I remember hyperventilating. I know my heart stopped at least once or twice. I was left with only two hours to edit, revise and put the finishing touches on my first college paper. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Two hours? In college time that’s enough to write an entire paper, never mind a few final touches. I had assumed that I’d be fine. However, that was clearly not the case. I was only a first-year at the time, extremely unfamiliar with how things operated on campus. I knew that I knew how to write; after all, I got into Georgetown. But I was still unfamiliar with how to put all the steps together.
I thought I could simply drop my paper off at the Writing Center for someone to make all the final adjustments for me, which would then give me enough time to get a chai, study for a test and write another paper that I had also put off until the last minute. Just going to the center made me feel better. I walked from New South to the library on a Monday afternoon, although it took me practically an hour to find its hidden location on the second floor. When I finally discovered its hiding spot, I bravely knocked on the door, ready to admit to fellow students that I needed help on a paper. I turned the door handle and walked in, eager to see where I was to leave my paper for corrections. The center was, as I expected, very academic and quiet, with computers lining the back and a few posters detailing various English Department events.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m just leaving this for someone to check over for me. How long does it usually take? An hour? Two?”
The three tutors in the room turned around and gave me a blank stare. To my dismay, that was not how things worked around the Writing Center.
“Actually, we can go over the paper with you. You cannot just leave a paper here for us to correct,” came the very nice yet frustrated response from one tutor.
Rather annoyed, but knowing that I had to get this paper done, I stayed for almost 40 minutes, going through my paper with the tutor. Although the session took up a more substantial amount of my time than I had wanted, it was worth the effort.
So I survived my first, but unfortunately not last, death-by-paper experience. Now, a couple of years later, I am a Georgetown Writing Center tutor myself and the center is extremely important to me. We help students with any aspect of writing, through all stages, formats and styles. We also help students organize their thoughts and give them the confidence they need to write a good paper. Even after an entire semester, it still frustrates me to see that many students, like my former self, still do not know about the center’s service to the academic community.
First of all, we are not there to simply proofread papers. You and your computer’s spell-check can do that. We do not edit papers dropped off an hour earlier.
Tutors are there to talk with students, not to be a voiceless, faceless service. I can vouch for almost all this year’s tutors when I say we all love to chat. Tutors serve as the other end of a conversation about students’ papers, discussing everything from the basic structure to the development, to the conclusion of a paper.
At my very first tutoring session, I’ll admit that I was nervous. I bombarded the student with questions and was met with a look of blinding confusion. I learned to slow down, though, and soon I was connecting with him on a completely real level. Since then, it has taken a lot of practice on my part to adjust to certain learning styles. Although I know not all sessions will go as well as that first one did, it served as an excellent starting point. The student recognized the goal of the session and neither of us got frustrated.
It is that quirky word, “frustration,” that all too often creeps into descriptions of the Writing Center. That’s what my fellow tutors and I are trying to diminish: the frustration that comes with writing a paper. We want students to know that the Writing Center is not something to fear, curse or avoid. We are there to help with the entire writing process, trying not only to make better papers but also better writers.
