Writing center: it's not a fix-it shop!

After reading Stephen M. North's article on the role of writing centers in students' academic lives entitled "The Idea of a Writing Center", I realized the importance of understanding what they are really about. North begins his article discussing the common misconceptions of writing centers which are:

1. Writing centers should only be used by those with "special problems".
2. They are meant to be "fix-it shops" for writers looking for a fine tuning in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.

He states that these misconceptions would not be a problem if they weren't a widespread view held by Universities around the country. He brings forth several articles written by respected professionals who note that the role of a writing center is to help those who need it most. I agree that this view is extremely problematic because it spreads the idea that only those who are desperate need help. The reality is that all writers should have others proofread their work in order to facilitate different perspectives. Everyone has the capacity to become a better writer not matter how skilled he or she is in the classroom.

The most important point I believe North made in his article was about the real role of a writing center. He writes, "in a writing center the object is to make sure that writers, and not necessarily their texts, are what get changed by instruction," (North 38). This is one of the better points that North makes in his article because it clarifies his view that it is not about the physical writing that a writer brings into the center, but the writer themselves that is being amended. He goes on further to explain that in the process of a tutor working with a writer, the talking is of the utmost importance. It gives the writer a chance to communicate their problems or ideas in a way that is much more direct and personal than in a piece of writing. If a writer comes by and drops of his or her work expecting for it to be modified for the better without any input from themselves, not much can actually be done. Writing centers give students the chance to go about writing from a different angle and in turn is very beneficial to those who take advantage of it.