Does a Business School's Writing Center Encourage Students To Write Like Men?

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Does a Business School's Writing Center Encourage Students To Write Like Men?
Language: English
Authors: Nadeau, Jean-Paul
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2003
Document Type: Reports - Research
Speeches/Meeting Papers
Descriptors: Business Administration Education, Gender Issues, Interviews, Student Attitudes, Student Surveys, Writing Laboratories, Writing Research
Abstract: An educator at Bryant College (Rhode Island), a business-oriented college, sought to better understand the effects of gender as they operate within and through the school's writing center. Bryant College's female students attend a college with a student body of about 40% females and 60% males. The hypothesis in a study was that female students would feel more anxious about their writing than would male students in this male-dominated environment and that females would be less likely to visit the writing center at the school, as they might feel that they would get another "male" perspective on their less-than-adequate writing. Research involved the use of three sources of data: logs of student sessions (called consultation logs), 87 student survey responses, and interviews of individual peer writing consultants. During the spring 2002 semester, the writing center had 404 sessions with students--216 of these, or 53.5%, were with female students. Also, there did not seem to be much difference between the focus of sessions with female students and the focus of sessions with male students. Data indicated that female students were 16% more likely than male students to request a focus for consulting sessions. In general, consultants perceive gender to be an influence on sessions. Includes 2 figures and 2 tables. Lists 5 works cited. (NKA)
Entry Date: 2003
Accession Number: ED474964
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:An educator at Bryant College (Rhode Island), a business-oriented college, sought to better understand the effects of gender as they operate within and through the school's writing center. Bryant College's female students attend a college with a student body of about 40% females and 60% males. The hypothesis in a study was that female students would feel more anxious about their writing than would male students in this male-dominated environment and that females would be less likely to visit the writing center at the school, as they might feel that they would get another "male" perspective on their less-than-adequate writing. Research involved the use of three sources of data: logs of student sessions (called consultation logs), 87 student survey responses, and interviews of individual peer writing consultants. During the spring 2002 semester, the writing center had 404 sessions with students--216 of these, or 53.5%, were with female students. Also, there did not seem to be much difference between the focus of sessions with female students and the focus of sessions with male students. Data indicated that female students were 16% more likely than male students to request a focus for consulting sessions. In general, consultants perceive gender to be an influence on sessions. Includes 2 figures and 2 tables. Lists 5 works cited. (NKA)