INTRODUCTION: Nowadays most tertiary institutions in South Africa boast a writing centre, some of them
more than one. University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and University of Cape Town
(UCT) have a general writing centre each and also a Law writing centre, for example.
Most of the writing centres are permanent fixtures and many have permanent staff. This
book serves to outline differing theoretical approaches to writing which underpin the
various centres, as well as differing implementation of some of these theories in particular
social and political contexts. It showcases writing centres from seven institutions in South
Africa and reflects on practices in these differing contexts. It situates all of this in terms
of some of the tensions writing centres around the world experience, such as the relation
between the generic and the discipline-specific in teaching writing, the extent to which
writing centres need to engage with the increasingly multimodal requirements in student
assignments, the placement of writing centres in institutions, and degrees of perceived
legitimacy and authority. The unique South African context shows the significance of
these issues in sharp relief.