When should you visit the campus writing center? What should you expect to happen during this ...

Far too many students visit the campus writing center the day before a paper is due. This may be a result of a faulty perception on the part of students. They may think they can only visit the center with a final draft. Of course, procrastination is just as likely at work here. Students should consider using writing center feedback at earlier stages in their writing process and to leave themselves enough time to implement suggestions they deem appropriate.

These questions also aim to explore students' perceptions regarding what happens at the writing center. That is, do students think of the writing center as an editing service or do they understand that those who work in the writing center are there to be objective readers of their writing? Students with unrealistic expectations will surely be disappointed--if this is the case, consider asking a member of the writing center staff to visit your class to describe a typical session.