The English Department’s Melissa Forbes has become the new director of the Gettysburg College Writing Center. The center matches students from all disciplines with a team of 10 student tutors who help students discuss and clarify their ideas, plan next steps, and implement effective writing strategies. At the same time the tutors gain professional development experience for themselves.
Forbes, who came to the college as a lecturer in 2018, said she took the position in part based on her own experiences as a tutor. “I was a tutor myself when I was in college and that experience was incredibly valuable to me. When the position opened, it just seemed like a really good fit so that I could help facilitate that for other students,” said Forbes.
Forbes said the pandemic had forced the center to go online, “It was important to me to make a decision that was going to protect the tutors and students. I’ve had to make a ton of changes because I realized in August that if I didn’t make an online writing center there wasn’t going to be a writing center at all. It was definitely a trial by fire in that way.”
The center offers both asynchronous e-tutoring and real-time online tutoring. “I think whether a student would benefit more from online tutoring or e-tutoring is going to depend heavily on the stage of writing they’re at, the kind of person they are, and what they are hoping to get out of the session,” said Forbes.
Forbes said the biggest issue this school year is fatigue from being on a computer for most of the school day.
The center is moving to an online application process for tutors which Forbes hopes will increase the number of volunteers. Forbes said she meets with the tutors regularly and works collaboratively with them. “I try to ask the tutors for their input in decision making whenever possible.”
Forbes said use of the center had been down during the pandemic but was increasing this spring and that more students were choosing online tutoring. Forbes thought the uptick might be due to first-year students who are at home wanting more of a connection. “Most [writing center directors] are seeing a resurgence in the spring. Numbers were down around the country last semester and this may just be a step back towards what’s more regular for us.”
Forbes offered the following advice to any student who may be hesitant to sign up for a session:
“I think that there is no writer who is so good that they couldn’t benefit from a good conversation about their writing.”
“Talking through your ideas, even if you’ve already written them down, often [helps] find new ways to express them and new ways of organizing them. Just by explaining what you’re doing to somebody else: It’s almost an opportunity to do a revision or a draft. Not to mention that the act of speaking if you’re stuck, confused, or there’s a problem that you can’t quite write your way through can help get things moving again.”
“I also think that on-going relationships where you don’t have to build from the foundation up every single session are an opportunity for people to really grow and start to see concrete progress. You have a professor for one semester, but you could work with the same tutor for three years if you wanted to.”
“Don’t be afraid to come at any time. You don’t need to have a draft that you’re proud of. In fact, it’s probably helpful if you don’t have a draft that you’re proud of. The tutors are friendly. You can just come in and work through your thoughts without worrying about being judged.”
Ruffner is the Connection's Community Editor, reaching out to sponsors and subscribers across Adams County. She is a sophomore at Gettysburg College majoring in English and Japanese and hopes to study in Japan.
Ruffner has been on the college deans' list and is part of the Garthway Leadership Program at the College. She excels in leadership and interacting with the public.
