A writing center is a writing center

Honestly, I can not imagine what a writing center would be like if students were tutored by appointment only. It seems like that would create more work for everyone involved and, hence, reduce the effectiveness of the entire process. One benefit the Writing Center has to offer is that students don't have to learn how to use it. Many of them already feel out of place asking for help, and might be turned off by the idea of having to go to extra work just to do so. If a student finds a tutor she feels is particularly effective, all she has to do is glance at the wall to find out when she can work with the tutor again. In this sense, students can schedule their own appointments without having anything set in stone.

As for the essays we've been reading in class, I think they can all be applied to drop-in writing centers. Regardless of schedules, we will be seeing a new paper in every session. The same guidelines for good tutoring apply, and we certainly encounter the same issues as other writing centers (ie, reluctant writers, ESL students, controversial subjects). Whether or not a student has an appointment will not change what elements of writing a tutor discusses.

Drop-in writing centers can face one problem: limited time. When I got to work Tuesday, all the tables were full and there were three people in line waiting to be tutored. The students were waiting patiently enough, but it was clear they felt their time was being wasted standing around. In this situation, tutors may become hyperconscious of the clock in an attempt to help as many people as possible. If students were able to make appointments, this would not happen. Then again, if students had to go to the trouble of making appointments, we might not ever have a rush like that. Maybe I'm underestimating their ambition. But probably not.