Preparing for a Tutorial

Come prepared with specific goals or questions.

Tutoring is most productive when the student has specific goals or questions about writing. This helps the tutor to understand the student’s current needs, concerns, and expectations.

Bring a printed copy of your most recent revision.

An unstapled paper copy of your most recent revision is most helpful in tutoring. This allows for both tutor and student to write notes and corrections directly onto the paper.

*While papers on laptops are acceptable, it is generally more productive to have a hard copy available for the tutor and yourself to read and to take notes upon.

Bring assignment sheet or grading rubric.

If possible, bring assignment information, such as a syllabus or handout.

Understand the Writing Center’s purposes and practices.

Many students—and instructors—have a hazy understanding of the Writing Center’s purposes and practices. Here are four misconceptions and solutions to them:

1. Students may expect a tutorial to be a comprehensive evaluation of their writing. However, tutors are limited to about 30 minutes, and thus they focus only on the student’s most pressing needs.
2. Students might postpone coming to the center--such as an hour before a paper is due--and expect to only make minor changes before turning in their paper. Contrary to this, coming to the Writing Center early will help students have sufficient time to revise their paper.
3. Students may feel uncomfortable to be actively involved during a tutoring session. For tutoring to be productive, students need to be prepared to take notes and make changes to their paper.
4. Some students think that their attendance is unnecessary, supposing instead that they can drop a paper off and return to pick it up. This is not the case—the Writing Center is a place to learn principles that will help you become a better writer, not merely a service to help you earn high marks on an assignment. Without a doubt, the active ingredient is you.

For more information about what to expect from tutoring, see the tutoring page.

Schedule an appointment in advance.

The center is often busy during Fall and Winter semesters. For this reason, we encourage students to sign up for appointments in advance. However, please feel free to walk in, knowing that there may be a wait. For details about appointments, see scheduling.