First Writing Appointment? What to Expect

If you are new to our center, you may be surprised by a few of our habits in the Writing Center, such as the following:

• Looking over the assignment directions or rubric
• Starting with your agenda: what do YOU want from the appointment?
• Reading the paper out loud—we’ll always ask first, but it helps catch a lot of things that are easily missed otherwise!
• Reading for content before reading for grammar

To best promote your development and success as a college writer, we’re not necessarily interested in making every paper perfect. Rather, we’re more interested in teaching you valuable tips about writing to make you a better writer! We encourage you to make multiple appointments with us to not just improve your product, but to improve your process. Please note:

• Tutors may not be experts in the topic your paper covers.
• Tutors will not make any judgment about the grade your paper may receive.
• Tutors do not copyedit papers. Sections of your paper will be used to model the editing you should do.
• Tutors know only as much about the assignment as you share. Please provide an assignment description in the appointment form.

Our tutors are all warm, friendly, and knowledgeable about writing—we’re so excited to meet you!