Thanks for your interest in the Writing Center. Here are some ways to get the most help from the Writing Center for your students:
- If you haven’t already, go over the email we sent about how to make an appointment at the Writing Center. Feel free to ask for another one!
- Ask for an online Writing Center orientation.. A staffperson will give a warm, detailed presentation of everything the Writing Center offers; your students will get a feel for how friendly and unthreatening tutoring is, and will be much, much more likely to come for tutoring when you tell them to!
- Explain to your students what they can and can’t expect from tutoring. Tutors are not editors; they will help your students with all phases and aspects of their writing, and will definitely help your students improve their papers, but they do not proofread and correct unmarked work –no writing center does.
- Emphasize that tutoring writing is a process.Tutoring isn't a magical, while-you-sleep cure-all. Your students should expect to come to tutoring for at least a few sessions.
- Make sure that your students have your assignment, in writing!Often students forget, mis-copy or mis-hear the assignment. In order to best serve your students, tutors need to know what you want each student to work on.
- Please make comments on student's papers, at least regarding anything you’d like addressed in tutoring. Various strategies to make this easier include:
find two or three things you want the student to focus on.
• mark the essay either by noting or underlining specific errors, or making a mark next to each line containing errors or problems to be addressed.
• use correction symbols for grammar and mechanical errors
- Try to give the student some encouragement!One of the hardest challenges is motivating students who are discouraged. Tutors will certainly support your efforts in this.
If you have any questions or problems, feel free to stop by B 200, call us at x5688 or contact us by email at beisenstadt@lagcc.cuny.eduor lcroson@lagcc.cuny.edu