Embracing the Other Culture: Bridging the Gap Between the Writing Center and Engineering Studies

Abstract

Literature and experience both suggest that accommodating engineering students in the writing center presents a unique set of challenges that are often daunting to writing center practitioners, as scientific modes of thought are often vastly different in style and substance than those in the humanities. By synthesizing personal experience, an interview with an expert in the professional and academic engineering field, and literature, this article explores the engineering identity to inform the writing center practitioner’s practices as they engage with engineering students. This study asserts that the identity-centric approach that is commonly incorporated into writing center pedagogy can be used with engineering clients with the same effectiveness, provided that the writing center becomes more acquainted with the engineering identity.