Chapter 3, Additional Case 1: Online Writing Centers and the Writing Process

Chapter 3, Additional Case 1: Online Writing Centers and the Writing Process

This case is best for groups.

Background

Your class has been approached by the director of your college or university's Writing Center. In addition to providing face-to-face consulting, the Writing Center provides online services. The director explains, "An online writing center is a website, usually maintained by a college or university, that students and professionals visit for advice about writing—from tips on grammar, punctuation, usage, and style to suggestions on how to write particular kinds of documents, such as essays, letters, and reports."

The director continues, "Most online writing centers focus on general writing, the kind that is done in first-year composition courses. However, we know that more and more students are coming to us for help with their technical-communication assignments. I would like your help. I am interested in knowing what information on the writing process other online writing centers offer and what technical-communication topics we should include on our site."

In this case, you will describe and evaluate the information on the writing process presented by an online writing center. Then you will suggest additional topics that might be included to make the site more useful for students of technical communication.

Your Assignment

To complete this case, perform the following tasks:

  1. Study Chapter 3 on the writing process as it applies to technical communication.
  2. Study Purdue University's Online Writing Lab, perhaps the largest online writing center in the country, with more than 100 handouts about writing. Locate other online writing centers, or study one of the following online writing centers:
    • Writing Center at Colorado State University
    • Ferris State University Writing Center
    • Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
  3. With the other members of your group, discuss how well the information given about the writing process applies to the writing you are doing in your technical-communication course. In what ways would you change the focus of the information to make it more applicable to students in a technical-communication course? What other topics might be added to make the discussion of the writing process more useful for students like yourself?
  4. Present your findings in a 1,000-word memo to your instructor. (See Chapter 14 for a discussion of memos.)