Teaching Resources
Request Assigned Writing Advisors for Your Non-Cornerstone/WRIT 1000 Classes
Download our form and send to Melissa Pavlik at mpavlik@bonaprinting.com or via campus mail to the Writing Center, Box 38.
Please note that Cornerstone and WRIT 1000 classes are the top priority for assigned WA’s. WR classes are the next priority, then WI classes. Because many of the Cornerstone sections run in the fall, fewer WA’s are available for other classes. The supply for WR/WI classes is greater in the spring, though there may be some WA’s available in the fall semester, depending on the number of Cornerstone/WI sections being offered and the number of WA’s available. We’ve been able to cover requests for spring WR and WI classes, plus some other classes in which a heavy load of writing is a part of the teaching/learning strategy.
The form explains options available to you if we are unable to accommodate your request.
Short Guides to Writing Instruction from Our Writing Center
Faculty and Writing at North Park University
- Carol Martin, director emeritus of the Writing Center, explains the approach to writing, both using and teaching it, in the academic life at the University.
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
- AAVE, otherwise known as Ebonics, is explained as an entirely new dialect, not just improper English.
Conferencing in the Writing Center
- The benefits and process of Writing Center conferences in student work.
Suggestions for Dealing with Writing Assignments
- Eight suggestions for helping students be successful in their written work.
Formal and Informal Composition
- How and when to use informal composition in the learning process.
English Grammar and Linguistics
- An explanation of Standard American English.
- The six most common grammar mistakes in student written work.
PowerPoint Presentations
Browse our collection of PowerPoint presentations for examples of effective PowerPoint design and tools for in-class writing instruction.
Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations
- Salvation Army PowerPoint: An example of an effective PowerPoint
- See What I Mean?: This PowerPoint explains and exemplifies ways to create good PowerPoints and avoid pitfalls.
Writing Instruction/Pedagogy Presentations
- Integrating Sources PowerPoint: Help students learn when and how to incorporate sources.
- Collaborative Learning: In this PowerPoint, Writing Advisors reflect on their own experiences with collaborative learning.
Sample Essays with Commentary
For her classic journal article “Responding to Student Writing,” Nancy Sommers studied instructor feedback and found that commentary on student papers was not specific to each student’s essay and could be “rubber-stamped” from one essay to the next. In contrast, here are some examples of responses from our Writing Advisors that give students’ work a fair and thorough reading on its own terms and that respond with feedback designed to generate new, deeper ideas. These are not intended to be entirely exemplary—there is way more commentary here than one instructor could possibly be expected to give. These are meant to give examples of the kinds of comments you could make, not an example of how many you should make.