WRITING HELP. The writing lab was located on the third floor of the American Studies Building. Dennis Mann, sophomore, tutors John Tebo, sophomore in English. -Photo by Sharon Bowles. HELP. Dr. Larry Long discuss the procedure he would like to use in teaching a concept with the graduate assistant. The lab was open every day except Sunday. -Photo by Sharon Bowles. American Studies third floor transformed into surgical suite T here is an operating room on Harding's campus which some students may not be familiar with. The room is not campus nurse Pat Rice's place of work, nor is it a laboratory for pre-med majors. This operating room is not for students with splitting headaches or fractured bones, but ones suffering from chronic comma splicing or those with dangling participles. The Writing Center was in the American Studies Building and was directed by Dr. Larry Long, with the aid of 35 assistants. Long, an English professor, initiated the program in 1978. "I began individually tutoring students, and that was sort of the beginning of the Writing Center. In 1979, we actually became a writing center. I had two graduate students who were tutoring with me part-time," Long said. The 32 tutors, who performed the grammatical surgery, were primarily those from the advanced composi260 People for keeps tion class (English 281) which Long taught. Three of them were paid through the Learning Assistance Center on the work-study program. According to Long, these numbers were the highest in the center's history and were more than adequate to serve its needs. Janett Crain, one of three English graduate students who were required to supervise the center 12 hours each week, said she was impressed with the program. "I have three sons who have been to other colleges that did not have this much of an organized attempt at tutoring students, " said Crain. The center's surgical similarities could best be seen in the hurdle testing program. Students in the English 102 classes were given eight grammar skills test throughout the semester. If the students did not pass (75% or above) one of the 20 to 25 question exams, they were required to spend 30 minutes in the center before retaking the test. To review for the test English 102 students had access to computer programs set up exactly like the multiplechoice exams. After completing the practice test the student might check answers to find out why his or her answers were wrong. Dennis Mann, a math major and a paid tutor, said he compares his position to a physician's job, since he must help the students diagnose their grammatical problems. "On a school level we tried to develop a logical thinking process in the students to attack the hurdle tests. On a universal level we tried to build confidence in writing within the student," Mann said. Other patients who visited the center were those in other classes who wanted their papers analyzed by a grammar specialist. Long said, "It was always available for every student on campus. We are there to help any student who has any writing assignment." In contrast to a normal doctor's procedures, however, the Writing Center's purpose was not to prescribe grammatical pills to students who desired a quick fix in their writing assignments. Long said, "Writing is a performance. It's a process. For the ones who want the quick fix, basically, we stop the bleeding and put a bandaid over it. That's not really what we want to do. By letting the peer students work over a period of time before the paper is due, we are able to get behind those surface problems and really help the student be a better writer." According to Long, with 695 accumulated visits halfway through the fall semester, the Writing Center showed much growth during the past two years. The longterm goal for the center was to contribute to the overall improvement of writing skills across campus. It could best be said that the Writing Center was out to cure the students of diseased writing and not just to stop the papers from bleedmg. - Mark Haynes
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