CWCR/RCCR

Vol. 7 No. 1 Elisabeth van Stam is a Writing Advisor on the Graduate and Postdoctoral team and STEM Resource at the University of Waterloo’s Writing and Communication Centre (WCC). Trained as a professional biologist, she brings extensive experience conducting and communicating scientific research to her work supporting writers and colleagues at the WCC. Her pedagogical approach is student‑centered and genre‑aware, drawing on firsthand STEM writing experience to foreground global structure and meaning‑making while positioning students as experts in their disciplinary knowledge and communication goals. Although STEM students frequently engage in diverse writing and communication tasks throughout their degree, feedback … Continue reading Decoding the Lab Report: Building STEM Genre Awareness

This past July, the Waterloo Region Record reported massive layoffs at Conestoga College – over 1,800 faculty and administrators lost their jobs. One of the support units entirely wiped out? Writing Services. CBC confirmed that all writing consultants were eliminated, quoting the union president: “That role is gone.” In one swift move, Writing Services at Conestoga has disappeared. With no clear explanation for why Writing Services was targeted, those of us working in writing centres are left frustrated. The Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing doesn’t mince words: “the ability to write well is basic to student success in college … Continue reading Without the Writing Centre, What’s the Writing Plan?

Brian Hotson is a past-editor of CWCR/ACCR/RCCR. Terrence (Terry) Murphy was a creator and ardent supporter of writing centres and academic writing in Atlantic Canada. As Dean of Arts at Memorial University in Newfoundland (1993-2001), he advocated for the founding of its writing centre in 1984 and later the centre at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, in 2005. Terry retired from Saint Mary’s University as Vice-President, Academic and Research (2001-2010). However, he continued to devote many hours to students by mentoring, advising, and supervising graduate work, well after his retirement, and appointment as a Professor Emeritus, in 2013. Terry’s academic field … Continue reading Memorial for Terry Murphy, PhD

Nia Pazoki (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Psychology at Simon Fraser University and one of the Writing Services Coordinators at the Student Learning Commons (SLC). Her work focuses on inclusive education, displaced and neurodivergent youth, and reflective pedagogies grounded in community care. At the SLC, she co-develops and facilitates writing programs for students and collaborates across campus to create thoughtful, equity-focused learning spaces. Nia believes in slow scholarship, story-sharing, and writing as a way of building belonging. At Simon Fraser University (SFU), the Student Learning Commons (SLC) is a hub for academic support, peer learning, and community-based programming. … Continue reading After the Fire: Reflections and Learning by Ripple Effect

After a brief hiatus following Brian Hotson’s last post as editor March 26, we’re thrilled to announce that the CWCR/RCCR is BACK! If you attended the CWCA/ACCR’s 2025 conference June 16-18, this announcement may not come as a surprise; others, however, may have questions: who is this “we”? And, what does “BACK!” entail? Brian’s departure—after years of excellent editorship—left a noticeable silence in the Canadian writing centres community. Since 2019, when Stevie Bell, Liv Marken, and Brian Hotson founded the Canadian Writing Centre Review / revue Canadienne des centres de rédaction as “an outlet for scholarly writing on writing centre … Continue reading Announcement | CWCR/RCCR Is BACK: Meet the Blog Editorial Collective