Education Commons^™

As writing center consultants and administrators, we witness the some of the ways that instructors can bewilder, frustrate, and even fail their students. We are often called upon to translate confusing assignments, decode cryptic comments, and explain writing conventions that otherwise would have remained tacit. These experiences may incline us to perceive some faculty members as “gatekeepers” who guard the borders of their disciplines, denying entry to students who are unable to intuit genre characteristics or produce error-free writing. This metaphor casts writing center consultants as guides (or smugglers) who help clients cross academic and disciplinary borders, and it casts …