July 27, 2001

In Praise of Writing Centers

To the Editor:

Victoria A. Matalon is selling a disservice to the students who use her online writing-tutor site ("Frustrated by Campus Tutoring, a Writer Sets Up an Online Service for Students," June 29). At real writing centers, students work with a tutor to revamp their papers. They learn as they go. For many years, tutors have resisted requests from students who want to drop papers off and pick them up later -- because we want students to learn to write.

The real problem