Journal of Writing Analytics Jan 2018 Open Access

It�s All in the Notes: What Session Notes Can Tell Us About the Work of Writing Centers

Genie N. Giaimo ; Joseph J. Cheatle ; Candace K. Hastings ; Christine Modey University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

Abstract

This research note focuses on how corpus analysis tools can help researchers make sense of the data writing centers collect. Writing centers function, in many ways, like large data repositories; however, this data is under-analyzed. One example of data collected by writing centers is session notes, often collected after each consultation. The four institutions featured in this noteâ€"Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Texas A&M University, and The Ohio State Universityâ€"have analyzed a subset of their session notes, over 44,000 session notes comprising around 2,000,000 words. By analyzing the session notes using tools such as Voyant, a web-based application for performing text analysis, writing center researchers can begin to explore critically their large data repositories to understand and establish evidence-based practice, as well as to shape external messaging about writing center laborâ€"separate from and in addition to impact on student writersâ€"to institutional administrators, state legislators, and other stakeholders.

Journal
Journal of Writing Analytics
Published
2018-01-01
DOI
10.37514/jwa-j.2018.2.1.09
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Gold
Topics
discourse analysis writing centers empirical research quantitative research
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Bryan (2024)
    For the record: Practicing critical software literacy in writing centers
    Computers and Composition
  2. DasBender (2021)
    Enabling practices at the centre
    Writing and Pedagogy

References (0)

No references on file for this article.

CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. The Peer Review Apr 2023
    Writing Center Theory and Research: A Review ↗
    Rebecca Babcock
    discourse analysis collaborative writing transfer threshold concepts writing centers technical communication archival research empirical research qualitative research quantitative research gender and writing book reviews
  2. The Peer Review Sep 2025
    The Writing Center as a Rebel Space: Stories of Tutoring and Writing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ↗
    Ghada Seifeddine
    discourse analysis teacher development writing centers peer tutoring empirical research multimodality literacy studies race and writing disability studies editorial matter
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Jun 2025
    Charting the Course of Stance Construction in Container Shipping: An Empirical Study of COSCO Shipping and Maersk ↗
    Shijie Liu; Minggui Duan; Yan Zhang
    discourse analysis argument professional writing empirical research quantitative research
  4. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Jan 2025
    Metaphor in U.K. Bank Chairman Letter to Shareholders ↗
    Tolulola Lawal
    discourse analysis empirical research quantitative research
  5. Writing Center Journal 2023
    How Genre-Trained Tutors Affect Student Writing and Perceptions of the Writing Center ↗
    Lucy Bryan Malenke, Laura K. Miller, Paul E. Mabrey III,; Jared Featherstone
    genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy writing centers peer tutoring empirical research affect and writing