Our Mission

The ARC offers a welcoming environment in which students are encouraged to seek support for reading, writing, and speaking. Our goal is to help students identify, understand and refine their own learning and composing processes. ARC tutors question instead of correct, support instead of criticize, and understand instead of evaluate.

As ARC tutors, we take seriously the responsibility entrusted to us to help others grow as readers, writers, and speakers.

• We believe all students deserve to be respected as learners with valid ideas who have something worthwhile to say.
• We do not propose a single writing process, but believe that good writing is process based. We assist writers at any stage of the writing process.
• We take non-directive roles in guiding students to the discovery of their own voices. Our role is to listen and to question.
• We offer observations from the perspective of a reader and not that of a teacher.
• We make every effort to accentuate the positive.
• We address higher order concerns before lower order concerns unless the student or teacher has given us specific direction otherwise.
• We respect the student's ownership of the text and emphasize that the student always has the option to accept or reject our suggestions.
• We cooperate with classroom teachers. We are an extension of the classroom, not a replacement.
• We make every effort to instill a sense of confidence through understanding.
• We are all practicing readers, writers, and speakers and we utilize the services of the ARC.

Adapted from

Jordan, Jenny. "Tutor Training Guidelines." Handout. International Writing Center Association Conference. University of Wisconsin- Madison. Summer, 2008.