MU Writing Center Annual Report 2021-2022

MU WRITING CENTER 2021-22

Annual Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter from our Director

Our Mission

Our Year in Brief

Usage: 2021-2022

Usage: Fall 2021

Usage: Spring 2022

Usage: Summer 2022

Usage on Breaks

Academic Level Usage Subject Areas Usage

Graduate Writing Support Writing Center Outreach Abstract Review Support

Overall Student Feedback

Selected Student Feedback Writing Center Recognition News Coverage

Bonnie Zelenak Excellence in Tutoring Award

Tutor Achievements

Elaine Hocks Memorial Scholarship

How to Exit the Writing Center

Welcome, Bailey Boyd!

Tutor Training Course Syllabus

Tutor List

FROM OUR DIRECTOR

Welcome back for another year of Writing Center annual report news!

The 2021-2022 academic year was filled—sometimes overfilled, if I’m honest—with new moments. As I write this version of the Director’s Letter, I’m only just now realizing that the WC turned 45 this year. Meanwhile, the Online Writery (TONY, to our users) turned 27 and was updated to version 6.0! In both cases, it was with more of a whisper than a celebratory exclama tion.

I want to present the quiet stuff first, so we can end with fireworks. MU is currently in the process of restructuring the units in the division of Undergraduate Studies. This year found the Writing Center “promoted” to a new institutional position as a free-standing office, as opposed to a program under the Learning Center umbrella. While this change has institutional effects, the students we serve saw no appreciable interruption—as it should be. We also began this year without an Assis tant Director. As the restructuring continued, we were able to fill that position during the spring semester—welcome, Bailey Boyd!—and were further able to increase that historically 9-month position to a year-round one. You’ll find more specifics on those changes later in this report as well.

We did celebrate some other events more loudly than others. In the following pages, you’ll find out that our WC usage num bers are climbing up from the pandemic-related dip. In multiple weeks of the semester, we saw an equal or higher amount of synchronous writing tutoring sessions to asynchronous Online Writery submissions. For context, that hasn’t occurred in our data since at least 2018. We credit both new collaborations with departments and classes and the continued return from remote semesters with the overall increase.

You’ll also see that for the first time in Writing Center history, we were gifted a named, endowed scholarship to support our wonderful tutors, in honor of our second Director, Dr. Elaine Hocks. You’ll find the inaugural group of awardees later in this report.

As we look forward to ‘22-’23, I’m so pleased to get to share this future with the wonderful new team members, collabora tors, and most of all, the students we get to work with.

See you next year,

Aaron Harms

OUR MISSION

As writing tutors, we should have not only an expert command of the craft of writing, but also an ability to use both the compass and the razor. That may sound like a strange meta phor to use in tutoring writing, but it means that effective tutors must be able to see a paper from both the writer’s and the reader’s perspective. Our job is not to “fix” student essays according to our own sense of what constitutes good writing, but to help the writers deter mine what they want to say and recognize the array of writing choices available to them. The critical razor is the editor’s tool, but the best tutors know how to survey others’ writing with the compass oriented toward the student’s own north and south.

And so, we approach each student draft as if it was a foreign country or town they have nev er visited. What sort of place is this? Who lives here? Which ways are their north and south, their mountains and rivers, their post office and town commons? What are their languages? Their customs? Their values? We explore, and orient ourselves like mapmakers—applying the compass. Only then, when we feel we know something about the place from the inside, do we consider sitting down to discuss ideas for further landscaping.

Translated into practical terms, in a writing tutorial, this comes down to a humble and gen uine respect on the tutor’s part for even the least accomplished draft. Every piece of writing has its own topography, its own values, which the tutor needs to understand before under taking to help the writer fix it. No draft is ever intended as a prototype of the finished piece the tutor could imagine.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that we advocate for completely abandoning the razor. But we use it alongside the compass. Indeed, none of us can hope to be really useful to the writers we work with if we limit ourselves to one or the other. The razor is forged from our practical skill in the craft—a crucial part of our credentials; we need its mental sharpness when we think about another writer’s work. But every good tutor values the compass just as highly, knowing that successful tutorials demand a good deal more than technical expertise. At the MU Writing Center, the razor and the compass are part of what we mean when we insist that all of the people we work with are writers as truly as we are ourselves: like us, they are worthy of both.

Adopted from former Online Writery Director Dr. Greg Foster’s “The Razor & The Compass”

MU WRITING CENTER

OUR YEAR IN BRIEF

A Year in Brief: Percentages Edition

We saw a .4% increase in the total hours of work our tutors accomplished, (but)

We saw a 21% increase in the number of individual students served!

Probably in conjunction, we saw a 123% increase in our outreach contacts!

And, while our Graduate student usage declined by 18% (to 3,123), Our Undergraduate student usage grew by almost 9% (to 8,882).

And, although we love the Online Writery, face-to-face sessions increased by 50% (to 3,499)!

We managed all of this with 50% of our professional staff and 67% of our normal tutoring staff.

One of the continued hallmarks of our Online Writery, in print and in our presentations, is that “we never close,” that we’re open “24/7/365.” We maintain this schedule primarily in order to support students who may be taking online self-paced courses, working on applications or conference submissions, or in particular, gradu ate students who are working on larger projects. We also receive

requests from instructors who teach break-based courses to assist with their students’ writing assignments. This means some of our staff spend a good deal of their time working when the rest of our staff is “on break.” While we report these numbers as part of their associated semesters in the prior pages, the work during specific breaks is below.

SUBJECT

In addition to receiving direct funding from the MU Graduate School for Graduate Writing Support programming, the Writing Center also collaborates with the College of Education & Human Devel opment and the Master of Public Health program. We break down both overall, cross-campus GWS support and particular support to those students above. In the case of both Education and Public Health, their funding supports both graduate students enrolled in their programs as well as those graduate students taking classes from their programs.

In addition to course-based writing tasks, we also assist with what we call General Writing, which in cludes both thesis and dissertation documents as well as journal articles or presentations. You’ll also see below that we support Application Materials. That includes CVs, personal,

research, and diversity statements as well as any Fellowship (NSF/GRFP, etc.) application packages.

GRADUATE

WRITING CENTER OUTREACH

The ‘21-’22 academic year saw the Writing Center perform 128 hours of outreach to the greater MU community. Many outreach presentations occur in classrooms by Writing Center tutors, who walk students through who they might find at the Writing Center, how Writing Center tutors work with their writing, and how they might utilize Writing Center services. Some of our Out reach hours this year also included talking to the Mizzou community on Lowry Mall during the National Day on Writing Celebration on October 20, 2022, and tabling at the Spring Undergraduate Research & Creative Achievements Forum on April 18 & 19, 2022. The Writing Center also presented to the FIG Peer Learning Advisors in May, and to graduate students in the Sinclair School of Nursing PhD/DNP Program in June.

Undergraduate

April 18-19,

OUTREACH

In Spring 2022, the Writing Center, along with the Campus Writing Program, collaborated with the Office of Undergraduate Research to review, evaluate, and provide feedback on research abstracts and artist statements submitted for the Spring Undergraduate Research & Creative Achievements Forum. Writing Center tutors attended a training hosted by the Office of Un dergraduate Research before reviewing 4-6 anonymous abstracts each. In total, the Writing Center tutors reviewed an aggregate of 182 abstracts and statements. We also hosted a table at the Spring Undergraduate Research & Creative Achievements Forum Poster Presentation on April 18th and 19th, 2022.

We plan to continue the collaboration for the Spring Undergraduate Research & Creative Achievements Forum in Spring 2023. In Sum mer 2022, as research for the review process in Spring 2023, Writing Center administrators reviewed posters in the Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievements Summer Forum. We’re looking forward to a new spring forum in 2023!

ABSTRACT REVIEWS

My tutor had a helpful and supportive attitude:

As part of our ongoing self-evaluation process, every student who interacts with the Writing Center has the opportunity to respond (anonymously if desired) to a set of likert-scale questions followed by open-ended ones.

Would you recommend the Writing Center to a friend?

Yes, the writing center helped me strengthen my paper and provided a source to review it which I needed.

Absolutely! The feedback that Laura provided was superb and I am hon estly looking to schedule an in-person appointment to fully discuss my paper in it’s entirety.

Definitely, I wasn’t as confident about my fellowship paper, and the help I received brought that up to the max.

Yes! Tutors like Laura are very kind, intelligent, and can attune their feedback to your particular style of writing

I would recommend to use the writing center to a friend if they weren’t sure about a paper because the staff is friendly and the feedback is helpful when you’re revising your paper. This was my first experience and it was very positive.

Yes, because they are very helpful and understanding of what your going through since they’re also students. They also do their best to try and make sure you walk out of the meeting with all of the information you need to finish your paper.

Absolutely, yes. This was my first time using the online writery, and I was a bit hesitant to share this paper that is so close to me‚ I’ve been writing this paper for a long time, and I’ve become pretty passionate about it. But my tutor Ruth eased my anxiety by offering constructive feedback that helped me see my writing in a new way without tearing down the crux of my argument. Simply put, I felt supported, and for a grad student, that is not a feeling so easily experienced. I will

certainly come back and recommend the writing center to my students.

Absolutely! Jillian was the best and helped in every possible way. She was understanding, respectful, intuitive, kind, etc. She made the experience fun and helped me gain so much knowledge when it comes to writing. She was amaz ing!!

100% yes! This is the most helpful re source ever, and it is so easy to use. The online option took barely any time but improved my paper greatly.

Absolutely!! Not only is it nice to see such supportive and confidence-boosting words in the beginning (thank you!), but the feedback has been incredibly thor ough and helpful.

I would recommend the writing center to a friend because it is a it is a very helpful and free service to advise and guide you through the paper writing process. They offer great advise and feedback to you work that you never would have noticed on your own.

Really great at not only processing the purpose of the assignment and reviewing the paper in that context, but also great at addressing my specific areas of con cerns and request for help. I feel like it is really helpful, very targeted feedback.

Please describe one aspect of your tutoring session that was especially helpful:

My tutor not only helped with what I suggested, but pointed out others things I needed work on as well!

Helping with my thesis and expanding on

it throughout the paper.

I liked that my tutor reassured me along the way and pointed out parts I did well on.

Sydney helped me brainstorm my ideas and put them on paper. We created an outline for the paper. That is always my struggle. This process made it a lot easier.

Going through essay paragraph by para graph was very helpful, as opposed to just going through the essay as a whole

The part that I found helped me the most was my tutor read my essay out loud so I was able to hear what it sounded like and know what parts needed structure change and I was also able to hear grammar issues which helped me a lot.

I really liked how the tutor wrote ques tions for me to expand on throughout my paper at the spots that it was particularly necessary.

Explanation on improving my in-text citations and the reminder to include my works cited page at the bottom of my rhetorical analysis (duh!)

Nicole helped me brainstorm ideas for my paper, then went above and beyond helping me make sure I was matching my quick outline to meet my professor’s guidelines.

SELECTED STUDENT FEEDBACK

Kyle basically had me read my paper out loud, which helped me process my thoughts externally, and then we broke down each paragraph sentence by sentence and fine tuned everything. His comments were great notes for my revi sion process and he helped me see what changes I needed to make.

Everything I got was so good for my paper. There wasn’t one aspect of focus because I honestly just needed someone else’s thoughts.

The kindness and reassurance that I am not actually bad at writing. I do not enjoy writing because I have never been good at it, but I ended up hitting every point of the rubric, I had only a small amount of grammatical errors and I needed to expand a little on a couple of points. Knowing I did that good on my first draft changed my outlook on English 1000 and I am thankful for the tutor I had!

I really appreciated how focused she was on what I had requested (clarity). I’m very grateful for all the feedback I received and that she included positive remarks about my paper so that I know not to change those things!

I liked how we read through my essay out loud, switching between each other, because it helped me see how long some of my sentences really were and how I had some sentences that made no sense at all, and so on.

My tutor was very good at finding what I could do to make my essay stronger and better and then she would ask me what I thought about it after to make sure I liked it. Which I thought was very nice of her to ask me my opinion on it as well.

I liked that my tutor was supportive and open to MY choices even if she did not necessarily agree. I like that we were able to work together and understand each other’s points of view on structure, grammar, etc..

FEEDBACK

Additional comments or thanks to a particular tutor?

I have been fortunate to have Ruth as a tutor during most of my submissions. She’s inquisitive, knowledgeable and goes the extra mile with her revisions. This keeps me engaged and makes me learn. I have recommended Ruth to my doctoral classmates. I think she’s one of the best tutors you have in your staff. Thank you, Ruth!

I would like to thank Abby for being so kind from when I sat down to as I was leaving. When she critiqued my paper she put it in a nice manner. I would recommend her as she was easy to get along with and was personable while on task at the same time. Thank you again Abby and I hope you have a great time on your trip over spring break. Courtney you are fantastic at your job. Thanks for your help!

THANK YOU! All of your comments are extremely helpful and make my paper 10 times better. I really appreciate it!

Molly was incredibly friendly and helped ease my nerves about sharing my paper and using the Writing Center for the first time. She provided great feedback, and she really helped me to improve my essay.

I found Ruth particularly helpful - she provided constructive feedback, but also feedback on things I had done well in the paper, which was a nice dose of encour agement. Such a wonderful mix - I wish I could request her every time!

Many thanks to Jillian! her feedback was very helpful to take my essay to the next level!

Alyasia is a great tutor and she gives me the feedback that I need. Also, she has a friendly attitude and supports me. She encourages me to work on my writing. I love working with her so much. She is great as professional and as a person.

I definitely loved the writing center’s service and I’m thankful that my profes sor suggested it in class because I would have never known about what they all offer if it wasn’t for her.

Lily was great!!!!! She was so nice and encouraging! I was nervous about com ing cause I’m my own worst critic but she made me realize I already had a strong paper!

I really appreciated how Kacey was able to understand what I was talking about and help me make my own connections through asking me questions. Having a second person to guide and facilitate your writing is super helpful. She was brilliant!

My paper was only supposed to be a page long, so there wasn’t much room for editing. Grant did an amazing job doing what he could with such a short paper and didn’t make me feel like he wanted to get on to a bigger paper and that mine was just a waste of his time. I will use the writing center for every paper from now on! I had a great experience.

I am so happy to have had worked with Alaysia! She is wicked smart, diligent, and all-around amazing. One of her gifts is balancing later order and higher order concerns, something that I’d never really experienced in a one-on-one tutoring session, which made me feel prepared in such a rapid manner. The key phrase “If this doesn’t happen, then...” was also really generative to my writing process, since I kept re-stating the word ‘import ant,’ which couldn’t quite convey the urgency or risk of the former. She asked important prompting questions, and helped me work through the answers I said in return. Alaysia is also a lovely person to laugh with as well! Wishing her so much prosperity-- she is a Writing Center star :)

Jozie admitted she wasnt an expert in resumes, helped point me in the right direction for specific help, but also gave me questions to help brainstorm. She went above and beyond her role!

Thanks to Evan and Olivia! They were both so helpful. They really helped me get on track with my essay and also clean it up.

I want to thank Nicole for her construc tive comments and tips in improving the fluency, clarity, and logics in my disser tation.

Thank you to Audrey for giving me good feedback and telling me exactly what I needed to add. Also, thank you for telling me exactly where I need to fix issues in the paper.

My tutor was Katie and she helped me with formatting issues and pointed out stuff that I did well. I will focus on those ideas more on future papers. Thanks!

Abby is a really great tutor and I strongly recommend her!

WRITING CENTER RECOGNITION

NEWS COVERAGE

The write stuff

Service helps students improve their essays, papers and projects.

by Feiya Su

“I was kind of intimidated, honestly.” Graduate student Evelyn Stone recalled the first time she attended a tutoring session at the Writing Cen ter. “Because I wasn’t used to having people seriously critique my work.”

She quickly found out how useful tutoring was, however, as the tutor identified run-on sentences and points she could clarify better in her paper.

“It’s really hard to read your own writing and see what’s wrong with it because you know what you’re trying to talk about,” Stone said.

More than a second set of eyes, Writing Center tutors are thoroughly trained to review students’ work.

“The undergraduate tutors are honors students that go through a course long training,” said Bailey Boyd, assistant director of the Writing Center. During the training, tutors learn about the principles of tutoring and writing basics.

Need help with an essay, paper or project? Visit the Writing Center.

The Writing Center also requires new graduate tutors to undergo a three-day version of the course at the beginning of each fall semes ter.

Tutors go through additional training over the course of each semester, reviewing papers and critiquing each other’s responses.

Bella Ledonne is a Writing Center tutor. A senior studying broadcast journalism and economics, she had used the Writing Center ser vices several times before she took the job.

One thing she loved about the Writing Center was that she could talk through her ideas with the tutor at the preparatory stage. “Starting an essay can be really, really difficult,” Ledonne said. The tutoring session allowed her to have somebody to bounce those ideas off.

Such conversations help students clarify their thinking, especially when they explain their papers to someone who isn’t familiar with the topic. Students can have that conversation even before they start writing.

As a tutor, Ledonne always starts her tutoring sessions by letting students share details about their lives, majors and projects.

“Really building that rapport and just being super friendly, and letting the student know ‘Hey, I’m here to help,’” she said. “I want to let the tutee know that they control this session.”

In the 2020–21 academic year, the Writing Center served more than 3,500 individual students in more than 12,500 appointments through its face-to-face tutoring and the Online Writery, which accepts submissions 24-7.

“It’s 100% free,” Ledonne said. “It costs maybe an hour of your time. And you’ll get some really, really helpful feedback.”

University of Missouri Student Affairs

https://studentaffairs.missouri.edu/news/the-write-stuff/

BONNIE ZELENAK

EXCELLENCE IN TUTORING AWARD

The Writing Center’s Bonnie Zelenak Excellence in Tutoring Awards, typically given to a graduating undergraduate and graduate tutor were given to two wonderful folks: Olivia Douglas & Abby Werner!

OLIVIA DOUGLAS

Olivia was selected for this award because of the warmth she has brought to her over four hundred contacts with students. In her online tutoring responses, she consistently opens with a brief note, story, or personal connection individual to each student or student paper before she even begins discussing the student’s work. We’ve grown to expect (and will miss so much!) these small moments of extra care from Olivia, and we are so excited to present her with the Bonnie Zelenak Excellence in Tutoring Award!

ABBY WERNER

We’ve selected Abby for the Bonnie Zelenak Excellence in Tutoring Award because, in her over two hundred and fifty contacts with students, Abby has grown into an expert tutor. In both in-person appointments and online responses, Abby’s calm and friendly demeanor makes her tutoring look effortless. Her responses are focused on the student and on helping them get to the next step, draft, or even next tutoring appointment. Furthermore, Abby has undertaken so many projects outside of the table for the Writing Center in the past two years: from presenting to classes to tabling at on-campus events, she is a tutor we’ve grown to rely on and will miss so much!

ELAINE HOCKS

MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Dr. Elaine Hocks served as the Director of the Writing Center (Writing Lab at the time) from 1987 to 2007. Prior to that, she was hired as one of the first cadre of writing tutors during the founding of the Writing Lab (as part of the Learning Center) in 1976. Elaine was a highly skilled and deeply compassionate writing assistant and tutor whose innovations and improvements to writing assistance at Mizzou are too numerous to list. She was loved and respected by her colleagues and co-workers, as well as by countless students.

The Writing Center has created the following awards that we think best represent the parts of Writing Center work that Dr. Hocks provided during her Directorship. We’ve broken the award out into three endowed $300 scholarship awards, one for each category below.

ISABELLA LEDONNE

Elaine Hocks Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Writing Center Public Relations

This award recognizes a Writing Center tutor who spreads the word about our services to the greater Mizzou community. This is a person who we can rely on to go into class rooms to give Writing Center outreach presentations, who is at ease with and excited about talking to folks about what we do and what they can expect in sessions at any of our sites. They are also a person who says yes to projects outside of “traditional” Writing Center tutoring sessions.

ELISE VAHLE

Elaine Hocks Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Writing Center Online Tutoring

This award recognizes someone who consistently goes above and beyond in their work with students through our Online Writery. This person is someone who is able to create rapport in this asynchronous environment, who communicates Writing Center support through the screen in the same friendly and accessible manner as they would at the table. Their responses are consistently thoughtful about the work that the student submitted and directed toward helping the student reach their next draft or their next step in the writing process.

SAVANNAH FETERL

Elaine

Hocks

Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Writing Center Synchronous Tutoring

This award recognizes a tutor for their synchronous work at the tutoring “table.” That work at the table is constantly changing, as no two tutees (or their writing projects) are identi cal. This tutor is able to adapt to the needs of each new student who sits down with them, quickly making the student feel at ease while offering kind, generous, and critical feedback to their writing. They consistently provide the most appropriate Writing Center support for each session.

STAYING IN TOUCH

Building our Writing Center family and celebrating our hardwork ing tutors is important to us. Whether we are handing out sugary treats before finals week

or enjoying each other’s company at the PB&J soiree, our goal is to keep this community connect ed.

Moments where we can step away from the tutor table or screen and connect are our favorites. Above all else, we are a team here at the Writing Center.

TUTOR ACHIEVEMENTS

We spend a fair amount of time publicizing the work that our tutors do for and with students in our annual report each year. This year, we want to also shine a quick spotlight on their own personal and academic achievements. At the end of the academic year, we solicited responses from our tutors about their achievements over the past twelve months. While this isn’t nearly all of them, it’s a wide sample of the awesome work that our tutors do when they’re not changing lives at the Writing Center.

KYLE HELMS

• Completed first internship with ABC17 Sports in Columbia

• First web story published on KOMU 8 website

• Anchored first sportscast for KOMU 8 Sports

• Reported on my first news story and produced first newscast for KOMU 8

ANNA MCANNALLY

• Published two in depth features, an interview and bio, on public figures

EVIE STONE

• Accepted a full-time position at Deloitte after graduation

• Interned at the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.

DEREK MILTIMORE

• Published in the Florida Anthropologist

• Invited to become a member of the Geography Honors Fraternity, Gamma Theta Upsilon

• Nominated for the award of “Outstanding Anthro pology Graduate Student (Masters)”.

ABBY WERNER

• Graduating Cum Laude with two degrees and Honors & Multicul tural Certificates

• Accepted a full-time position as an Associate Account Executive at Brighton Agency in St. Louis.

ELISE VAHLE

• Accepted a summer marketing in ternship with EnergyLink, a renew able energy company in Columbia, as the Marketing Coordinator

• Serving as an election assistant for Boone County election office

MARTA WATTERS

• Published article in Museum of Art and Archaeology MUSE vol. 55, “Giving Order to Disarray: The Versatility of Still Life Paintings”

• Presented work at 2022 Multidis ciplinary Graduate Conference in Premodern Studies with the Newberry Library; Presentation title: “Vessels of Narrative Expres sion: The Role of Mutable Bodies in 17th-Century Still Life Painting

• Passed comprehensive exams and admitted to doctoral candida cy in Art History

SAVANNAH FETERL

• Made the Fall 2021 Dean’s List

• Awarded the Elaine Hocks Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Writing Cen ter-Synchronous Tutoring

• Graduated with a BS in physics (as tronomy), mathematics minor, and the Writing Intensive Certificate

CAROLINE LYMAN

• Interned at a Private Equity firm in downtown Chicago

• Played on a soccer team (or two!).

LILY WILLIAMS

• Interned at FleishmanHillard in Dallas, TX, the 2022 Public Relations Agency of the Year

• Chosen as one of three students for role on the MOJO Ad capstone team.

ELIZABETH BUSCH

• Received Peggy Ewing Prize and Mabel Owen Scholarship in the MU English Department

• Studied abroad in Spain

• Accepted into the English Honors The sis Sequence

• Re-elected as Recording Secretary/ Parliamentarian of Tau Beta Sigma

ABBEY TAUCHEN

• Continuing at MU to get a master’s degree in journalism

• Started as managing editor at Vox Magazine

REBECCA JACKOWAY

NOURA ALHACHAMI

• Chosen for McNair Post baccalaureate Achievement Program

GRETA SONNENBERG

• Graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Educa tion - Vocal Emphasis

• Teaching vocal music at Fire Prairie Upper Ele mentary, a 5th/6th grade school in Fort Osage School District

MOLLY NASH

• Accepted into the English Honors Thesis program

• Admitted into the MU Accel erated Master’s Program for English

• Selected as a recipient of the Mabel Owens Scholarship

• Promoted to Assistant Editor for Wigleaf Literary Magazine

JEFFREY POLLMANN

• Teaching English in Japan, starting in July 2022

• Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in English, minors in Art History and Women’s Studies

• Earned University Honors and the Writing Intensive, Multicultural, and the Honors Humanities Certificates

• Fiction Editor of EPIC Literary Magazine and CAP Reading performance

HOW TO EXIT THE WC

When tutors graduate and/or run out of time in their day to continue working for us, we ask them fairly serious questions about their experiences here. That question, and their responses, are below:

How have you personally or professionally benefited from working in the WC? How has this job #changedyourlife?

This job has provided me with fantas tic preparation for my future working in education! I have learned how to connect with students, both academ ically and personally, in a way that helps them to learn and progress as writers. I have also learned how to im prove my own writing by working with students. Whenever I have doubts about my work, I consider what I would tell myself if I was tutoring. That critical thinking is essential for someone who finds so much joy--and so much difficulty--in finding just the right words.

Working at the WC has been some thing I wanted to do since freshman year, and I’m so glad that I did! It’s given me such an in-depth under standing of what goes into quality academic and professional writing, and I’ll be able to employ all of these skills in my career. I’ve also had the pleasure to work with some of the kindest colleagues, and Aaron Harms is one of the best people I’ve worked with at Mizzou. Thank you so much for everything!

The Writing Center has done a great deal to not only help me professional ly, but also personally (I still don’t un derstand commas but that’s not y’all’s fault). Professionally, I have been able to increase my communication skills both written and oral, coaching skills, and interpersonal skills. I’ve been able to make myself a better writer and tutor. I’ve also discovered what I enjoy about writing and reading again. I haven’t been able to articulate that in awhile because I don’t have time to sit down and read much anymore, but the WC has given me that opportunity. The WC has also helped me build on my purpose of being able to help

others in areas that they excel. My Mizzou experience has been about helping others explore their potential and the WC has helped me do that.

Working at the Writing Center has been a greatly positive part of my college experience! I could not have asked for a better on-campus job working with and for the best people.

I want to preface this with a disclaimer that this is going to be a little all over the place and not formal in the slight est, because I have so many thoughts on this topic. This job has meant the world to me.

When the whole world completely changed during my sophomore year, the Writing Center was one of the things that stayed the most consis tent. Out of everyone at the university, Aaron and Stephanie did the best about communicating with us and making sure we didn’t feel forgotten. There was also the benefit of being able to continue to work and make money, even when most on-campus jobs were put on pause. And then when we came back to campus for the fall of 2020, our safety was Aaron and Stephanie’s top priority. I knew they were listening to us and advocat ing for us behind closed doors. They never once put us in a situation where we felt uncomfortable. I knew that it was important to them to keep us in the loop.

During the Spring 2021 semester, I was interning in Washington, D.C. And they still let me stay on as an as-needed tutor. I loved remaining part of the Writing Center family and being able to make a little extra money here and there. I was so sad

when Stephanie left at the end of the year, just because she was so good at her job. I took a PR Writing class my Fall 2021 semester, and Aaron was a rock star. He agreed to share his life with me and participate in several of my assignments, even when he was stressed out without an assistant director. He took the time to connect me with other people who would be helpful for my stories, and he always had a positive attitude about it, even when I am sure that I was annoying. I could tell that semester was hard for him, but he never let it affect us.

Aaron then made one of the smartest decisions he’s ever made, by hiring Bailey. One of my favorite parts of this semester became my morning shifts where it was mostly quiet in the SSC aside from our silly conversations about things like the importance of knowing shapes. I loved that Bailey introduced WC Kudos, because it’s always nice to hear when you are doing a good job.

The very best part of this job has been Aaron, Stephanie and Bailey. But the students are a close second. As cheesy as it sounds, tutoring has taught me how to be a better person. Because of the students, I’ve learned how to empathize more, communicate better and be a holistic listener. I am so grateful for the tutees who have opened up and shared their work with me.

In a professional sense, during job interviews I have been able to heavily emphasize the soft skills I’ve gained from this job. How I know how to read and respond to people in the ways that they need. In the marketing world, that is huge.

My college experience would have been completely different without the Writing Center. It has been a safe place that has allowed me to grow and thrive. I will never quit telling peo ple to take the Writing Center class. Even after I graduate, I will remain one of the Writing Center’s biggest fans. The biggest point I want to make is that Aaron Harms will never fully know how much I appreciate him. He is one of the best bosses I will ever have. And he has the most amazing sock collection.

The Writing Center for me has given me an uncountable number of things during the time I have worked there. It has shown me the relationship I want to have with my coworkers and boss(es). It has shown me how to teach others in a way that is both kind and correct. It has taught me not to be afraid to admit when I don’t know something and reach out for help. The Writing Center has definitely been a place for me where I didn’t have to worry about my bosses or my co workers. Where I could come in and know they’d have my back. Which is something I’d like to one day pass on to whatever job I settle in. This job has #changedmylife by connecting me to people who have changed me for the better and who are very much dear to me.

Through the writing center I was able to learn SO MUCH! Not only were the interactions that I had intellectually stimulating for both parties because of our different outlooks but I was able to learn more about writing while tutoring than ever before. I was also able to make connections with tutees that felt authentic and productive.

Working in this position was extreme ly helpful for me as a future/current educator. Learning to have conversa tions on many different subjects while bringing those concepts to reality through words reinstated the impor tance of writing to me. --------------------------------------------------

It is honestly a bit difficult to describe all the ways in which this job has changed my life. I think, first and foremost, it has given me the gift of a passion for something I never thought I’d have a passion for. When I first

started in January 2020, I more or less viewed it as something to add to my resume. Now, with graduation quickly approaching, I find myself desperately clinging to my memories of my time with you all and the time I have left. Joining the Writing Center and assisting with the good work we do was the best decision I made during college.

Professionally, it has given me the opportunity to sharpen my own writing skills, which I know will come in handy for whatever I end up doing in the future (still don’t know what that is yet but I’m hoping it’ll be science and writing related).

Dang, y’all are about to make me cry. I don’t want to leave yet. I’m going to miss this very much. Keep changing lives after we’ve all moved on.

Though my tenure as a tutor was brief, I am so glad I worked at the Writing Center. It taught me to think about writing in many new ways.

For one, it gave me something I’d been wanting for years, a chance to look at things like scholarship applications, personal statements, and other writings that pitch who we are to others, to better understand what makes pitch-writing more or less effective. I feel far more equipped to write an effective personal statement and application of any kind after tutor ing others in how to strengthen theirs. I don’t think I could have gotten this knowledge or confidence through any other class or experience.

It also gave me lot of insight into what I’ll be doing in the future, if I go into higher education---insight into the time and mental energy it takes to grade papers (although as I tutor I wasn’t trying to grade papers!! But the act of wrapping your head around what someone has conveyed in writ ing, that is shared between grading and tutoring), and in effectively work ing *with* a student so they gain skills instead of working over a student to improve a discrete assignment.

It helped me knuckle down on time management. You can get a lot done in an hour, and though I often strug

gled to fully finish and submit a TONY in 60 minutes, each tutoring session/ TONY was an exercise in prioritizing action, and that helped me get more efficient as I worked as a tutor and as I wrote for other classes.

Reverse outlines!! I’ve been spread ing the good word of reverse outlines to many peers, and they’ve helped me a lot in my senior project writings (two 12+ page research papers, a 7+ page paper, a ~3000 word creative writing).

I also didn’t really realize how much of a resource was available to me through the WC until I took the class and began working there. I’ve used TONY multiple times this semester, and my writing became better for it.

Seeing the benefit of focusing on HOCs over LOCs also changed how I interact with peers’ writing when they ask me to look over it (just as a friend or peer, not as a formal tutor at the WC). I used to focus on grammar, diction, etc., and am glad that now I can offer much more supportive com ments that help them see inside the mind of a reader instead of comments that point out prescriptive grammar shortcomings and little else. That helps make me a better friend, not just a better reader.

In all, I wish I could have worked at the Writing Center longer. My favorite tutoring session of all time was an 8-9pm Zoom appointment with an international student. We were both tired, and it felt like we struggled to communicate in English about the writing. It took nearly the full hour to review a short response she wanted to post in a Canvas Discussion. At the end, I asked her what languages other than English she spoke, and it turned out I was studying her native language (Arabic), just as she was studying mine! Both of us lit up and, despite speaking on Zoom, that human energy of conversation was suddenly palpable. We chatted back and forth in hybrid Arabic-English for a little while, and both of us left the Zoom looking much brighter than when we entered. I talked about the chance encounter for days afterward.

WELCOME, BAILEY!

After its initial years, the Writing Center at MU has almost always been guided by multiple staff. Over the past 40+ years, while titles and duties have often changed, the writing needs for a campus of this size have demanded more than one person’s efforts. In February of 2022, we officially welcomed our first full-time Assistant Director, Ms. Bailey Boyd.

She comes to us from the Department of English at MU, but many long-time readers of our Annual Reports will notice that her name has been includ ed in some fashion since 2015. For us and for the students we serve, that means that she provides a wealth of locally historic, teaching, and tutoring experience. She spent the spring semester getting acclimated to her new role as a Writing Program Administrator and the summer semester formaliz ing her position’s particular duties related to both Outreach and Graduate Writing Support coordina tion.

Welcome, Bailey!

Welcoming a new Assistant Director: Bailey Boyd

MU WRITING CENTER

TUTOR TRAINING

2015HW COURSE SYLLABUS

2015HW COURSE SYLLABUS

2015HW COURSE SYLLABUS

TUTOR LIST 2021-22:

UNDERGRADUATE TUTORS

NAME

Alhachami, Noura Marks, Cassandra

Boeger, Sydney Melvin, Isabella

Bryant, Jesse Mueller, Audrey Busch, Elizabeth Nash,Molly Clark, Persy Pfeifer, Ben Crouch, Jozie Pollmann, Jeffrey

Derner, Elizabeth Price, Rebecca Diggs, Ashton Rubenstein, Megan Dooley, Gabe Russell, Miya

Douglas, Olivia Shyu, Rebecca Drechsel, Chris Sonnenberg, Greta

Feterl, Savannah Sullivan, Izzy

Foster, Spencer Tallant, David

Frost, Sarah Tauchen, Abbey

Gagliardo, Grant Thornton, Colby Garson, Naomi Tryfonopoulos, Tess Gilliam, Lexy Uphoff, Abby

Helms, Kyle Vahle, Elise Hicks, Colton Watson, Annie

Hoff, Eli Werner, Abby

Jackoway, Rebecca Williams Howard, Malakai Kowalke, Lianna Williams, Lily

Ledonne, Bella Lyman, Caroline Marino, Jillian

GRADUATE WRITING SUPPORT

NAME

Austin, Katie Johnson, Rachel Bennett, Andrew Kimmey, Stephanie Broaddus, Elise Knezevich, Ruth Case, Angela McAnnally, Anna Case, Audrey Songstad, Nicole Cochran, Nigelle Ursprung-Nerling, Laura Foster, Jessi Wolfson, Elizabeth

WRITING FELLOWS

NAME

Asbeck, Heather Herrick, Katherine Boyd, Bailey Kennedy, Kacey Brown, Alaysia Miltimore, Derek Buchanan, Evan Stone, Evie Chambers, Bryn Watters, Marta Chen, Felice Willoughby, Blake