Advocates the move to collaboration in writing centers. Describes three different ideas of writing centers (as "storehouse,""garret," and "Burkean parlor"). Discusses where the focus of control lies in each. Urges careful examination of what collaboration means and how definitions of it locate control, to avoid…

Argues that any writer writes with and against a cacophony of competing voices, thus collaborating with the Otherness of their own words. Studies one student's attempt to write on an issue about which she held multiple views. Considers how the writing center might aid in providing critical distance within such a model. (HB)

Presents a short history of collaboration as a pedagogical technique in composition. Concludes with some assumptions about collaboration that might be useful to those in writing centers as they theorize, teach, confer, tutor, conduct faculty workshops, and reflect on their educational and political purposes for teaching writing. (PRA)

Discusses the role of talk in the writing center and the general value of conversation for writers at all levels. Considers how writing center talk raises questions about writing and institutions. Shows how such a concept of talk connects to classroom teaching. (HB)

Although benefits and problems in collaborative learning, as well as techniques for facilitating it, have been extensively discussed in recent publications on composition teaching, few detailed descriptions of actual classroom uses of collaborative learning have been published. In an innovative one-term writing course, taught at the Chinese…

Focuses on the tutorial function of writing centers. Describes the uniqueness of the tutorial relationship. Claims that this relationship makes possible knowledge about writing unavailable in more institutionalized settings. Analyzes extensive excerpts from student comments concerning tutorial experiences. (HB)

Considers the role of the writing center within the context of a large writing program. Describes how the adoption of a portfolio system of grading at the University of Southern California focused attention on this issue. Narrates the changes brought about by the adoption of a portfolio assessment system. (HB)