The Writing Center: Our Work and Clients
Findings for the 2008-2009 Academic Year
Matthew Cole ’09

Carleton students make frequent use of the Writing Center

• During the 2008-2009 academic year, 1 in 5 Carleton students made at least one appointment at the Writing Center.
• Altogether, the Writing Center staff conducted over 1250 consulting sessions.
• Of the 230 students who made their first appointment at the Writing Center this year, 54% came back for a second.
• 53% of our clients made two or more appointments during the academic year, and 36% made three or more.
• Students of all class year visit the Writing Center
• 45% of our clients were freshmen, and their sessions make up 53% of all Writing Center appointments. About 1 in 3 freshman made an appointment at the Writing Center this year.
• 23% of our clients were sophomores, 16% were juniors, and another 16% were seniors.
• More than half of our sophomore and junior clients had been to the Writing Center in previous academic years (50% and 55%, respectively).
• 30% of our senior clients had been to the Writing Center before. Seniors frequently make a first-time appointment at the Writing Center in order to work on application or comps project: those doing so accounted for 42% of all senior clients.

Students bring a variety of projects to the Writing Center

• 80% of our clients came to work on an essay for a Carleton course. Academic essays accounted for nearly all freshman and junior appointments, with 94% of all freshman and 90% of all juniors coming for that purpose.
• 14% of all sophomore clients came to work on their Writing Portfolios.
• 35% of our senior clients came to work on their Comps projects. Another 20% came to work on resumes or applications.
• Students were most likely to bring academic essays from courses in English, History, Political Science, and Economics. Courses generating an especially high number of appointments included: AMST 115, AFAM 113, ARTH 101, ENGL 110, ENGL 111, ENGL 112, POSC 170, POSC 160, and RELG 110.
• Excepting PE, Theater, and some foreign languages, students brought work from every academic department to Writing Center during the 2008-2009 school year.
• Students visit the Writing Center to make substantive improvements to their work
• Students were most likely to make an appointment to improve the clarity of their paper – 63% of our visitors identified this as a goal for their session.
• Organization and thesis support were also major concerns with, respectively, 60% and 53% of our clients saying they would like to improve those aspects of their work.
• A quarter of our clients made an appointment with the goal of better integrating support into their paper.
• Some clients made appointments in order to improve their writing skills in the long-run: 26% wanted to improve their own proof-reading skills and 14% wanted to learn a citation style.  

Students visit the Writing Center at all stages of the writing process

• 51% of our clients came with a complete first draft for revision and 26% were on at least their second draft.
• 15% of our clients came with a partial draft of their paper. 8% wanted to brainstorm our outline ideas before beginning a draft.
• 37% of our clients made an appointment the day before their assignment was due. 16% made appointments the day of their assignment deadline.
• 12% of our clients scheduled an appointment at least a week in advance of their deadline. Of those students, 25% were working on applications, 19% were working on comps, and 14% were working on the Writing Portfolio.

What students say they learn at the Writing Center:

• “That a lot of brainstorming consists of talking your ideas through and that gives you a better focus.”
• “A better way to structure and assert my thesis.”
• “Good ways to reword things. Helped me find ways to support my evidence with analysis.”
• “Citation forms, how to create a strong conclusion.”
• “How to tighten my writing and how to more effectively phrase sentences and organize a paper.”
• “Methods of coming up with an essay topic - how to find textual evidence to form a thesis.”
• “I'm constantly learning how to better structure papers and write more clearly.”
• “Lots! The consultant helped with responding to prompts, finding a thesis, and using textual evidence.”
•  “How to organize my thoughts and research.”
• "Tips on how to edit drafts.”

How students describe the Writing Center staff:

• “Approachable and honest.”
• “Gave lots of feedback and provided valuable alternative perspectives.”
• “So amazingly helpful. And patient, but wasn't afraid to point out what needed help.”
• “Very candid. Helped me improve to the smallest detail.”
• “Intelligent, pointed, and thought-provoking.”
• “Helpful, friendly, open-minded.”
• “Extremely personable and supportive.”
• “Very patient and helpful.”
• “Kind, helpful, bright, and not forceful about anything.”
• “Really knows how to improve a paper.”
• “Very cool, easy to be around, smart, and knowledgeable.”
• “Very friendly, kindly states constructive comments.”
• “Very enthusiastic, challenged my ideas and thoughts.”
• “Polite and supportive. Tries really hard to give you practical suggestions and has a sense of humor.”
• “Very attentive.”