The unexpected shift to online classes for the Spring 2020 semester sent many teachers and students into a frenzy, as most were unprepared for the new teaching methods that needed with the COVID-19 quarantines. For some classes, the online transition was relatively uncomplicated, since even in-person class time focused on a professor lecturing, students taking notes, then the students working on assignments to apply that knowledge outside of class. The aforementioned style of learning is most prevalent in business classes, where understanding and applying concrete information are deemed vital. However, the University of Richmond prides itself on being a strong business and liberal-arts university, and it is in liberal arts courses where the largest changes have occurred. In many of these classes, face-to-face discussions predominate, and this type of education is difficult to replicate from a remote setting. If Richmond continues remote learning for next semester, many resources, such as The Writing Center, would have time to implement new strategies to counteract some of the lost value felt through remote learning. The Writing Center’s purpose is to improve students as overall writers, and while the move to online learning is not the ideal place to hold tutoring sessions, with the proper guidelines and goals in place, an on-line Writing Center could be equally as valuable, if not more, than in-person tutoring.

The value of discussing an essay with a Consultant may increase in remote learning, since often there are fewer opportunities for a student to talk with a teacher about an assignment. Some teachers do not hold real-time classes at all through online learning. Instead, they opt to post pre-recorded lectures, or to use discussion boards to foster some form of communication between classmates. Whether a lecture is pre-recorded or a class held remotely, there is not always the opportunity to ask for clarification in this new learning style, unlike during an in-person class. While some teachers still hold office hours, these are not convenient for all students, since many students live in different time zones. Communication then gets limited to merely e-mail, which is not always effective or time sensitive. Additionally, removing students from a classroom setting means they cannot communicate with each other as much and ask each other clarifying questions. As a result of this new form of teaching, The Writing Center increases in value, as it offers a student who is seeking help to obtain it. One-on-one discussion of a topic is invaluable to a student who is struggling, whether by clarifying a discussion point or cementing a thesis. Additionally, a tutor can help a writer understand the assignment, so that the prompt can be attacked with a defined goal. We discussed an example this year from a reading in which the writer came to the tutor because she did not understand what the prompt was asking. The writer struggled to start the essay because she did not fully understand the assignment sheet. In the consultation, the writer received help in breaking down the assignment sheet, and at the meeting’s conclusion, the writer knew how to approach the paper.⁴

Clearly, an important aspect of being a better writer starts with the organizational skills. Scheduling is essential to helping a student with writing, and consultations with online Writing Consultants would help a writer determine the time needed to write a paper. Initially, writers would need to schedule the appointment and then decide what they needed to do in the time between the scheduling of the appointment and the conference itself. The Consultant could then help the student work through any issues while also holding the writer accountable for future deadlines. For example, an appointment can be scheduled with the goal of writing an outline for paper, however the writer must be thinking ahead on this assignment. The writer cannot schedule an appointment to write an outline the day an assignment is due and expect to turn in good work. The goal of consultations is to improve the writer holistically, and organization is an essential tool for overall improvement as not just a writer, but also a student.

The environment of a writing consultation is a scenario in which the writer can feel a little exposed, and it is vital that the Consultant use the correct tone to address the student and their work, especially in an online conference. It would be very effective, if tutors were reminded of their guidelines on how to initiate their first tutoring session so that an effective relationship could be created between the consultant and the student. When going to The Writing Center, the student is choosing to receive constructive criticism, and it is important that the writer does not feel that his work is being picked apart in order to attack his flaws as a writer. As stated in “Protocols & Process in Online Tutoring,” “The writer’s first encounter with an online tutor sets the tone for everything that follows. If the tutor’s opening remarks are friendly and informal…the writer will read the tutor’s comments as gentle and constructive.”⁵ When communicating virtually, it is incredibly difficult to gauge a person’s tone especially if a writer seeks feedback without a face to face meeting. Consultants must dissect a writer’s work without being overly negative, as even a poorly worded margin annotation can seem like harsh criticism. Wording and tone are two aspects that a consultant looks for in a writer’s paper, so they must be equally as important in the feedback that a consultant offers the writer.

Grades are one of, if not the biggest, motivator for most students, and students go to the Writing Center to improve their grades on papers. Thus I think a major concern that surrounds online writing consultations is the recently implemented credit/no credit grading system. If students know they have the safety to take a class for no grade, I assume that attendance at The Writing Center will drop. All too often, students are not interested in the topics assigned for a paper and, as a result, they often find their projects and assignments to be forced and struggle with making a connection to the paper. However, if grades are removed, writers may not have the same motivation to do well in class. I worry that students will not seek tutoring at The Writing Center because they will not be as focused on becoming better writers but will be satisfied with simply completing a writing assignment. This halfhearted attitude by students is in direct opposition of the University of Richmond’s mission. The University of Richmond’s website lists its mission as a place “to educate in an academically challenging, intellectually vibrant, and collaborative community dedicated to the holistic development of students and the production of scholarly and creative work.”² Nowhere in this mission statement are grades referenced or is success quantified. The school hopes that all students who attend the university will spend time developing their academic skills to become more educated. Simply checking boxes because there are no perceived consequences is not the same as uncovering educational progress. Quite frankly, the Writing Center is not a place for students who are solely focused on grades, and if the number of students who come with only that intention decreases, this should not undermine the importance of The Writing Center and its staff. The students who are committed to learning more and improving their craft as a writer should continue to seek consultation and benefit from it.

With remote learning, The Writing Center would be an especially valuable tool for freshmen students who are acclimating to the writing demands of college professors. First-Year Seminars at the University of Richmond expose all freshmen to college writing. As Douglas Downs and Elizabeth Wardle state, the purpose of first-year courses are “to prepare students to write across the university…from one writing situation to another.”³ However, the intended goal of these courses does not always come to fruition, as rather than learning to write for all collegiate settings, many classes ask students to write according to the specific professor’s style. In addition, many students come to the university with varying degrees of exposure to writing classes in high schools. Whereas some students experienced AP English classes, other students did not have the opportunity to enroll in such classes. With the different expectations of the FYS professors and the varying high school writing experiences, The Writing Center is an essential aspect of the university that allows freshmen to ask for help, receive feedback and improve as writers so that they can be successful in all their classes. The Writing Center allows for continuity of instruction, as all tutors are taught the same guidelines, and they apply the same practices when offering feedback to a writer. The universal standard provided by The Writing Center allows for writers to acclimate themselves to collegiate writing and utilize crucial skills that can be applied to all future works.

Although this is a tumultuous time for the University of Richmond, and all learning institutions, education will continue in some form, even if it must be virtual. As Bryan Alexander notes, the current pandemic has created many large-scale changes that universities are not prepared to handle¹. However, the Writing Center embodies what the University of Richmond advertises itself as offering: an educational space where students are able to immerse themselves with other intellectuals in order to develop their academic skills. Through altered methods, the continuation of the Writing Center would not only continue to help students develop their skills, but also bring a sense of normalcy to a collegiate experience that is completely altered.

Sources:

1. Bryan Alexander. “COVID-19 versus Higher Ed: the Downhill Slide Becomes an Avalanche.” Bryan Alexander, 31 Mar. 2020, bryanalexander.org/future-of-education/covid-versus-higher-ed-the-downhill-slide-becomes-an-avalanche/.

2. https://www.richmond.edu/about/goals.html

3. Downs, D. & Wardle, E. "Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions." College Composition & Communication 58.4 (June 2007): 552-584.

4. Kendall, A. "The Assignment Sheet Mystery." Writing Lab Newsletter 33.1 (Sept. 2008): 1-5.

5. Rafoth, Bennett A. Tutors' Guide: Helping Writers One to One. Boynton/Cook Publishers, 2005.