Writing Center “boosts student confidence” through peer editing

At the Pitt Writing Center, students can schedule 30-minute to an hour-long appointments Monday through Friday to edit their writing with a peer tutor. Teagan Chandler, a senior history major who works at the Writing Center, always starts off her sessions by asking students what they want to get out of the session. 

“The whole goal is to build student confidence and enrich their own writing process,” Chandler said. “I always start a session to see if they have any concerns, and if they don’t, keep going.”

During a writing session, students will bring in different types of materials, including seminar composition papers, resumes, cover letters, study abroad applications, thesis papers and Ph.D dissertations, according to Peer Tutor Leyla Akselioglu. 

“I actually had one student come to me with a semester-long project, with different installments of the same work,” Akselioglu said. “I’ve had someone who had me help them with one assignment, and then a few weeks later, they’ll come back with different assignments.”

When students want to bring their work to the Writing Center, Akselioglu said it’s good to be aware of what they want to work on. 

“At the Writing Center, at least for me, it’s really important that I work with that student no matter what stage they are in,” Akselioglu said. “Whether it’s a prompt and you just want to brainstorm an idea, or putting final touches on [a paper]. We just want to be with students throughout the entire process.”

Peer tutors start off at the Writing Center by taking a class called “English Composition: Tutoring Peer Writers.” At the end of the class, students have the opportunity to apply for an unpaid internship at the Writing Center, which then leads to a job. 

“This class serves as a foundation for working in the Writing Center,” Dana Nowlin-Russell, associate director of the Writing Center and professor of Tutoring Peer Writers, said. “What’s crucial about the class is being able to read and engage in the scholarship that’s associated with the Writing Center.”

As a part of the course, students visit the Writing Center, where they have the opportunity to observe sessions, interview faculty consultants and get tutored themselves.

“I think a very important part is to see it in action,” Nowlin-Russell said. “So not only read about writing centers and important topics related to writing centers, but see it happen.”

Throughout the class, students choose a topic to explore that relates to writing. In the internship, students can continue their research, concluding with a presentation.  

“We’ve had students do projects in linguistic justice, accessibility in the Writing Center, disability studies, creative writing in the Writing Center,” Nowlin-Russel said. 

Chandler said she focused her research project on PechaKucka presentations, which is a format where 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each. 

“It’s essentially a timed slideshow that’s six and a half minutes, and there’s a fifteen-minute Q&A after where we talk about [the] research that you’ve done for the last year,” Chandler said. 

One of Chandler’s favorite parts about working at the Writing Center is the social environment. 

“I’ve made some really great friends there. I think the peer tutors are a great group,” Chandler said. “I just think it’s helped me grow as a writer and also a person. I’ve learned a lot about respecting other people’s processes and how to validate different people’s opinions.”

Akselioglu also said her favorite part about the Writing Center is the collaborative environment. 

“All the faculty members and peer tutors are really nice, and it’s a collaborative environment,” Akselioglu said. “I work well with other people, and especially with the friends I’ve made there. It’s such a good workplace and environment.”

Throughout the two years Chandler has worked at the Writing Center, she said it’s impacted both her and the student’s lives. 

“The writing session[s are] really great,” Chandler said. “It’s very underhyped. It’s impacted my life a lot, and I like to think the people who’ve come in want to be tutored, and it’s impacted their life. It’s really been a big deal for me, as an academic and as a person.”