A Quick Note: Re-Centuring Silence in the Writing Center by Landon Ghast

If you are a tutor or a student who has been to the Writing Center, you should know our mantra, "We are here to talk to writers," from Stephen North's landmark essay, "The Idea of a Writing Center." De- and re-centering the Writing Center through deploying silence as a pedagogical strategy may then seem to be a queer idea. However, silence is as central in our writing center praxis as is talk, and silence is not only prohibitive, but also productive. Silence is not simply the absence of speech, but is itself a speech act that facilitates and mobilizes meaning.

Both students' silences and tutors' silences are central to what we do in the Writing Center. For tutors, we have to know when to talk and when to be silent and to listen; we cannot listen to students' talk if we are talking over them. A tutor's silence, then, can indicate engagement with what a student is saying. Additionally, a tutor's silence can allow a student time to consider, question, and reflect during a session. A student's silence can also indicate such considering, questioning, and reflecting is occurring, although it may also indicate disengagement from a session. In any case, listening to students' silences can be productive for tutors in assessing how a session is working for and against students' desire to talk about their writing. Students' silences can be a way for students to talk back to tutors during our sessions.

First Draft: Taking That Important Step by Angie Steineman

Writing those first words of an essay—or any type of writing—can seem like trying to climb a mountain and having no idea of where to begin. It can be daunting staring at the assignment sheet that you have read at least twenty times but still do not understand. However, as Anne Lamott states in the above quote, getting something on the page is imperative, but first you must choose what you are going to write about. The basic steps listed below can help get you started.

·      The writing prompt from your professor should guide you regarding the topic of your paper. Begin thinking of possibilities as soon as the assignment is given. No matter how fast of a writer you believe yourself to be, procrastination is not your friend. At least think about the project. Do not hesitate to ask your professor for clarification or help. As always, please feel free to come to the Writing Center for assistance as well. We love to help writers brainstorm!

·      Once the subject of your paper is chosen, you may or may not already have a thesis statement in mind. Researching the topic can help support your thesis, or you may discover something different to write about. Giving yourself enough time in the drafting process allows for the possibility that you might switch topics or position.

·      Organization of a paper looks different to each writer. Some create outlines first. Others have to have all of their sources before they can begin. Some have pages and pages of notes. Find what works for you but remember that it is okay for this part of the process to change depending on the project.

·      Begin writing. Easy as that, right? Not always, but sometimes even writing down your thesis statement or, “This essay is about…” at the top of the page (to be deleted later) can jumpstart the writing process.

Appreciating the purpose of a first draft can help reduce the anxiety of writing. A rough draft is not the final product. This is your chance to make mistakes, take risks, be daring and try something new. The most important thing to do is give yourself enough time for revision. First drafts are supposed to be messy and imperfect so that you can revise your paper into a finely crafted piece of work that you can submit with confidence.

You can come to the Writing Center at any time during your writing process. Remember, we are writers as well, so we understand your concerns and struggles. We are here for you!

           

Visualize Your Data by Tamara Norris

 After a six-year break from schooling, I have been introduced to data visualization tools and it has changed how I look at the texts I read. As data visualization becomes more prevalent in the classroom, please feel free to come to the Writing Center for help on creating or working with these new learning tools. To avoid making this post unbearably long, I will focus on one data visualization website (Voyant Tools) that is both fun, unique, and offers multiple data viz applications.

Words clouds are a common form of data viz—Hamlet is my sample text in this word cloud. So, how do we use word clouds to view our texts? First step is to add any stop words (I, me, you, said, etc.) that may muddle up what you are trying to find. For me, I was looking for words that may show me a theme that I may not have noticed before in Hamlet. Therefore, I removed all character’s name from the text. As you can see, the most prominent words are lord, good, come, father, and love. We can then take a closer look at these words in the texts. Lord, for example, is not only Hamlet’s title, but can also refer to the religious figure. Since, Hamlet battles his faith throughout the play, it is easy to take the word lord and make it fit into the theme of religion as heaven, god, and soul are all visible words in this cloud. This tool is useful in noticing words that you may have taken for granted while reading. What words do you find as outliers here? What is their significance? All these questions should come to mind while using data visualization tools.

While I find data visualization a new concept, I too am learning how to maneuver around them as well as use them to my benefit.  Another awesome data viz that I used to examine Hamlet is called Topics. It is a list words that are grouped together and can be used to distinguish certain themes in a text using words groups. I highlighted a group of words in blue as an example. The words in this group consist of; love, mother, soul, madness. All great words to consider when looking at Hamlet. This data visualization is a great way to start to think about a literary analysis for any novel that you are unfamiliar with. For example, I would look at the highlighted words and think to myself: what do these words have in common? And, how do these words work in the text? When it comes to Hamlet, the entire play revolves around his wavering sanity as he battles his love for his mother and distain for her actions after his father’s murder. If you weren’t familiar with Hamlet or have a hard time understanding Shakespeare, then the previous sentence may not have come to your mind. Luckily for you, data visualizations are making it easier for us visual learners to see things in a way that is both helpful and fun.

The next time you are having trouble finding a topic for a literary studies paper take a moment to play around with data visualization websites. Voyant Tools is such a great website that offers multiple visualizations that can help you understand a text in a new way. Give it a try, you can even use Hamlet and comment any new trends you may have found. It is a great way to start a literary conversation and notice things that may have been overlooked in the past. If you don’t understand data visualization, the Writing Center is here to help you use these tools for your benefit. They are even great tools to start brainstorming for a paper you have to write.

            

Fear of the Writing Center & Why You Should Overcome It by Sam Poorman

The Writing Center is full of wonderful tools that should be utilized by writers at any stage of the writing process and at any grade level. Despite knowing how helpful the tutors in the Writing Center are, many students refuse to walk into the room and ask for the assistance they need. What is it that holds students back? Fear, mostly.

It may come as a surprise, but many of us that work in the Writing Center understand this fear on a personal level. I was an undergraduate student here at EIU and not once did I enter the Writing Center even though it was in the same hallway as all of my classes for two years. My fear of being judged and thought of as unintelligent by a room full of graduate students kept me from seeking help with my work no matter how badly I needed it. My fear was irrational, but knowing that as fact did not change how consuming it was. 

I was a transfer student from not only another school, but also an entirely different major. Writing well was not something I had ever truly concerned myself with, and I was never taught to think critically, which is an important skill for any postsecondary-education student. Moral of the story, I was extremely unprepared. I had numerous assignments where I had to pick an essay topic from a list of 5-10 ideas that the instructor had handed out. I had absolutely no idea which one to pick or why I should feel inspired by one over all the others. This time of confusion and indecision would have been a great time to enter the Writing Center. I would have walked in, given my information, and met with a tutor that was not only willing to help me, but excited about doing it. The session would have likely gone something like this:

Hey, how are you doing today?”

“I’m doing okay, struggling with this assignment a little bit though. I have to pick a topic from this list of ideas and then write a close-text analysis. I don’t know what topic to pick and I don’t know what a close-text analysis is.”

“Okay, I would love to help you out with that. Can I take a look at the list you got? ...Now that I have seen the list, let’s talk about what the assignment is and go from there. I struggled the first time I had to write a close-text analysis, too. This is my understanding of it….”

_____________________________________________________________________

This would have been the start of a very beneficial 30-minute session. The tutor would have helped me understand what a close-text analysis was and then, time permitting, asked me about the topics and if I had any ideas about what I wanted to accomplish with this paper. Being asked these questions is important. The environment is less stressful than if I were to take these concerns to my professor. My professor would have gladly helped me understand the concept of the assignment, but would they have wanted to help me develop my topic idea? Maybe, maybe not. The point of the assignment is that I pick a topic and make the paper my own. That is hard to accomplish when a professor may distance their feedback so they don’t feel like they are leading you to a topic or writing the paper for you. This would be less of a concern in the Writing Center because I wouldn’t be told what the tutor would do if it was their assignment. I would be led through the assignment by answering important questions about the book itself and the ideas that already interested me. 

This hypothetical session would have ended with me getting tips for furthering my brainstorming process and being given a handout with tips and tricks for getting through the whole writing process, not just the part I was on then. I likely would have made an appointment or come back when I was finished with my draft to see if my paragraphs had smooth transitions and if my thesis statement was strong enough for the topic I chose. These are the kinds of things the tutors are in the Writing Center for, not to judge or demean the students who have the courage to walk through the door. 

I missed out on a great opportunity as an undergraduate student here, and I don’t want anyone else to miss out, too. The room may look daunting and the tutors sitting at the tables may seem like they just wouldn’t understand your struggles with writing, but that simply is not the case. We are still students, we are still learning, and we still struggle. I want you to see this room as it is—a place where you come to enter into some great collaborative work with a fellow student who wants to share in your interests and help you achieve your goals.

If you have any questions about what all the Writing Center can do or even when we’re open, go here.

Come see us! You won’t regret it.

Recipe Tasting and Writing: The Benefits of Writing Practice by Brandi Gard

Writing is a sort of moving target. It moves in ways that are chosen by professors and assignment sheets and styles. Writing is daunting and more than often challenging to even an experienced writer. As a graduate student, I still struggle with writing those terrifying essays known by even scarier monikers: “critical essay,” “research essay,” and so on. Writing with a bent on the analytical and the logical is difficult. Most students know this, sure, but perhaps more threatening than those papers which will rest cozily among other academic pieces are creative pieces. Writing is hard, but creative writing is harder.

The skills useful in academic writing can be learned. They can be polished like stones smoothed shiny. Skills like researching, organizing information, synthesizing and summarizing texts and reforming them to fit an essay can be acquired after diligent practice. These skills cannot be mastered instantly like the making of a perfect cup of ramen. However, like instant ramen, academic writing does follow a series of steps. You begin with an idea, add well thought out research and textual analysis, cover with an easily understandable organizational structure and clear grammar, cook with as many drafts and re-drafts as it takes to make your essay palatable to your audience, and serve.

If academic writing is the ramen of the writing world, then creative writing is like Japanese cuisine—the recipe is rarely followed without adaptation. Of course, the skills used in creating a research essay can be used in a work of fiction or poetry. In fact, drafting, grammatical clarity, and some semblance of organization are all needed in an academic piece as much as in a creative piece. But creative writing requires a breaking of the rules of a recipe. Like a chef using exotic seasoning, it’s up to the creative writer to experiment with different styles and forms of expression.

So where does that leave the student? Some students find even making instant ramen difficult (as dorm fire alarms can attest to), so how can they ever hope to follow those recipes which writing is built on? The answer is simple. Like any skill, writing (and cooking) requires practice. It requires reading, reading, reading, as well as trying new things. Like testing recipes, mastering writing (any writing) requires false starts, disastrous results, and practice, practice, practice.

And how do you test those finished recipes? Taste testers, of course! And if you find that your friends and family are unwilling to savor your new and maybe less than tasty writing (or they don’t have much advice for ways to improve your writing), there are other options. At the Writing Center (3110 Coleman Hall) you can find friendly restaurant critics willing to sample your cuisine—whether creative or academic—and offer unbiased opinions as to how to improve the taste of your writing.

It's Not Personal: Constructive Criticism Will Make You a Better Writer by Ashley Flach

I’m writing you now as a reformed closet writer. For years I would scribble in my notebook and shove it under my bed always convinced it was the biggest piece of trash that ever came into existence. This worked fine for me until I began an undergraduate degree in English. Once I walked through the doors of academia, everything I wrote came back to me with a multitude of suggestions on how I could improve. Instead of taking this positively by understanding that someone was taking the time to critique my work out of belief in my ability, I took it to heart and felt personally attacked. In some sense, everything we write is an extension of ourselves, and when we feel that is being rejected it hurts, bad.

           My second semester as an undergraduate, I enrolled in an English research class, and the professor was a known stickler. She spoke her mind, never coddled anyone, and ruthlessly ripped papers apart. She was all about scholarly writing, and, in her mind, all of us were scholarly writers in training. She sent my first major research paper back to me riddled with, what felt to me, borderline hostile comments. As a whole, I summed them up in my brain as, “How stupid can you be, dummy? You’ll never make it in this field.” I cried. I wallowed. I decided good writing was like an elusive unicorn that I would never be able to catch. I figured English just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t do it. 

I remained in this state for quite some time. Then during our weekly Tuesday night Skype sessions, she said something that changed my perspective. She told us, “Listen, my colleagues and I rip each other’s writing apart and then we go have drinks afterwards. It’s not personal. It’s about challenging each other to be better writers.” Wait, it wasn’t personal? She wasn’t attacking or questioning my reasons for existing or telling me I didn’t have a place within the English discourse community? That night, I literally felt my spine stiffen. I decided from that moment whatever she threw at me I would gladly take. I wouldn’t back down or allow my insecurities to consume me. I would take the criticism and use it to make myself a better writer. I would believe that if she took the time to rip my paper apart it’s because she cared and believed in my ability to grow. 

When you receive a paper from a professor and it’s littered with comments, don’t panic. First of all, that professor is probably busy as all get out, but he/she still took the time to give your paper individualized attention. That’s because you have something to work with. You have good and strong ideas that can become even better and stronger. Basically, you do belong in your discourse community, and the important thing is not to lose sight of your goals. You’re here for a reason, and it’s not always going to be rainbows and sunshine. It’s a hard fact, but it’s the truth. We all take some knocks, but it makes us stronger and motivates growth. 

So, the main point to take away here is, don’t be afraid to share your writing and never fear constructive criticism. At EIU’s Writing Center, we all have stories like the one I laid out. We’ve all been crushed with hopelessness that our writing just isn’t good enough. But, that’s not true. It’s the insecurity taking over. Stiffen your spine. Bring your marked up paper in and a tutor will go through the comments with you and help give you perspective. Or, even better, bring your paper in before you turn it in and whatever tutor’s available will take the time to look it over with you and help you address any concerns you have. Even better yet, bring in a rubric for a writing assignment, and we will help you brainstorm.  

EIU’s Writing Center is dedicated to supporting and helping create better writers. We will give you honest and caring feedback at whatever stage of the writing process you are in, and we will encourage you to stay positive and keep moving forward. At the end of the day, what else is there to do but continue to move forward? Don’t allow yourself to be beaten down. Be confident in your ability as a writer, know you have something worthy to say, and, most importantly, find a way to be okay with understanding you have room to grow.  

Those Who Come Shall Be Comforted By Nathan Crews

At our orientation day for the writing center at Eastern Illinois University, I confessed early on that I felt overwhelmingly nervous about having to show students how to improve their writing and suspected I was wholly inadequate to tutor. I had not had a writing center at my undergraduate university. I had never even visited a writing center. In my mind, there was no way I could live up to the task before me. The directors heard me out and let me talk through my fears. Then they reassured me—“you will be fine.” That comfort was followed by the best news of the day. They were not, in fact, expecting me to be superman or to know everything about the entire English language. This sounds a bit stupid, but I did think I was supposed to know everything about writing and grammar and the entire English language. I thought I had to know every little detail about proper MLA citations on papers or every single instance a comma should be inserted or deleted. Before my directors gave any advice on what to do or how to do it, they comforted me and helped me to settle down.

My first day as a writing center tutor laid the blueprint for how all other sessions were to go. I came to the writing center and opened myself up about the ways I felt uncomfortable or insecure. I was quickly comforted in my insecurity and given some direction that made me feel more at ease. We do this all the time. This is essentially one of the points of the writing center—comforting students when they are exasperated, talking with students about their apprehensions. Students constantly come into the writing center feeling uneasy, with questions about their papers or their overall writing styles. At the start of a tutoring session, there is always a bit of awkwardness because students are laying their mistakes and insecurities bare in front of someone who they perceive is more knowledgeable than they are. This is an act of vulnerability and wisdom. It is pretty rare that we do this in our life, admit our shortcomings and seek help. Yet, we almost always find comfort in our distress when we do this. A lot of people don’t feel confident in their writing. A lot of English majors don’t feel comfortable in their writing. The beauty of a writing center is that it is there to provide comfort and guidance.

So much of what tutors do in the writing center do is emotional reassurance. “Yes, you have strong ideas here. I love the way you wrote this here.” We also deliver constructive thoughts gracefully. As a reader, this is a bit confusing. How can we make this better? A common feeling among students who leave writing center sessions is relief. I realized a day or two ago that I end every tutoring session with the question, “How do you feel about this paper?” I don’t ask, do you think this paper is good? Do you think this paper is going to get a good grade? I am always asking if students are feeling more confident in their abilities, more attuned to their personal style, less anxious about the process of writing a paper.

There are many reasons to come to the EIU writing center, but finding some comfort in the difficult process of writing a single collegiate paper is one of the best ones. The writing center is not for people who are bad at writing, it is for everyone who is seeking some reassurance. There are grad students who come to the writing center. There are tutors who ask to do sessions with other tutors. Admitting our vulnerabilities and asking for guidance is a good principle for life, but at the very least, it is a great idea for writing. If you find yourself stuck and frustrated, holding back tears in the library or at Starbucks surrounded by a bunch of old men and junior high students or in front of your roommate’s cat, come to room 3110 in Coleman hall to the writer center. We will ask you the first question we ask everyone—"What can I do to help you?"

Helpful Tips to Manage Stress by Connor York

Dealing with stress is easier said than done, but there are several steps you can take to put your mind and body at ease.  

Your mind has a lot to do with stress in your life whether it is school related or if it is personal. Regardless, any situation can cause you to go into panic mode. Stress is normal, but an excessive amount of stress can affect you, mentally and physically.  

The first step to trying to put your mind at ease is accept that you cannot control everything. By doing this, it can help you focus on things you do have control of such as, procrastination or not getting enough sleep.  

Another step to alleviating stress is to stop aiming for perfection; it’s not possible to achieve and you should be proud of however close you got. The best way to maintain a healthy mind is to try to remain positive in a stressful situation—try to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. If you know what triggers stress in your life, that’s a start. It’s always a good thing to recognize the issue. A good way to help ease whatever is going through your mind is to write it down in a journal. If that doesn’t work for you, find some way to lessen the stress in your life whether it’s by napping, taking a walk, or beginning a new hobby. Just try to do something for you.  

What a lot of people don’t realize is your body has a lot to do with your stress levels. The best way to lighten stress is to get a good night sleep. Yes, again, easier said than done, but when your body is stressed, it needs additional sleep and rest. Take a moment for yourself and relax. What goes hand-in-hand with sleep, is the food you put in your body. Eating a well-balanced meal and keeping energy-boosting snacks can lead to a clearer mind. Another way to help balance stress is to try to work out. Even if it’s for thirty minutes or less, taking the time for yourself can help put your mind at ease.  

If you are struggling with how to manage stress, it is okay to reach out to someone. Talking to someone can help relieve weight off of your shoulders and improve the way your mind works. A lot of times humans just need to blow off steam. Remember to take some time for yourself whether that means watching Netflix, working out, or learning relaxation techniques. It’s okay to not be perfect, it’s the imperfections that make us who we are.  

School assignments are stressful. Take advantage of EIU’s Writing Center to help ease the stress that comes with writing papers. If you feel stuck in any part of the writing process, come to The Writing Center to receive assistance. The tutors collaborate with students for a variety of issues such as citations, grammar, proofreading, brainstorming, etc.  

If you are feeling overwhelmed, take advantage of the Health and Counseling Services on EIU’s campus, and talk to someone about your struggles. It’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to need to ask for help. If you or someone you know has any questions about stress or other mental health issues feel free to contact the HERC at (217) 581-7786. If you would like to talk to someone soon please make an appointment with the Health & Counseling Services: Counseling Clinic, 217-581-3413.