Writing Tutoring

Students develop their academic writing skills with practice and support. Writing tutors help with any type of writing project including research papers, business plans, discussion posts, personal statements, letters, lab reports, and applications. Writing tutors work with students at any stage of the writing process, including prewriting and planning, revising, citing sources, or crafting sentences. For distance learners, asynchronous writing tutoring is available in the fall and spring semesters.

Reading skills go hand in hand with writing skills. Students frequently write in response to or in conversation with texts such as journal articles, textbooks, primary sources, legal documents, government or institutional reports, and more. That’s why Writing tutors offer sessions that focus on developing critical and strategic reading habits that improve comprehension.

Presentation slideshows, infographics, and posters require students to strategically select and arrange essential visual, auditory, and textual elements related to their topic or research. Writing tutors provide help planning and revising presentations and offer tips and feedback on delivery for students who wish to practice.

The purpose of the program is to help students develop the skills and habits of thinking needed to produce academic writing. To facilitate this, tutors discuss writing assignments, listen and respond to students’ drafts, introduce students to various writing and reading strategies, and help students understand the reader/writer relationship.

ASC writing tutors are a mix of professionals, graduate, and undergraduate student tutors with a variety of academic writing experiences. Student tutors are hired based on academic achievement, faculty recommendations, and interpersonal communication skills. Writing tutors participate in a training seminar where they learn about the theoretical perspectives and best practices that inform writing center work.

While every tutor session is unique, writing tutors follow general protocols at each stage of the writing process. At the start of most tutorials, writing tutors read and discuss the assignment instructions and help students clarify goals for the session.

Pre-writing & Planning

Some students want to discuss the assignment instructions in detail and develop a plan of action. Some find it helpful to brainstorm paper topics or sketch an outline with their tutors. Others need help with reading strategies to comprehend and manage information from sources.

Revising Drafts

Many students bring in a first draft of their assignment. Writing tutoring works best when these students prepare a few questions in advance or identify a particular section of the piece they want to review with the tutor. Students or tutors will read the draft aloud. At the end of each paragraph or section, tutors make comments and ask questions about the thesis or hypothesis, paragraph development and organization, use of evidence, and/or the citation of sources. Students and tutors will typically focus on a few specific issues in a single tutorial.

Editing or Proofreading

Tutors help students identify syntax, punctuation, and grammar issues; they review rules and patterns, and help students explore options for making editorial choices. This process takes time and requires student engagement, which is very different from proofreading and editing for students. Tutors are neither proofreaders nor editors.

That depends on the length and quality of the paper. Tutors will typically have enough time to read and respond to approximately 3-6 pages of a draft and then ask the student to work on the remaining pages independently, applying the concepts discussed in the tutorial.

Tutors will focus on a few specific writing issues in a single tutorial and introduce students to strategies to improve these. Tutors encourage students to put new writing strategies and rules into their own words or jot them down in a writing log for future reference.

Tutors encourage students to visit with professors to gain a deeper understanding of the assignment, get additional feedback on drafts, or to discuss grades as needed.

Writing tutoring takes time because it is an educational process that involves reading papers, having conversations, and exploring resources. These activities help students develop transferable writing strategies.

Appointments are approximately 50 minutes in length. After about 45 minutes of tutoring, tutors will begin the closure process, review topics discussed, and encourage students to make a list of things that they will work on independently following the session. Tutors may refer to this list as an “action plan.” The last 5 minutes of each hour are reserved for the tutors to complete their notes and prepare for their next appointment.

Walk-in tutoring, while sometimes available, is not guaranteed. Sometimes tutors will not be available for a full, 50-minute tutoring session when a student walks in for help. A shorter visit will limit the scope and depth of discussion. It is best for students to schedule an appointment through EagleSUCCESS in advance of the assignment due date.

Click here to schedule a writing tutoring appointment. Remember to schedule an appointment a few days in advance of assignment due dates.

Things to note:

• Students are permitted one appointment per day.
• Tutoring for a single assignment, including a thesis (with multiple chapters) or a synthesis paper, may not exceed three appointments.

Exceptions are sometimes made in consultation with faculty at the discretion of staff.

Yes! Students may work with writing tutors remotely through Microsoft Teams.

Remote writing tutoring is also available to all Brockport students through STAR-NY. STAR-NY tutors work on a first-come, first-served basis, Sundays through Thursdays from 7 am-11:59 pm. Go to STAR-NY Online tutoring, click “request a tutor,” and login using your NetID and password.

• Writing tutoring is an educational process that is different from editing or proofreading.

• Students get the most out of tutoring when they are actively engaged in the process through conversation, note-taking, practicing new writing strategies, or learning to use resources such as citation manuals.
• The writing tutoring available for graduate students working on theses or synthesis papers is the same as the tutoring for undergraduate students working on any other writing assignment.
• ASC Writing Tutoring follows instructional pedagogy that is consistent with current writing center best practices.
• Writing tutoring does not guarantee a high grade on a written assignment.
• In addition to meeting with writing tutors, students may also meet with faculty during office hours.
• Students may have a maximum of 1, 55-minute appointment per day and up to 3 appointments per assignment, including a thesis or synthesis paper.

Writing Handouts from UNC Chapel Hill
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Drake Memorial Librarty Citation Guides
Working with a tutor on APA Format
APA 7th Edition Frequently Used Page Guide
APAstyle.org