For Faculty

Faculty Brown Bags Series

The Faculty Brown Bags is where a small group of faculty gathers to talk about assigning writing AND teaching writing in their courses. Conversations are facilitated by the Director of the Writing Center, Scott Chiu, who offers their experiences and insights as a class instructor and writing center practitioner. The Writing Center provides the space, instructional materials, and coffee as they are relevant to the evolving conversation!

(Details on the sessions coming soon...)

Schedule for Spring 2025 Join or Propose a Session


Date	Time	Meeting Topic
Date TBA	Time 12:00-1:00 PM	Meeting Topic Writing Assignment & AI tools (by David Nelson & Scott Chiu)
Date TBA	Time 12:00-1:00 PM	Meeting Topic TBA
Date TBA	Time 12:00-1:00 PM	Meeting Topic TBA
Date TBA	Time 12:00-1:00 PM	Meeting Topic TBA

Resources for Faculty

This page has specific information and resources for faculty members to use in order to incorporate the Writing Center into your classes. We help with any form of writing at any stage of the writing process, so feel free to contact us (writingcenter@CalLutheran.edu) and ask how we can help you and your students!

To request a class visit, please contact the Director, Dr. Scott Chiu, at scottchiu@CalLutheran.edu.

Classroom Writing Support

If you don't teach composition, providing students with writing guidelines in the classroom can be a time-consuming and arduous task. Here are some simple ways to talk about writing in the classroom:

Global vs. Local - Global writing refers to large scale mechanics, such as generating a strong thesis statement, critical thinking and analysis, integrating evidence, and fulfilling the genre/prompt. Local writing refers to writing style and sentence-level mechanic, such as grammar, diction, syntax, and concision, choppiness, etc. As a rule, ask students to focus on the GLOBAL before the LOCAL.
The Car Wash Analogy - While grammar is a significant part of writing and communication, sometimes pesky grammar mistakes are less important than analytical thinking and originality. As a general rule, remember the Car Wash Example: If a car is really dirty and has no engine, giving it a car wash will not make it run. Fixing the engine (the content of a paper) would help the car much more than giving it a car wash (the grammar).
Thinking before Writing - Brainstorming and generating ideas is a major part of the writing process. Without a clear direction or central point, a student cannot write a focused draft. The clarity of the writing often comes from a student's level of thought development. Papers that don't meet length requirements are often lacking adequate brainstorming.
Writing Requires Steps - Students may struggle with writing because they try to compound the writing process into one step; they aim to create strong ideas, write clearly, and integrate evidence all in one draft. Yet, even the most skilled writers have difficulty multitasking in this way. Instead, the best writing results from taking one task at a time and creating multiple drafts.
Writing is a Tool - Emphasizing that writing is a strategy of learning is a productive way introduce writing in the classroom. Assigning low-stakes writing (writing not for a grade) might encourage students to use writing as a tool, not merely a product.

Proof of Attendance

The Writing Center can provide a Proof of Attendance stamp for students who visit The Writing Center for a full in-person, online, or group appointment. This stamp can be put on hard copy papers brought into the center or on a Writing Center Proof of Attendance sheet. Please tell students to get this stamp before they leave the session. The Writing Center consultant can send an email directly to you if the student has completed an online session. For more information, please contact Director Scott Chiu at scottchiu@CalLutheran.edu

The Writing Center Tours

In-Class Writing Materials

This Writing Center Faculty Page includes sample assignments, rubrics, and PowerPoint presentations for in-class use. Faculty can assign students to visit The Writing Center, ask students to tour the center and register for appointments, utilize Citation PowerPoints, and review writing skills handouts. Additionally, faculty can give students a writing center introduction themselves by using the Introduction powerpoint and supplemental handout.

The WC Policies for Faculty

Required Appointments: Professors can require students to visit The Writing Center. If you have this requirement for your class, help us prepare by emailing your prompt and guidelines ahead of time to our Director Scott Chiu, at scottchiu@CalLutheran.edu. Note: Let students know of this requirement early in their writing process.
What We Don’t Do: Since our mission is to support student growth, The Writing Center cannot do the following: perform line-by-line editing, proofread student work, write papers for students, or provide asynchronistic consulting.
Grading Policy: Writing consultants cannot grade student work, pass judgment on grades received, or comment on professor feedback. We leave grading to faculty.
Right of Refusal: Consultants can refuse to work with a client if he or she requests assistance beyond the scope of the center, becomes hostile towards a consultant, makes inappropriate advances, disregards the rules of the center, or is not a current or former CLU student.
Confidentiality Policy: Our confidentiality policy requires all student work, conversations, and comments to remain in the center. We will not share student work or personal information without explicit consent.

Faculty Feedback

The Writing Center would appreciate your comments and feedback about our services. To help us improve our resources, please email to Director Scott Chiu at scottchiu@CalLutheran.edu. Thank you!