Interview with Writing Center Coordinator Allison Kirk

By Mony Akpakan

31 May 2021

Allison Kirk is the Writing Center Coordinator at Webster Leiden Campus. She is Canadian and completed her PHD in the Netherlands at Leiden University. Living in the Netherlands for 12 years, she brilliantly runs the writing center and teaches courses such as Writing Skills Workshop, the Craft of College Writing, and Culture and Communication.

In this interview, Allison talks about her experience teaching at Webster and shares some tips to help students improve their writing.

Mony: What do you like about teaching at Webster?

Allison: I really like the small classes because they make it easy to get to know students, and this makes class comfortable. It is almost like an informal environment. I also enjoy the diversity among students and faculty members. I can learn from people coming from different parts of the globe. Another thing that I like is the tools that we have at Webster. The technology is great, and the online library is very rich.

Mony: What are the challenges that you face in the field you are teaching?

Allison: This is a great question! With writing, I must say that this is not a topic that student want to take. It is hard to motivate students and convince them to love the topic. Covid-19 is also a challenge, especially for discussions during online courses (Internet problems, remembering to turn on or off the microphones).

Mony: As the Writing Center Coordinator, what are common mistakes (common problems) that students make when they reach out to you?

Allison: I think the main problem students face is correctly paraphrasing information which leads to plagiarism. There is also writing in clear English including grammar, vocabulary etc. The last thing that I can think of is that student do not often plan/outline their paper before writing which make their paper look like an unstructured one.

Mony: What advice would you give to students that would like to improve the quality of their writing?

Allison: I would advise them to always plan and create an outline for their papers before writing, and find the sources necessary for the paper as well. Student should also look up websites that are available to help them paraphrase, and also refer to net tutor. My last advice would be reading a lot to have background knowledge, and improve grammar and vocabulary, this concerns native and non-native students.

Mony: How often do students reach out to you?

Allison: There are students that definitely come to the writing center regularly; those are about 5 to 10 students. There are also the one that only come when they have an important project like final papers or thesis. Some faculty member require student to come to me as well.

Mony: What training did you go through in order to be qualified for this job?

Allison: I had to do a didactic training during my PHD, I also did a PHD in Linguistics and the Teaching English as a second language certificate.

Mony: What activity do you like to do on your free time?

Allison: I like reading, not only academic books but also fiction, drama, almost everything that has to do with reading. I also like playing guitar, I’ve played it since I a was 14 years old.

Mony: What is your favorite place in Leiden?

Allison: I love the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, and also the Leidse Hout Park.

If you need help with all things writing, Dr. Alison Kirk can help you with that! To make an appointment, send an email to: writingcenter@webster.nl.