writing. Assistance in developing evidence, claims, and development strategies for papers a. For grammar and mechanics b. For paragraphing and paper development Online bi-lingual tutorial assistance similar to the MARTI system used in medical settings.

What the Writing Center Does The Writing Center strengthens writers who are in the process of planning, writing, and editing papers and digital projects. The Writing Center: a. Identifying where a student is in the composition process b. Identifying needs for ESL support c. Identifying needs for reading support d. Identifying writers’ digital needs e. Develops a plan for completing documents and projects f. Reviews final papers, texts, and documents g. Identifying teachers’ web sites and other orienting materials * The Writing Center provides guidance. It does not compose material for writers.*

Checklist What will you need to bring to the writing studio? A copy of the assignment/task to which the paper responds A rough draft of the paper if available Ideas about what they feel are needed to complete the assignment? Getting started? Finding information? Development? ESL resources? Reading skills? Preference for date and time to meet with a tutor

Underlying Process The writing center emphasizes a general writing process for both the “diagnosis” and “treatment” of writing problems. The process has three key steps that tutors will understand and use: “Mapping” the known information about the topic Identifying the “gaps” in the existing map, i.e., errors, omissions, needs for evidence, alternate claims, etc. that can be the topic of a paper Re-drawing the “map” to improve what is known

Tutoring Collaboration with peers offers different insight. Tutors offer one-on-one services. Collaboration with peers offers different insight. Group tutoring efficiently helps a wide variety of students. It also adds new perspectives. Online tutoring offers scheduling flexibility.

Unresolved Issues How will we measure success? Will professors be informed when a student goes to the writing center? Will tutors produce an individual writing plan for both the project and for the issues that a student needs to work on? How will tutors be paid? Will it be enough to attract well-educated tutors, i.e., those with an M.A. or more? How will the center be funded? How will the center help non-English professors design good writing assignments? Will the center have some bi-lingual tutors? What languages will we attempt to hire? Would the MARTI system solve this problem? Could each building have a “writing room” with the tutoring focused on the needs of the disciplines taught in the building, e.g., N-building would have a more specialized focus on the writing assignments from that department. What tools will be provided? Digital tools? Printers?

Credits MICHELE ADAMS MEDINA DJUBO JUSTIN JAJE CANDIS JARJIS Communications I 1180 Winter 2014 Term MICHELE ADAMS MEDINA DJUBO JUSTIN JAJE CANDIS JARJIS YINGWEN LI MA YATA NAR JUSTIN RUSSO NICOLETTE SIDOROWICZ FADI SELIM