What is the Herndon Writing Center (The HWC)?
- The HWC is a student-run, teacher-directed space where students across all content areas can get feedback on their writing.
- When students visit the HWC, they spend 20-30 minutes discussing their writing and revising their ideas with a friendly highly-qualified peer tutor.
- Our tutors focus on how effectively and how clearly a writer communicates their ideas.
- We are NOT an editing service. A common misconception is that “revising” and “editing” are synonyms.
- “Revising” means helping writers to “re-see” their ideas in a new way.
- “Editing” means correcting grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
- Make a visit to the Writing Center an official part of your writing assignment. We’ve found that students are more likely to work with a tutor when a teacher recommends that they do so.
- If your students are composing something for class (an essay, a lab report, a DBQ, a review, a reflection, a brief paragraph, a website, a resume, etc.- literally anything!), our tutors are here to provide feedback on how writers communicate their ideas.
- If you would like students to work with a tutor, email your assignment to Kate Hutton ([email protected]) and Kaitlyn Schmit ([email protected]). We will brief our tutors on your assignment and ask you any clarifying questions.
- Please share your rubric with us. If you’d like help developing a rubric or if you’d like to see sample rubrics, we’re happy to work with you.
- Consider making a tutoring session part of the re-assessment policy for your written summative assessments.
- If you’d like to discuss anything writing-related, reach out to Kate and Kaitlyn.
- The HWC is open Monday-Thursday during all lunches (5th and 6th period) and after school on Thursdays.
- Sign up to work with one of our 30 tutors here.
- Tutors are happy to help students in any stage of the writing process, whether they are brainstorming, organizing their ideas, writing an assertion or thesis statement, or refining their drafts.
- The HWC challenges the traditional notion that adults are the only experts in the building.
- We engage students with writing as a process by providing a space for them to discuss their ideas and by encouraging students to take ownership of their writing.
- Our tutors act as an authentic audience for your students’ writing.
- We make the writing process visible.
- We support literacy across content areas.