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Journal of Education & Social Sciences - Volume 4, Issue 1 2016
By Nadia Rahim
10.20547/jess0411604105
Keywords: Writing center, student writing support, EFL writing, L2
Writing centers have long been identified as a supplementary component in process based writing skill development. While writing centers are a common constituent at higher education institutes in the developed world, these facilities are rarely available within the developing academic contexts. This paper revolves around the introduction of writing center facilities at a graduate business school in Pakistan. The study is framed as action research with phases of implementation followed by a feedback mechanism leading to the next phase. Feedback was collected with the help of observation and semi structured interviews conducted with instructors, tutors, as well as writing center participants. Feedback from the first two cycles of implementation highlight that teachers as well as students perceived some improvement in terms of the student writing outcomes, as well as their overall understanding of the writing process. The feedback also indicated the need for an improved structure, organization and timing of the center. It also highlighted the need for marketing the writing center, environmental modification and rethinking the tutor recruitment and training.