Hi, Janice --
I have a feeling I've sent you this info before. Or was it
someone else's surve? I'm sure you know the work Henry
Hubert did a few years ago on writing centres. But here;s my
info again, anyway. I look forward to seeing your
collection.
U of T has so many tutorial centres I can't list them all.
There are math tutoring centres, Physics and Economics
tutoring centres, Aboriginal Students' tutoring centres,
college dons' tutoring services, etc. But the ones most
relevant to your interest are the 14 or so writing centres.
You can see them listed via the big website I have created.
It's at www.utoronto.ca/writing/.
There are eight or so college writing centres for undergrads
in Arts and Science plus two on the suburban campuses, a
centre that's part of the big writing program in Engineering
(run by Rob Irish, [log in to unmask], 416 978-6708),
another that's part of the writing instruction built into
the Architecture graduate program (run by Andy Payne,
[log in to unmask], 416 978-2586), and one for some of
the Health Science programs (run by Dena Taylor,
[log in to unmask], 416 978-0340). These are all listed
and linked in my website. A new program for graduate
students will start up after July 1, run by Jane Freeman
([log in to unmask], no phone number yet). There will
also be one staffed by peer tutors for the grad students at
OISE/UT (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education). You
might also be interested in the academic counselling done by
Counselling and Learning Skills, run by Nellie Perret
([log in to unmask], 416 978-1033).
I'm Coordinator of the lot, meaning that I get to sit on a
lot of committees and write reports and proposals --
everybody calls on me when they have to think about
writing. I also do "outreach" work by giving workshops and
presentations to classes, and by giving training workshops
and working with TAs. I consult with people trying to
integrate writing instruction into their courses, as they're
being encouraged to do these days, especially in the
undergrad program in Arts and Science. I also provide
support and advice to writing centre instructors when I'm
asked, and try to develop and disseminate teaching and
research resources for them. I sponsor training sessions and
professional development meetings too. I do some research
when I can squeeze it in, and so do a few other writing
instructors. My e-mail is [log in to unmask], and my
phone number is 416 978-8109 (as in my sig line below).
As for services and resources, all the writing centres
concentrate on offering individual consultations, as
explained on the webpage "Working with a Writing Tutor" at
http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/service1.html. We also offer
group instruction of various kinds -- within classes in
Engineering and Architecture (the newest centres, where we
could design from scratch), usually outside them as
course-related or standalone workshops for the (older)
college writing centres. Increasingly too, we have been
involved in giving non-credit courses, "free" to students
because of grants that come from increased tuition fees. The
most successful are co-taught by writing instructors and
senior science TAs -- who also learn from each other.
The website includes about 40 files of advice on academic
writing written specifically for U of T students, as well as
many links to other sites. It gets over 6000 "hits" weekly.
Some of the files are distinctive, such as those on writing
admission letters, writing critiques, "how not to
plagiarize," etc. We also have a set of very specific ESL
files that people find useful. It also has links and advice
files for faculty, both writing instructors and those using
writing in their other courses. It the key place for giving
the 65,000 U of T students + 10,000 faculty and TAs the
information they need to navigate our very scattered
programs, so I try to keep it updated regularly.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you want more information.
Cheers,
Margaret.
--
(Dr.) Margaret Procter
University of Toronto
Coordinator, Writing Support
15 King's College Circle
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7
(416) 978-8109; FAX (416) 971-2027
http://www.utoronto.ca/writing
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