AdvisingHandbook

SMWC Writing Center Information

Writing Center Director:

Antonia Taylor Email: WritingCenter@smwc.edu; Ext. 1167 Skype: SMWCWriting

Who can make an appointment? •

All SMWC students can use the LRC and Writing Center resources free of charge

How to make an appointment: •

For synchronous help, schedule a one-on-one tutoring appointment here:

https://smwctutoring.as.me/?appointmentType=57775 •

For asynchronous help in Writing, email WritingCenter@smwc.edu

What type of writing help do we give? • Idea development • Topic/thesis development • Organization

Research strategies

• • •

Proper citation methods (APA and MLA) Grammar and punctuation concepts

What type of writing can students bring to the center? • We accept all kinds of academic writing, including but not limited to writing assignments for Woods Core classes, outlines for speeches, lab reports, and longer pieces of writing such as Master theses. • APA and MLA citations and research guidance • We will not help with take-home exams unless we have prior permission from the instructor. What type of tutoring is available? • Synchronous in the form of face-to-face meetings or live chat via Adobe Connect/Skype. • Asynchronous in the form of email feedback. The goal for turnaround is 24 hours. (Weekday only) What do we not do? • The SMWC Writing Center is not an editing service. Tutors will not simply read and correct student work. Their job is to teach and help the tutees grasp the concept at hand. Students are expected to take an active role in all steps of the brainstorming and revision process. Tutors will not write on student papers. Unless ADA accommodations state otherwise, students are expected to take their own notes during the tutoring session. Online tutoring works much the same way. Tutors will pick 2-3 concerns (starting with higher order-lower order) based on student need and requests. The tutors will comment only on these issues and not others that may be present within the writing. This way the tutor will be able to write substantive feedback without overwhelming the student. Tutors will, for example, inform the student that her thesis statement is missing, tell him/her why the missing thesis is a problem, and then write a lesson based around writing an effective thesis statement.

Can students get grammar and editing help? •

Absolutely! Grammar mistakes are considered a lower-order concern, so tutors will generally work with larger issues first, but when needed or requested grammar issues will be addressed the same way. The tutor will pick one or two problems that repeat throughout the writing and teach a lesson on how to correct them. The tutors will also explain and model editing strategies so that students can then work toward editing their own work.