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That's a question we hear a lot in the Writing Lab. While we don't have answers that work absolutely, we can pass along suggestions and comments we've heard from you:
Most often, students who don't use the lab say they're too busy or they don't need help with their writing. Students also typically want to know what's in it for them. Will you offer extra credit, or add points to the grading system? If not, why should students spend extra time with a tutor? You need to offer some incentive for doing so. (On our tutorial evaluation forms that students fill out after tutorials, they frequently write that seeing a tutor helps their grades and that they feel more confident about their writing after talking with a tutor. )
If the teacher merely mentions once in passing that the Writing Lab is available, most students will treat the suggestion with casual indifference, assuming that the teacher sees no great benefit in getting tutorial help. If you wish, we can visit your class to talk about the lab or to conduct a mock tutorial. During the first two weeks of the semester, you can also bring your class in for a tour. You can also mention the lab at least several times during the semester and emphasize how helpful it can be for writers to talk with tutors while they are drafting a paper.
If you believe that all writers--especially good ones-- benefit from talking with someone and from getting individual feedback on their papers and answers to their particular questions, then assigning only a few writers to the lab contradicts that perspective on writing. The manner in which you recommend that students go to the lab as well as your description of the lab will strongly influence their decision to follow up on your recommendation or referral.
Some teachers who assign journals ask the students to write in their journals about a visit to the lab. Others ask students to have a tutor read a draft of a paper and offer feedback. The students are then asked to write about the experience.
Students who wander in without knowing in any specific way what they should be working on generally have an unproductive session with a tutor. Accomplishing little or nothing is not an incentive to return. You can use our Writing Lab referral form for use in referring individual students -- click on the link to download it, and then check off the boxes related to what you'd like the student to work on.
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