The Coe Writing Center and the Coe Writing Program
A few words about the Coe Writing Program. In 1984 Coe's faculty adopted a new curriculum that put in place a formal Writing-Across-the-Curriculum program (WAC). This WAC program places the responsibility for writing instruction on faculty in all disciplines. The idea is that faculty will introduce writing assignments in many different classes, often identified as Writing Emphasis (WE). Rather than relying on one or more first-year composition classes, the curriculum is designed to strengthen academic writing skills by providing students with many writing situations in many classes. Coe offers about 200 WE courses per year (including the First-Year Seminar sections), taught by over 70 different instructors.
The role of the Writing Center is to support the WAC program by assisting students with their writing assignments. One fundamental WAC principle is that writers benefit from multiple readers--different readers provide different styles of assistance in helping writers learn how to read and revise their own work. The task of the Coe Writing Center is to offer student writers an outsider's opinion on an assignment or a paper. By working with a CWC staff member, students should discover new ways of improving their skills as thinkers and writers.
This kind of consulting requires complex skills and can often be frustrating. Some papers are difficult to comprehend, some students can also be difficult. Many student writers become defensive as they protect their texts from alien readers. Fortunately for us, and for the majority of students using our services, the Writing Center often proves to be a rewarding and satisfying environment. We have helped many students make significant gains in their reading and writing skills; in the process we also gain insight into personalities, the nature of the writing process, and the dynamics of teaching through conferences.
Everyone who has worked in the Writing Center will testify that the only way to learn how to be a consultant is to do it. The skills can only be honed by experience. Self-confidence will come as you begin to have successful conferences. Nonetheless, Pasteur was certainly right when he suggested that chance favors the prepared mind. The purpose of this Handbook (and of the Topics in Composition course required for Writing Center staff members) is to increase the likelihood of your preparation leading to success.
"Forget grammar and think potatoes." --Gertrude Stein
