Writing centers structure and function

Writing Centers in
Universities: A Gateway for
Excellence in Scholarly
Writing and International
Publishing
Dr. Ahmed-Refat A.G Refat
Professor of Public Health, FOM, ZU, Egypt
Presented in
1

‫و‬ ‫الكتابة‬ ‫مراكز‬‫العلمي‬ ‫التحرير‬
‫الدولي‬ ‫النشر‬ ‫و‬ ‫األكاديمي‬ ‫للتميز‬ ‫كبوابة‬
2Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019)

Writing Centers in Universities:
A Gateway for Excellence in Scholarly Writing
Introduction:
The idea of
"Writing Centers"
Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019) 3

Objectives:
(1) To identify the
current situation of
"writing centers" in
Egyptian universities.Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019) 4

Objectives:
(2) To explore the
different models of
"writing centers" in
international universities.

Objectives:
(3) To present a
“Proposed Model”
that can be applied to
Egyptian universities.

‫الكتابة‬ ‫مراكز‬‫و‬‫العلمي‬ ‫التحرير‬
‫األكاديمي‬ ‫للتميز‬ ‫كبوابة‬‫الدولي‬ ‫النشر‬ ‫و‬

Rejection Wall
• Research
Process
Needs: 3Ms
• Writing
the report/
article/thesis
Needs: Soft
Skills • International
Publishing
Getting …Rank,
Prestige,
& Image of
Excellence
8
R
e
j
e
c
t
i
o
n
Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019)

There are Four major reasons for
rejection of
manuscripts, one of them is:
The English was poor.
“Incomprehensible”
Starkschall G (2011) Editorial: why was my manuscript rejected? J Appl Clin Med Phys 12(1):1–2

Academic Writing
1. Cover
Letters
2. Personal
Statements
3. Protocols .
4. Review,
5. Report,
6. Proposals
7. Thesis,
8. Essay ,
9. C.V Writing
10.………….

Scholarly Writing
• S. W. standards :
•avoid bias,
•incorporate evidence, and
•create a strong argument.
• S. W. features:
•concise,
•precise, and
•clear language.

Scholarly Writing
Both the content and the formatting of
the document are equally important .
A. Content ( discipline-specific).
B. Format :
» Organization
» Grammar & Punctuation
» Style

Writing
Writing is an essential
lifelong learning skill
needed for both scholarly
and professional
communication

My manuscript got rejected due to
poor English. What should I do?
To challenge this problem, you can:
1. Request help from friends whose first
language is English or,
2. Consider using professional editing
services or,
3. Consult the writing center in your
university if it has one.

What is the
Writing
Center? 15Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019)

University of North Carolina
an academic service that provides :
• writing assistance for students,
faculty, and staff.
• offers both face-to-face and online
consultations,
• and production of online resources
for writers and educators. 16Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019)

Writing Center - work with ……………..
students, faculty, and staff
on any writing project
at any point in the writing process,
helping them to become more skillful,
flexible writers.

The Writing Center shares in
the University’s
mission
to serve as a center for scholarship,
creative work, and public service.

History
&
Evolution
19
« Writing Centers »

…..originating in the USA in
reaction to the ‘literacy crisis’
of the mid 1970s,
more recently, they have
become popular in Europe and,
now, the Middle East.
20

• Based on its effectiveness and
value , many universities
holding more than one center
, for example,
•University of Toronto
operating
14 W. centers in its campus

Evolution of WC
• From peripheral to Central
• From department to faculty,
then to a central location in the
university
• From One-Man-Show to a Well
Organized Academic Service.

Evolution of WC
An Example from
Wisconsin
University

WC- Wisconsin University
Established in 1966 at
first with name
“Writing Lab”
a part of the English
Program .

In the late 80s the title
changed from
“Writing Lab”
to
“Writing Center”

In 1994,
the “Writing Center” was
merged with
Student Support Services.

In 2008, the WC became a
core part of a university-
wide initiative called
Writing Across the
Curriculum (WAC)

WC-Wisconsin University
In 2011, the “Writing
Center” moved to a great
central location for
Wisconsin University-wide
service .

Rationales for
establishing and
Sponsoring of
“WRITING CENTERS”

Rationales for establishing and
Sponsoring “WRITING CENTERS”- cont’
1. Motivate and support
student to gain soft skills
of lifelong learning,
critical thinking, creativity
and collaboration. 30Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019)

Sponsoring “WRITING CENTERS” - cont’
2. Promote academic
excellence through
familiarity with
international standards
of the writing process.31Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019)

Sponsoring “WRITING CENTERS” - cont’
3. Create and update
innovative writing
materials and
services .

Sponsoring “WRITING CENTERS”- cont’
4. Build professional
affiliations with
international and
regional writing centers

Sponsoring “WRITING CENTERS”
Writing centers is an
“add value”
to a university .

« Writing Center »
35
Services

1 .Tutoring “one-to-one”
tutoring method.
2. Small-group workshops.
3. Production of guidelines
/ handouts .
36
Services of Writing Centers

One-to-One Tutoring

38
Learning Approach

“WRITING CENTER” usually adopt
the following approaches
• Student-Centered Services
• One-to-one setting Tutorials.
• Tutors are coaches not teachers.
• The student’s needs is the focus of
the tutorial.
• Trial and practice are encouraged.

• The Writers' Center staff does
not write students' papers.
• Instead, they help students
become more aware of their
writing strengths and
weaknesses
40

•Not an editing or
proofreading service,
•Not a place just for
"bad" writers.
41
Writing Center service is

WC is a
gym - like place
where one go to stay in shape ,
rather than a hospital
where one needs to go only in
an emergency.
42

43
Services
Under-
Graduate
Graduate

44
Tutoring
On-Site On-Line

45
Online Tutoring
Synchronous
in real time
Asynchronous
such as email

46
Services….
Handouts &
Guidelines

International
Writing Centers
Association (IWCA)

http://writingcenters.org/

European Writing Centers
Association EWCA

Middle East –North Africa W C Alliance
MENAWCA

52
Current Situation in
Egyptian Universities

Number of WCs in Arabic Countries
54
Country
Number of Writing
Centers
United Arab Emirates 7
Qatar 6
Kingdom Saudi Arabia 4
Lebanon 3
Algeria 2
Kiewit 2
Oman 2
Egypt 1
Iraq 1
Morocco 1Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019)

55
Only Three WCs in
Egyptian Universities

60
Key Personnel
Tutors Director

Writing Center
Tutors
•Coach
•Facilitator
•Mentor
•Advisor
•Consultant
•Assistant

Writing Center tutors
The majority of Writing
Center’s writing coaches are
undergraduate and
graduate students
from a wide variety of
academic disciplines.

George Mason University

Writing Center tutors
• They receive extensive training in
teaching writing one on one.
• New graduate coaches undergo
more than 40 hours of preparation
at the start of the fall semester,
• All coaches receive ongoing training
and supervision.

Student & Tutor
A 25-minute session you can expect to:
• Ask specific questions about writing
practices.
• Get feedback on a couple of key issues (e.g.
better ways to organize your writing &
identify major grammatical concerns)
• Walk away with a better sense of direction
and more confidence in your writing
process 65Dr. Ahmed-Refat AG Refat , ZU (2019)

Writing Center tutors can
1. Showing how to locate and correct your most
common errors.
2. Asking to identify sentences or phrases that sound
uncomfortable .
3. Offering suggestions for proofreading your papers
on your own.
4. Consulting reference books and/or online
resources.
5. Providing help sheets for common grammatical
mistakes.

Coaching Session
• Comment on global issues .
• Mark selected areas for style and
convention problems, as needed
• Draw attention to and ask questions
about assignment guidelines
• Make suggestions using the comment
function of Microsoft Word
• Provide advice for further steps.

Who will direct
the center
and what
qualifications
should that person have?

The Director
Many directors start with little
or no experience, but a center
will be started more
effectively by someone with a
background in the
teaching of writing
•

Writing Center Director
Longwood University in Virginia
required the director to hold
a Master’s Degree.
Terminal Degree desired in Rhetoric and
Composition, English, ESL Education

DIRECTOR OF WRITING CENTER
71
WORKING TITLE:
Director of Writing Center
and Writing Across the
Curriculum
OFFICIAL TITLE:
PROFESSOR(C20NN) or ASSOCIATE
PROFESSOR(C30NN)
HIRING DEPARTMENT(S):
A482400-COL OF LETTERS &
SCIENCE/ENGLISH/ENGLISH
ANTICIPATED BEGIN DATE: AUGUST 19, 2019
DEGREE AND AREA OF
SPECIALIZATION:
Ph.D. in Composition-Rhetoric, English,
or related area

Writing Center Director
• UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON ……for
the year 2019 with the following qualification
OFFICIAL TITLE:
• PROFESSOR or
• ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR.

73
Examples

74
Univ. of Vermont

Center for Writing Excellence
http://miamioh.edu/hcwe/

http://www.buffalo.edu/writing.html

U of Wisconsin
https://www.uwec.edu/writing-center/

Center for Excellence in Writing
Florida Int. University

University of California
http://www.writingcenter.uci.edu/

University of California

Roadmap
for Starting a
Writing Center

Steps for Starting a Writing Center
Develop answers to the following questions:
• What will be the mission and philosophy?
• What will the policies of the center be?
• Where will the center be located?
• Who will direct the center? To whom will
that person report?
• Who will staff it?
• How will they be trained? By whom?
• How will the staff be evaluated? By whom?
• How will records be kept?

A Proposed
Model of
Management
Structure

• Operational steps must be taken to
establish "writing centers" in the
Egyptian governmental universities to
fill the current gap , as well as, to go
with the international community in
this field. The presented model may
provide the first step in this issue.

Dr. Ahmed-Refat
zjohs@yahoo.com
www.SlideShare.net/AhmedRefat
Thank You
90

Writing centers structure and function

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