The Role of Community

            According to Bruffee, thinking, conversing, and writing are all irrevocably intertwined; one cannot learn to think better without first learning to converse better, which is done by “creating and maintaining the sort of social contexts, the sorts of community life, that foster the kinds of conversation we value,” (Bruffee 90). Bruffee claims that writing is essentially a conversation with oneself made public, an internal thought made external. Therefore, in order to better one’s writing, one must first better one’s conversation, which often involves discourse with others.

            Enter: the RWC. The writing center encourages discourse between fellow students, allowing writers to foster their thinking and conversation in a comfortable setting. This setting, a community of their peers, is essential for the writers’ ability to grow their knowledge, by which I mean, working collaboratively with other students helps develop their language capabilities. If one is capable of having an external conversation, of developing a vernacular about a subject (in this case, about writing) and putting this vernacular into external use with a peer, then one should ideally be able to put that conversation into writing.  

            The RWC is also useful as a community for writers because, as a community, the RWC is basically made up of the intended audience for the writers’ works. By this I mean, a community is created when a group of people sharing similar intellect, values, and beliefs come together to share and build knowledge. In general, this same definition of community can be applied to the audience. In most professional settings, one is writing with one’s colleagues, the people belonging to the same professional community as the writer, in mind. As a student, these colleagues are one’s peers, other fellow students. These are the people that make up the community that is the RWC. In this way, writers are able to develop a relationship between both their tutor and their audience, as these two end up being one and the same.

The writing center works because it has a focus on community. What this means is that it allows the people that come in to be tutored to be surrounded by like-minded individuals. By having a sense of community the writing center becomes an approachable place in that the students don't feel intimidated by their tutors or by their fellow students being tutored. It also helps to have tutors who are their peers so that they feel as though they can relate to us. The relationship between the audience, community, and the peer tutor is focused on being approachable. The job of the peer tutor is to create a community where the student can feel like they can return.

8/31 Response

Community is a central part of a writing center. The community of collective participants, including the peer tutors and both those who are seeking help is what creates this unique space. On the part of the peer tutor, there needs to be support, openness, and communication while the peer being tutored plays an integral part by being a team player and participating in the session. Without this "give and take" type relationship, a writing center cannot develop the necessary environment to create and produce a helpful atmosphere, one that a community needs to be successful.  

The community aspect of the writing center is what makes that space more than just a place to drop off a paper to be edited, it becomes a center in which discourse and actual teaching can take place. This allows the student benefitting to leave with more than just a paper that has be freed from grammatical errors but rather a better understanding of writing as a whole and how to stylized his/her own voice, while still efficiently answering any prompt that may be presented to them.

8/31 Response

In the writing center, community plays a huge part in entire atmosphere or perspective of the writing center as a whole. As explained in the Bruffee text, the writing center has become a success by not using professional tutors, but student tutors. This inevitably changed the “social context” in which students learned. Peer tutors are not just teachers, but equals to the students receiving tutoring. The writing center becomes a place of conversation—the tutors and students converse together, which creates a “community of knowledgeable peers.” The equal, conversational relationship between student and tutor is vital to the success of the writing center. 

8/31 Response

     The role of community in the writing center is extremely important. Community is what makes the writing center flourish and gives it the crucial sense of support and teamwork, the two things that make up the very foundation of a community. Without a community to both tutor and be tutored in the writing center, the writing center would not even exist.
     The relationship between audience, community, and the peer tutor is a relationship that thrives on learning both from being taught and while teaching. The community is related to the audience because the community is the most observant of the writing center, the audience relates to the peer tutor because they benefit from the tutor the most, and the peer tutor relates both to the audience and the community because their contributions are what benefit all parties monumentally. The main relationship between all three parties, however, is bound by the incessant and unstoppable need to learn and to improve. The writing center is what makes these things possible.

8/31 Response

Community plays a large role in a writing center. A writing center is made up of many people that collectively work to help others better their writing. Those who do seek advice in a writing center should understand that by coming for help they are the inputting into this community and helping it grow. I also think that the sense of community is important being that a writing center should not feel like a classroom setting. Classes are more individually based. They are centered on students individually achieving academic success. A writing center is a place where multiple people help others achieve their desired success.The sense of community a writing center displays is also shown once the writer has completed their work. The audience, although they may be unaware, has a position in creating a community. The audience, much like a peer tutor, has the opportunity to give feedback on a piece of writing. This type of feedback may be different than that of a peer tutor but can shape the thoughts of a writer in many ways. 

I believe a sense of community is important for students to feel comfortable in sharing their writing. A community can create a setting where students are easily able to receive an honest critique about their writing without it affecting their grade. It is important for tutors to create this atmosphere not only for students but for their own benefits as well. A good tutor needs to be comfortable in their workplace and be in a surrounding where they can grow as writers and gain valuable experience that can be beneficial to their futures. Writing centers are unique in the ways they present people working together. It is unusual for someone to leave a writing center without gathering a sense of the qualities that cannot be found in a classroom, particularly a large sense of community. 

Aug. 31

I believe community plays several roles in the writing center and can, therefore, influence students in a myriad of ways both outside of the center and within it. Personally, I have actually never taken advantage of the writing center in the two years that I have attended this university, and the only reason I can think of for not doing so was honestly a feeling of embarrassment. I felt almost embarrassed at the idea of walking into the tutoring center and asking a fellow student to review my work. It’s not that I didn’t believe in their abilities as tutors or their credibility, it was just the mere thought of handing my work over to someone who could well be my own age or younger and being “judged” by them because of experiences that I have had outside of the writing center with students my own age. This is a much less reassuring sense of community, but at the time it was my view of the community within the writing center as a whole and it is that view which kept me away from taking advantage of this amazing resource. What I understand now about the center and its effect on writing is that community is essential to writing a relevant piece, particularly because you get to know your audience and what it is that appeals to them about what you’ve written. Without an audience, who will give a damn about what you write? We must be proactive, get to know our audience, our community, and this can easily be done through the peer review process.  

             Though a student-teacher dynamic will inevitably exist, both the pupil and the tutor are both part of a community, specifically, the FSU student body. On such a diverse campus, this one common factor may be the only common factor between the two and therefore holds a significant role in their dynamic. The student seeking help may initially feel discouraged or uncomfortable sharing ideas, so helping them feel like they are a welcome member of this community will help to generate the flow of ideas and increase their motivation. FSU's community of students not only scholarly but amongst peers, I've often found encouragement along the way. Additionally, both tutor and student are part of a larger community that embodies writers who want to improve their work. All successful writers began at this same place. Helping them to feel like they are a part of this community of writers is equally important because if they can visualize the potential that their writing or particular piece of writing possesses they will be able to get it on paper.

              The relationship between audience and community is similar in that the audience (most likely, professors) will also provide constructive criticism and feedback. The goal of the tutor is to help the student shape his or her writing to meet the standards of their professor, eliminating the need for such feedback. And, the student should also meet the standards of and positively reflect the community he or she is a part of. Meaning in getting their message across they must also uphold integrity and decency.

Community in the Writing Center

I believe the role of community in the writing center is quite obvious, it is directly related to the difference in the social layout of a writing center environment to that of the typical classroom environment. This community environment is created through the inclusion of students as ‘teachers’ and as peers, this breakdown of roles that typically create stress and assert a sort of hierarchy puts forth a calm and comfortable environment where students find themselves in a community- a place where they feel welcomed, and not simply somewhere where they are any less than that of those assisting them. The connection that students to students can reach through comfortable social conversation and expressed reflective thought, where it is believed the student to teacher connection is lacking, creates a greater sense of community in the center.

Community also effectively plays a role in the writing center when it comes to the actual understanding of different processes of writing, through others we see how thought is conjured, exchanged, and changed, and from there we understand our own thoughts and abilities to interpret knowledge. The presence of a sense of community in the writing center is undeniable, and the community itself fosters a growth of knowledge for everyone within the special environment.

Regarding the breaking down of barriers that comes with student-to-student learning, the relationship between audience, peer-tutor, and community is inherent. With the audience being the tutees, and the student peers as tutors, we essentially have what becomes a comfortable learning community for everyone involved. The relationship between the two (audience and peer-tutor) is unique from that of most learning environments (adult tutors to students, students to teacher), in that both the learners and the ‘teachers’ are very similar, whether it be through age, similar social setting, same university; this inherent connection creates a very specific ease that other social settings are not able to break apart from, and thus creates a greater sense of community. Though the distinction between tutor and tutee is intrinsic to the process, the connections created due to the ‘peer to peer’ environment in the writing center is what makes it a fluid community working towards a greater and shared goal- improved writing skills. 

Response 8/31

The community is obviously linked to the idea of peer tutoring, as the word peer describes someone of equal status. That’s important in a situation such as the one found at FSU in which a large number of 18 to mid-20 year olds are routinely instructed by those of a more adult status (doctors, masters students, doctoral candidates etc.). This situation is important as there’s a considerable gap in skill between the two groups as students are fairly new to any study and professors are generally more well versed. This can cause a problem for certain students who have the tools to succeed but lack the ability to adapt to college instruction. In this situation the peer tutor can form a bridge between the student and the teacher by acting as a sort of cipher for the student; someone to decode the teachings of the professors. Bruffee mentions students refusing help because of a perception of additional work on their schedules. I feel like this is also true as students tend to be less relaxed around professors than other students, even students they just met. This relaxed attitude makes learning feel less like work and helps the student gain more out of their time spent studying. This translates to a more positive experience for the student and a higher chance they will seek out a tutor in the future. The final result of this beneficial relationship is that community talk is generated between tutor and student and analysis can be done on rhetorical strategy in real time as the essay is constructed. Students can examine rhetorical strategy in their own work and can grasp concepts by employing them in a real world situation; creating a unique environment where theoretical and real world concepts can exist together.  

8/31 Response

       The atmosphere of the community is directly related to the atmosphere of the writing center.  Because the writing center is based upon peer tutoring, a student should already know what to expect from a tutor before he/she even steps foot into the writing center.  This student should expect a tutor of the same quality as his/her community.  Luckily for students of the RWC, the Florida State community is pretty outstanding.  Despite FSU's negative media portrayal, I would not pick any other university in the state at which to study.  FSU's community is lively, creative, and constantly evolving.  Whatever your thing is, there is a place for you in Tallahassee.  This is reflected even within the writing center.  Last class, we were asked why we chose to sign up for a tutoring class.  Everyone had different reasons and inspirations.  Yet, even with all our differences we could all still agree on this class.  The variance within this class reflects the variances within the FSU community as a whole.  Because of this, there really should be a tutor for everyone at the writing center.  Furthermore, FSU excels...and not just at football.  We have one of the top music programs in the country along with a film school that produces some of the most successful undergraduate student films.  Each of these examples personifies the positive atmosphere within the FSU community.  This positive communal atmosphere is then transferred to each peer tutor in the writing center.
     Undoubtedly, there are similarities between the audience, community, and the peer tutor.  As I mentioned before, there should be a peer tutor for everyone at the writing center.  Because the tutor is a peer of the student, there are obvious similarities between the two.  They are both around the same age, they both chose the same university, maybe the tutor has even taken the same class in which the student needs assistance.  Yet, the differences between the peer tutor and the student cannot be ignored.  To pretend everyone is the same is offensive and is usually harmful to the student's education.  However similar the peer tutor and the student may seem, both have different backgrounds, different beliefs, and different problems.  The peer tutor cannot treat the student exactly how he/she has always been treated.  Maybe this student responds to learning in a different way than does the peer tutor.  The peer tutor must notice these differences and adapt his/her tutoring around them.  This way, both the tutor and the student can grow.

Why tutor?

In my limited experience, the writing process seems to be Thinking About Something Too Much, Writing Something I Hate, Writing Something I Like, Hating It Again Six Hours Later, a dose of Absolute Despair, Lowering My Expectations, and then ending up with Something I Can Live With. For a long time I was extremely private about my writing. Not because of some scandal or anything, just because I felt so ambivalent about my ability (or lack thereof) to write. Workshopping opened me up to criticism I expected and (even worse) praise. Most of what I Can Live With has come out of conversations I've had and discussions over word choice, structure, and accidental themes. Half of the time when someone pointed out something I had done - especially when it was apparently something good - I hadn't realized it when I was writing. Through these conversations I learned how to talk about my own writing, how to communicate creative choices I made, how to know when something was good and - most importantly - how to show myself mercy when something was bad.

The primary education system has always placed more emphasis on learning how to read than on learning how to write. I've personally found that I learn a lot more about how to read when I (attempt) to write, and vice versa. Essays in middle and high school are essentially about knowing where to regurgitate which pieces of information, and that whole situation is getting worse. No matter what level you're at writing-wise, the adjustment to the expectations and occasional freedoms of college writing takes some time.

There are lots of places within anyone's creative process (meaning the fluctuations of enthusiasm and misery) where the only thing you can really do to help yourself is to talk to someone else, to find out what could be better, to find out what is already good. Tutoring seems to be one of the best places to have that conversation.

8/26 Response

“Why tutor? What does the university gain from a writing center? Reflect upon your own personal experiences with writing or tutoring (or both).”

Regardless of the subject, tutoring is important to have. Whether it is math, science, or writing, tutoring is necessary in order for those taking a particular course to pass. Sometimes a professor's or textbook's explanation is not enough for a student to comprehend the material. By having a writing center, students of a university are becoming better writers and communicators each and everyday. Not everyone is gifted in writing, so by having a writing center, students can help other students better communicate in his or her written work. Personally, I did not know how to write well until halfway through high school. I moved to Florida in 7th grade and I could not believe the writing abilities of my classmates. I struggled throughout that year, not being able to properly communicate what I wanted to say in my written work. Luckily, I had an amazing teacher who gave very good notes and would sit and help me with my writing skills. By the end of my 8th grade year, I felt confident in my writing and was ready for high school English. Without the aid of my middle school Language Arts teacher, I do not think I'd be where I am in writing today. In high school, I was blessed to be a part of an outstanding English program, being able to learn from some of the best teachers I've ever had. I learned that writing just takes practice, kind of like a sport. The more you do it, the better you get.

Why Tutor? Response 8/26

I've been in love with learning since I started school. Going to class, interacting with my peers and teachers, and reading new material was and still is something that excites me. Especially when talking to another like-minded individual, it was always interesting to see how they saw things or the way that they read a particular text. When working with another person you learn more because someone always brings something new to the table. So tutoring would be my way of bringing something new to the table. With this, I utilize the opportunity to apply everything that I've learned into helping someone else expand on their ideas. Not only do I think it is imperative to be able to bounce ideas off of another person, but it encourages an active learning space while not really seeming like it. I worked in an aftercare throughout high school where I was mostly in charge of helping the students with their homework. What I learned was that just telling them what to do doesn’t help anybody. They don’t learn the whys and hows of things if you just tell them what to do and it becomes frustrating when you have to keep going over the same problem because they didn’t learn what to do the first time around. Because of this I learned to first let them tell me how they do it, or show me what they think. And then I offer up suggestions or ideas, things that they may have overlooked. It is because of my experience working with children and helping them explore their options that I decided to do tutoring. It is also because of my desire to help others get where they want to go. Tutoring allows for an open form of communication where two individuals can explore and find a better way to accomplish what the students seeks to do.

8/26 Response

I became an Exercise Science major when I came to Florida State as a freshman. My lifelong love for dance and fitness made it an almost unquestionable choice. While I had always had a passion for writing, I had never considered pursuing a degree in English- primarily out of a flat out fear of not being "good enough". After all, the only writing I could master was a small time blog that updated my ever so compliant family and friends on my incredibly uneventful teenage life. At the time, being comfortable in what I knew trumped venturing out into an unfamiliar field.

My second semester brought me to change my major to Editing, Writing, and Media. I'll partly contribute that switch to not caring for another chemistry formula or another tedious lab. But, I'll also say that my creative side needed some tending to and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to see whether my passion could turn into something tangible.

When I started writing opinion articles for FSView, I found the value behind letting your writing age, getting an outsiders opinion, and multiple drafts. Throughout each round of edits, I wanted to ensure that I stayed true to my voice as a writer. Then, I began writing web based articles for San Francisco CASA, a nonprofit organization who advocate for the rights of neglected and abused foster youth. Incorporating research and data, finding an appropriate voice for the audience, and uncovering current issues in the foster care community was not an easy task. In fact, it had been completely out of my realm and uncomfortable at times. But as scary as it was to receive constant edits, working with an editor on a consistent basis really furthered my belief that you can't perfect your works on your own.

That is why I think the RWC is such a privilege to FSU. The immediate reaction to the word "critique" almost always involves running in the opposite direction, and understandably so. Having somebody point out where, why, and how something is "wrong", if you will, can mean being vulnerable. There's never much fun in that. I believe that constructive criticism and effective tutoring can change a students negative perspective on the writing process and help alleviate the pressure of perfection.

Tutoring is important for each student so that they understand that their efforts matter. My experiences have helped me learn that it's okay to not be "good enough" the first time around. Everything gets better with a second, third, and fourth draft as long as you're willing to put in the effort. Through the RWC, the university gains students who see the value in communicating their ideas effectively. The university gains stronger writers and thinkers, which are both equally as important within our generation. I'm really excited to put all that I've learned about tutoring and writing to use, so that other students can feel the satisfaction in developing their writing skills as well!

Response-8/26

I’m a strong believer in seeking help when it is needed. It's very easy to try to do something on your own and not get the grade you want or have it come out to your liking. As an English major, I believe I can help other students better their writing skills. With things such as grammar check and other online outlets, students are no longer reaching their possible success capacity but rather are finding things to lean on to complete an assignment and just get by. I believe that a writing center allows students to see beyond what they can currently do and help them get much further. It also serves as a reminder that although writing is seen as a single thing, there are different types of writing. There are very large differences when it comes to writing in a professional or academic setting versus online on social media. To most students, writing in a social setting plays a larger role in our lives. A writing center may help remind a student about these differences and present options to them. 

Personally, I have never gone to the writing center but I do hope that I am able to have an impact on the way students write. I would hope that the students that meet with me, if they don’t already, begin to see writing as an important and enjoyable tool needed in their everyday lives. Writing does not always have to be serious, but it may also spark or influence creativity. Writing to me is a form of self-expression; expressing knowledge, creating new thoughts, and reevaluating old ideas. By becoming a tutor, I hope to be able to remind others of the possibilities that writing can bring and all that it has already given to us. 

Why tutor?

     Tutoring is extremely important because it is a process that enriches the knowledge of both the person being tutored as well as the person who is doing the tutoring. Through the act of explaining, exemplifying, and correcting, you are helping someone learn but you are also realizing aspects of your mental thought processes that you may have never known, and you are improving in all of the things that you are helping this person with by physically pointing them out. I feel that by having a writing center, the university gains this expansion of knowledge to any part of the student body that is involved with this writing center, which is a number that is constantly growing, and what the university is ultimately all about. The writing center is beneficial to everybody because it is a place you can go if you are struggling and need help, or if you are willing to give help to those who struggle. It is a form of support that every student will need eventually, whether they know it yet or not. 

     I have had many instances in which tutoring has helped me out of that bottomless black hole of confusion, although all of my tutoring situations have involved math. Some people excel in different areas, math was never one of them for me. Tutoring had helped me in many situations throughout my educational career, and I am so thankful for the tutoring opportunities that were offered to me. This is why I am ecstatic to be able to pass the same wonderful thing forward through writing. I have always loved to write, and I have always felt that I would enjoy sharing my passion for writing through helping those who may not feel it flow through them as easily. I cannot wait for my first opportunity to tutor someone in writing, and to have the chance to keep the incredible river of educational support flowing. 

Intro to Tutoring

Throughout much of my academic career, I've been known by my peers as "the smart girl." Classmates would see me in class answering questions correctly, or notice my high test grades, and would ask me to help them with their work. I use the word "help" loosely, as much of the time, this help consisted of me doing most of the work, while they either sat idly by and watched or simply copied me step-by-step. I didn't really mind this, since it was always work that I would've had to have completed anyway, and I felt important and intelligent knowing that all my friends (and many non-friends) came to me seeking aid. Sure, they were taking my effort and passing it off as their own, but to be honest, I didn't really care. I had people handing me their math homework at lunch, people gesturing to me from across the room during Spanish tests, people telling me that I could lead the physics group project - all because, in their eyes, I was the brightest and hardest working (not to mention the most easy-going) person in their class.
It was only once I hit senior year in high school that giving away answers began to irk me. Why should my cheating peers be entitled to the same grade as me when I was the one who really earned it? I remember one instance of annoyance in particular, in AP English Lit, when a classmate of mine, who had regularly asked me for "help" over the years, told me she had applied and gained admittance to none other than our own Florida State University. The first thing I thought was: how the hell did this girl get into FSU, one of the top schools in the state, the school that I myself worked so very hard to get into? I couldn't help but think that, if I hadn't carried her through some of the classes we'd shared together, she wouldn't have met FSU's high standards. That may sound conceited, because obviously this girl had to take her own SAT's and write her own application and whatnot, but it really bothered me to think that her transcript showed grades in difficult classes that she hadn't earned honestly. I began to realize that, while this classmate of mine had been wrong to ask for answers in the first place, I had also been wrong to give them away, whether it had been willingly or begrudgingly.
After reading the first two assigned chapters of Longman, I was reminded of this ex-classmate of mine, and I began to wonder if she had ever been forced to attend a tutoring session. All those years of simply copying work, rather than learning to do it herself, probably left her wildly underprepared for college-level material, possibly leading her to her own school's tutoring center. (Side note: she did not end up attending Florida State.) This got me thinking that I was partially to blame for her lack of preparedness; if I hadn't been so lenient with my work, if I had taught her to fish instead of just handing the fish to her, perhaps she would've been better equipped to handle college. I know, in reality, it's not my fault that this girl didn't want to do her own work, and she may very well have found someone else to give her answers if I had refused her, but I can't help feeling partially responsible. I hope that, with this class, I can learn to use my tutoring powers for good instead of evil, and can begin to help my peers with their intellectual process, rather than solely with their final product.

Why tutor? What does the university gain from a writing center?

In high school I spent a lot of time with a good friend that I thought to be very intelligent and had an undying thirst for the enrichment of literature. I chose to spend most of my time with him for obvious reasons, the first being that I viewed myself similar to the way I viewed him- one who cared not only about the ability to write well, but also to only improve upon that ability. As a conversationalist he was well articulated and I felt fueled by his enthusiasm towards literature and creative writing, we seemed to grow as writers and thinkers simply by spending time together. Despite my very particular confidence in writing, this friend was the only person throughout my high school career that I ever went to for a good proofreading.

One particular afternoon I remember picking apart a certain sentence for quite some time, unable to shake the awkward sound it had to it, he pleaded to allow him to have a go and after a few stubborn minutes I handed my computer over. In a short two minutes he stared and saw what I hadn’t seen, the beginning of my sentence needed to be the end and vice versa. This is one of few moments where I felt both surprised and enlightened in a peer-tutoring like setting, despite my confidence I felt excited to have gained a new knowledge- my brain latched on to the process that he very simply explained to me.

In that brief, and what seems like miniscule, moment with a good friend, I recall thinking how intrinsic discussing and sharing writing in intimate situations can be. I’ve found since then that the comfortable environment a tutor can create helps to nurture writers, whether they are confident or withdrawn, tutoring sessions are a setting that helps learning become more accessible and far less stressful than a typical classroom setting.

            The university can gain many things from a writing center, for both the tutors and the tutees. The students gain a comfortable place to go at any stage of the writing process, to leave the barriers that are built between student and teacher in the classroom, and go to a ‘safe-house’ where worry of evaluation is no more. As for the tutors, the process of tutoring is fulfilling, a writer passing on their tools and processes to create a greater community of writers is a worthwhile experience all in itself. 

Why tutor?

I tutored middle school students at my high school's RWC when I was in my junior year and I found it to be a very rewarding experience. What I loved about tutoring was the opportunity to make a difference in the way a student not only approached writing but how he or she viewed writing in general. I was happiest when I was able to inspire something new in a student—a new perspective regarding the subject on which they were writing, a new way of presenting thoughts or information—and witnessing their excitement to continue this new approach with the rest of their projects. I want to continue to tutor in college for this reason as well as to encourage others to find some sort of joy in the writing process. Writing doesn’t have to be stressful or tedious if one takes the time to find what works for him or her and how to approach certain topics. I find that utilizing the viewpoints of those around you and being open to opinion (as long as the opinion is not detrimental to the writer’s very pursuit) can be healthy and refreshing. Sometimes, as a writer, it is difficult to come out of one’s own head and read what has been written from the viewpoint of an outsider; we often supplement what might be missing in our writing with knowledge we already possess but have failed to completely reveal to the reader. To have another opinion can often be a blessing and allow us to be awakened to exactly what we were missing. To have an RWC at this university is a great resource and I am so excited to be able to contribute to the center in some way. I hope to be a help to anyone who needs advice in expressing his or her ideas or just wants a second opinion. This is a great opportunity to not only lend a helping hand to my fellow Noles but to learn something new myself and to hopefully gain the techniques to improve my own writing. There is always something new to learn and always room for improvement. I can’t wait to get started!  

Response 8/26/15

        Throughout my time here at FSU I am sad to say that I have never had any experience with the RWC. That is not to say that I have never needed any help in my writing, or that the RWC is unnecessary. Having a resource in which students can turn to for one-on-one help is truly a blessing, and I only regret that I have not taken full advantage of it for myself. Writing has always been an important form of communication across all fields of studies and disciplines, and it is for this reason that I feel writing is a skill that all college students need a firm understanding of. However, with text-speak, the internet, and sub-par quality of public education in some school districts, I feel some students may enter college without the ability to write at a college level. Professors only have so much time, and can only give so much help to students, that having a resource such as the RWC gives students a chance to improve on their writing when their professors are unable to offer more help.

        In the past I have often been approached by friends and roommates to look at their papers for their classes and offer my feedback. Each and every time, I have been more than happy to lend a helping hand. It may not have been tutoring exactly, but reading something by another student and offering feedback has been very beneficial to the improvement of my own writing. And as an EWM major, writing isn't only important for my field of study, it is something that I enjoy doing and wish to improve upon further. This is one of the things that motivated me the most into taking this course. Because I truly feel that if you want to become a better writer, you have to be able to help other become better writers as well.

Tutoring is essential for improvement when one needs or wants it. The reading and writing center is a place that provides help that is beneficial in the long run. Discussions with a tutor are more helpful than passing a paper to an editor because while an editor will have corrections for a paper, there is no discussion where improvements can be talked about and worked through together.

The reading and writing center benefits both the tutor and student because whilst in discussion about whatever topic, both the tutor and student may gain knowledge about his or her own work. A relationship can also form to where further help down the line can be provided by both the tutor and student. The university inherently promotes interaction between more students by having tutors in the reading and writing center. The reading and writing center becomes a place where people who may be struggling with work can feel comfortable and feel open to criticism of work, which is essential for improvement in writing.

While I have not been to the reading and writing center myself, I have been a tutor and someone who needed a tutor in the past. Getting the necessary help from someone who is there for tutoring specifically is beneficial in that I felt comfortable. College students tend to think down on themselves in certain academics. For instance, I am not gifted artistically. I cannot draw. For one of my classes in the past I would say, “mine is so bad” (we have all said something like this about our own work). When I received help in mathematics, my tutor acknowledged I wasn’t getting things right, but also said I was on the right track, which was better than just receiving marks on a paper.