(By Appointment Only)

The College Writing Center provides one-on-one assistance to undergraduate students working on course writing assignments or personal statements. Contact us when you need help understanding your assignments, reading your drafts, or just need someone to listen to your ideas. Writing tutors will work with you at any stage of your writing process.

Preparing for Your Session:

Your tutoring session will take place over Zoom/GoToMeeting. Have any assignment directions given by the instructor ready, along with any work you have already done on the assignment.

Writing Center sessions are done online, so the center does not permit "drop-ins". Appointments are required. Please note that it is best to consult with a writing tutor as early as possible in the writing process, before a given assignment is due.

Also, don’t expect to get your papers corrected or proofread, which is called editing. (It is illegal for tutors to edit student papers.) The Writing Center works directly with you to help you improve your writing skills.

FAQs

• Do I need an appointment to see a tutor?
• Yes, you must schedule an appointment to meet with a Writing Center tutor.
• How do I make an appointment?
• E-mail mjeanlouis@meridianwestcentral.college using your Meridian West Central College e-mail account. Please enter “Writing Center Appointment” in the subject line and include what assignment you need support with and a list of at least 3 goals/needs you have in the body of the e-mail. We reserve the right to deny your request for an appointment if our services do not align with your needs.
• What are the Writing Center Hours?
• Writing Center hours vary depending on the semester and our tutor’s availability. When scheduling an appointment, Professor Jean-Louis will provide the available appointment times for that academic week.
• What happens if I miss my appointment?
• Please e-mail us ahead of time to inform us about the cancellation or rescheduling. This allows us to give your appointment time to someone else who might need it. If you miss two appointments without advance notification, your right to use this service will be revoked.
• Where do the Writing Center sessions take place?
• Sessions are done Remotely, on Zoom/Go To Meeting. A link will be emailed to you when your appointment is confirmed.
• What should I bring to my Writing Center session?
• Any instructions from your professor, drafts of your assignment, and the list of at least 3 goals/needs emailed in your e-mail when you requested your appointment. You should have your assignment open in front of you on your computer at the time of the meeting.
• English is not my first language, can the Writing Center help me?
• Yes, absolutely! Although our tutors are not native Haitian Creole or Spanish speakers, they are trained in ELL instruction. We will do our best to support your writing in English.
• How often can I use the Writing Center?
• Students are limited to scheduling no more than one appointment per week. Students can only schedule appointments during the semester of the academic year. The Writing Center is closed during academic recess and on federal holidays.
• My paper is due in 2 hours, can I still make an appointment?
• No, appointments must be scheduled at least 24 hours before a final due date.
• What is a typical session like?
• Your tutor will begin by reviewing the assignment instructions and your session goals with you. They will ask you to share your screen and read aloud your writing. They will verbally provide feedback and suggest changes. Tutors will NOT write on your paper or assignments.
• Can you notify my professor if I attend my appointment?
• Yes, if your professor required, recommended, or offered extra credit for you to attend a Writing Center session.

What the Writing Center tutors will help you with:

• Academic Projects (reflections, summaries, research papers).
• APA Formatting and Citations.
• Oral Defense/Presentations.
• Professionalism TBA (resumes, CVs, cover letters, grant applications, articles for publication).
• Reading and understanding your assignments.
• Understanding the writing process, including brainstorming, planning, drafting, revising, and editing.
• Overcoming writer’s block and giving you a solid start to your writing.
• Planning your essay’s focus, thesis, organization, examples.
• Practicing invention techniques, such as brainstorming, clustering, free-writing, and outlining.
• Sharpening your thesis or controlling idea.
• Learning to read aloud in order to help you "hear" prose style, rhythm, and clarity.
• Self-editing (i.e., read aloud, edit line by line). Note: the tutor will not "fix" your paper!!! This is your job!
• Understanding how to document sources correctly (per the style manual specified for the course).
• Learning to read and answer final exam reading comprehension questions effectively.
• Enhancing your reading comprehension.
• Understand basic grammar topics and implement them in your own writing.

What the Writing Center tutors WILL NOT do:

• Write or rewrite your paper.
• Proofread, correct or edit your paper.
• "Find" all the errors of grammar or usage or word choice.
• Interpret another faculty member’s grade or second-guessing the grading process for the course or the assignment.
• Make changes to the assignment as stated.

If you haven’t started your paper:

• Your tutor will help you decide what approach to your paper would be interesting to you and fulfill the requirements of your assignment.
• Your tutor will help you plan out your paper before you start, choosing among several different planning techniques to find an approach that’s comfortable for you.
• Your tutor can help you decide what kinds of sources you’ll need to find and read (if your assignment calls for them). Be sure to bring the assignment itself with you!

If your paper is in progress:

If you come to work on a paper that has not been marked and graded by your teacher, or that is partly done, there are several things your tutor can and cannot do. As already mentioned, a tutor may not proofread and edit the whole paper, but there is a great deal your tutor can do to help you:

• Your tutor can help you find a focus, find ideas, and begin to write your paper.
• Your tutor can help you with your paper’s thesis, organization, and development; if you’ve already started, your tutor will discuss with you whether you’re on the right track and how to continue.
• Your tutor can help you with research techniques, from integrating sources to doing documentation.
• Your tutor can let you know if you are already making grammar errors of one type or another.

If your unmarked paper is finished:

• Your tutor can read through the whole paper in one or more sessions, time permitting, and give you a specific evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses in your paper; (but your tutor cannot comment on what grade your paper might receive).
• Your tutor can carefully review and critique your paper’s thesis, organization, and development.
• Your tutor can point out examples of error patterns in your paper and can help you correct the beginning of the paper, to help you understand what to look for in the rest of the paper.
• Your tutor can choose from extensive Writing Center materials to help you learn more about the kinds of errors in your paper.

If your paper is marked:

If you come in to revise a paper that has been marked and graded, your tutor can go over it line by line and error by error with you, in one or more sessions. The tutor will also decide what materials and tasks to work on with them, for as many sessions as you need.

If you just want to work on specific aspects of writing like run-on sentences or writing an introduction:

Your tutor will give you techniques and practices to improve any aspect of writing you want to improve. Often students turn the aspect of writing that gave them the most trouble into the aspect of writing that they’re best at!