Research
Through our publications and presentations, the Writing Center’s students and faculty contribute to knowledge and practice in the field. Our scholarship has focused on writing centers and mindfulness, consultant education, neurodiversity in the writing center, the writing center’s place in the university, and writing center support for multilingual writers and graduate-student writers.
In the list below, our student authors’ names are displayed in boldface.
Writing Centers and GenAI
Conference Presentation
Franson-Thiel, T., Perkins, M., Riley, H., Massie, C., & Lawrence, S. (2024, October 24). Feedback face-off: Comparing writing tutors' and genAI written responses to student writing [Paper presentation]. International Writing Centers Association Annual Conference. Virtual.
Poster Presentations
Alam, F., & Parikh, M. (2026, July 31). Student writers and generative AI: Investigating the knowledge writers bring to their use of AI [Poster presentation]. Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States.
Baker, G., & Claure, K. (2026, July 31). Student writers and generative AI: Investigating writers' perspectives on critical thinking during AI use [Poster presentation]. Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States.
McKee, K., & Naidoo, A. (2026, July 31). Student writers and generative AI: Investigating the impact of AI use on students' sense of ownership over their writing [Poster presentation]. Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States.
Care, Mindfulness, and Outreach in the Writing Center
Publication
Johnson, S. (2018). Mindful tutors, embodied writers: Positioning mindfulness meditation as a writing strategy to optimize cognitive load and and potentialize writing center tutors’ supportive roles. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, (15)2. https://www.praxisuwc.com/johnson-152
Conference presentations
Massie, C., Lawrence, S. Edalatishams, I., Rhodes, J., Batt, A., & Todey, E. (2022, October 27). Centering care in the Covid-era writing center: Unpacking tensions and complexities [Roundtable session]. International Writing Center Association Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Habib, A., Lawrence, S., & Massie, C. (2021, September 22). Responding to student writing: Strategies for inclusive feedback in writing-intensive and writing-enriched courses [Interactive session]. Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, Fairfax, VA, United States.
McDonald, R., Branca, K., Gagnon, D., & Kahn, J. (2018, March 24). Understanding the full impact of writing center outreach workshops [Panel session]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Glassboro, NJ, United States.
Russell, A., Duquaine, K., & Mason, H. (2016, March 19). Synergies among writers and tutors in three innovative formats: Enrollment tutoring, video tutoring, and writing groups [Panel session]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Russell, A., & Lawrence, S. (2015, April 11). Affective dimensions of tutoring and writing spaces [Panel session]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Harrisonburg, VA, United States.
Neurodiversity in the Writing Center
Conference presentations
Ben-Lev, M., & Nesbitt, R. (2025, April 5). 21st-century connection: Emotion, technology, and disability in writing center sessions [Paper presentation]. Mid Atlantic Writing Center Association Conference 2025, Newark, DE, United States.
Stanich, A. (2023, October 13). ‘Where do I fit?’ Neurodiversity and neurodivergent identities in the writing center [Paper presentation]. International Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Stanich, A. (2023, March 4). Neurodivergent identities in the writing center [Paper presentation]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Bryn Mawr, PA, United States.
Stanich, A. (2022, April 2). When disclosure feels like duty: Negotiating writing center consultants' disabled identity within the context of the writing center and writing center research [Paper presentation]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, College Park, MD, United States.
Kahn, J., Branca, K., & Chergosky, S. (2019, March 23). Re-envisioning a robust partnership with campus disability services [Panel session]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Easton PA, United States.
Writing Center Institutional Collaborations
Goransson, J. (2024). “Hopes and fears”: What do writing center administrators think of merging with or converting into a learning center? Writing Center Journal, 42(3), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.7771/2832-9414.2030
Baker, T., Deans, T., Green, K., Goransson, J., & Jensen, A. (2024, March 15). Building a Writing Center Ecology through Partnerships with National Writing Project Sites and University Writing Centers [paper presentation]. Secondary School Writing Center Association (SSWCA) Annual Conference, Boston, MA, United States.
Student Writers’ Perspectives on Writing Centers
Publication
Hashlamon, Y. (2018). Aligning with the center: How we elicit tutee perspectives in writing center scholarship. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, (16)1. https://www.praxisuwc.com/161-hashlamon
Conference panel
Hashlamon, Y., Boothe, M., Arhin, S., & Goldenthal, A. (2017, April 1). Tutor and tutee perspectives on tutoring, teaching, and scholarship: Are we playing the same game? [Panel session]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Reading, PA, United States.
Writing Center Consultants’ Education and Experiences
Publications
Bychkovska, T., and Lawrence, S. (2024). ‘Staying true to our mission’: Writing center tutors’ perspectives on working with multilingual writers. Writing Center Journal, 42(2), 76 - 101.
Edalatishams, I., & Muhammad, A. (2022). Two accounts, one writing center: How the pandemic impacted tutor experiences and identities. In M. Orsini, & L. Kleinman (Eds.), Student writing tutors in their own words: Global voices on writing centers and beyond. (pp. 95-99). Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003263203
Conference panels and presentations
Lawrence, S., & Massie, C. (2025, October 16). A decade of tutor reflections on training, space, and knowledge gained. [Paper presentation.] International Writing Centers Association 2025 Conference, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
Hashlamon, Y., Payne, A., & Massie, M. (2018, March 15). Growing into yourself: Tutor training and the development of writerly identity [Panel session]. Conference on College Composition and Communication Annual Convention, Kansas City, MO, United States.
Massie, C. (2019, October 18). Portrait of the artist: How tutoring affects tutors’ writing processes [Paper presentation]. International Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Columbus, OH, United States.
Bychkovska, T., & Lawrence, S. (2019, October 19). Training tutors to work with multilingual writers: Revisions to training based on an ongoing needs analysis [Paper presentation]. International Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Columbus, OH, United States.
Mueller, L. (2018, March 24). Spanish tutoring: Observations of tutoring in a foreign language [Paper presentation]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Glassboro, NJ, United States.
Lawrence, S., Massie, M., & Bychkovska, T. (2018, October 12). ‘Apply this comment to the rest of your draft’: Scaffolding in tutors’ written feedback [Paper presentation]. International Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, United States.
Lawrence, S. (2016, October 14). Negotiating time and ownership in peer tutor research: A model of a two-year, student-driven project [Paper presentation]. International Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.
Multilingual Writers in the Writing Center
Publications
Kia, E., Bordbarjavidi, F., & Edalatishams, I. (2023). A Writing community, a virtual library, and a support system. In H. Kayi-Aydar, A. Steadman, & K. Shea (Eds.). Narratives of TESOL professionals: Navigating the doctoral program. Information Age Publishing.
Zawacki, T. M., Hajabbasi, E., Habib, A., Antram, A., & Das, A. (2007). Valuing written accents: Non-native students talk about identity, academic writing, and meeting teachers’ expectations. Diversity Research Group, George Mason University. https://writtenaccents.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/valuing-written-accents-second-edition.pdf
Conference panels and presentations
Suarez, Z., Hor, K., Edalatishams, I. (2023, October). English speaking consultations as inclusive practices in multilingual student support. [Paper presentation]. International Writing Center Association Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Hor, K., Suarez, Z., Edalatishams, I. (2023, June). Piloting an oral communication consultation program for graduate multilingual students. [Paper presentation]. Consortium on Graduate Communication Summer Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States.
Miklas, J., Edalatishams, I., & Bryant, K. (2022, October). Understanding multilingual writer's self-perceptions of identity to inform writing center practices. [Paper presentation]. International Writing Center Association Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Miklas, J., Bryant, K., & Edalatishams, I., (2022, April). Fostering multilingual writers’ identity in the writing center: A study of the ESOL opt-in program. [Paper presentation]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States.
Massie, C., & Johnson, S. (2021, October). Standard English or Englishes? Multilingual writers’ perspectives on language ideology in the writing center [Paper presentation]. International Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Virtual.
Massie, C., Bychkovska, T., & Johnson, S. (2021, March). Standard language ideology in L2 English writing for academic purposes: Examining university students’ perspectives [Paper presentation]. American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference, Virtual.
Bychkovska, T., Massie, M., & Johnson, S. (2021, March). Language ideology in academic writing: Eliciting multilingual students’ perspectives [Paper presentation]. TESOL Annual Conference, Virtual.
Bell, L., Bychkovska, T., Lawrence, S., & Staben, J. (2020, March). Making interdisciplinary innovation commonplace in the writing center: Training tutors to facilitate language and literacy choices with multilingual writers [Panel session]. Conference on College Composition and Communication Annual Convention, Milwaukee, WI, United States.
Ganus, A., Thompson, R., & Bychkovska, T. (2020, March). Training tutors to support multilingual writers’ linguistic needs through pedagogical grammar modules [Panel session]. Mid Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Baltimore MD, United States.
Massie, C., Bychkovska, T., & Johnson, S. (2020, March). Multilingual writers’ perspectives on language diversity: Developing a study. [Works-in-progress session]. Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Adenugba, F., Pugatch, A., & Bychkovska, T. (2019, March). Training tutors to support multilingual writers’ linguistic needs through pedagogical grammar modules [Panel session]. MAWCA 2019, Lafayette College, Easton PA, March 2019, United States.
Graduate writers and writing
Publications
Goransson, J. (2024). Consulting myself through the dissertation process. Connecting Writing Centers Across Borders: A Blog of WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. https://wlnconnect.org/2024/04/17/consulting-myself-through-the-dissertation-process/
Lawrence, S., and Zawacki, T. M. (Eds.). (2018). Re/Writing the Center: Approaches to Supporting Graduate Students in the Writing Center. Utah State University Press.
Lawrence, S., and Zawacki, T. M. (Eds.). (March/April 2016). Writing Center Support for Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Writers. Special issue of WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, (40)2.
Conference panels and presentations
Goransson, J., Namubiru, E., & Edalatishams, I. (2022, September). Supporting dissertation/thesis writers: Research-based strategies from the Writing Center [Interactive session]. Innovations in Teaching & Learning Annual Conference, Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States.
Goransson, J., & Namubiru, E. (2022, June). When life creeps in: Supporting dissertation/thesis writers in the writing center and beyond [paper presentation]. Consortium on Graduate Communication Summer Institute, Virtual.
Cox, M., Lawrence, S., & Zawacki, T. M. (2021, June). Exploring approaches to supporting graduate writers across disciplines, demographics, and diverse institutional contexts [Pre-conference workshop]. International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference, Virtual.
Phillips, T., Zawacki, T. M., Gilliland, B., & Lawrence, S. (2019, July). Supporting postgraduate writers as they construct and negotiate scholarly identities [Roundtable session]. European Association of Teaching and Writing Annual Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Bychkovska, T., Taylor, G., & Lawrence, S. (2018, June). Graduate writing support beyond the classroom: Initiating L2 writing groups [Paper presentation]. TESOL Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, United States.
Bychkovska, T., & Lawrence, S. (2018, June). Supporting graduate multilingual writers: A writing center’s first semester offering graduate writing groups [Paper presentation]. Consortium on Graduate Communication Summer Institute, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
Eriksen, I., Massie, C., & Lawrence, S. (2017, November). Hidden in plain sight? Master’s student writing and writers [Panel session]. International Writing Centers Association Conference 2017 (November) Chicago, IL, United States.
Lawrence, S. (2017, March). Challenges to writing center orthodoxies posed by graduate student writers [Paper presentation]. Conference on College Composition and Communication Annual Convention, Portland, OR, United States.
Zawacki, T. M., Brady, L., & Lawrence, S. (2016, June). Dissertations and expectations: Making writing and research cultures visible [Panel session]. International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
Michiels, P., Ready, P., Mallet, K., & Lawrence, S. (2015, October). Evolving strategies for cross-campus collaborations, tutor education, and tutoring in a climate of vigorous campus internationalization [Panel session]. International Writing Centers Association Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Lawrence, S. (2015, March). Examining writer-tutor consultations at a weekly graduate student write-in [Lab session]. International Writing Centers Association Research Collaborative, Tampa, FL, United States.