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FAQ
Does the Writing Center have a mission and goal that guides its tutoring?
Our Writing Center’s mission is to help students who visit us become more confident and proficient writers by providing a supportive environment for conversations between writers and trained peer readers. We take as our model the “intelligent reader,” whose inquiring presence serves as a sounding board for a writer’s work.
How do I make an appointment, and how long is a typical appointment? If I do not make an appointment, may I walk in during open hours?
You may make an appointment by calling 580-8441 and specifying the day and time when you would like to meet with a tutor. To assure that we have tutors reserved for student appointments, we ask that appointments be made twenty-four hours in advance. Our average appointment lasts thirty minutes—though some may be as long as an hour or as short as five minutes. If you cannot make a scheduled appointment, you should call as a courtesy to cancel it. You may walk in during open hours for tutoring assistance. Our policy is to work first with students who have made with appointments, then with students on a first-come, first-served basis.
What should I bring to a tutoring session?
Bring whatever is pertinent to helping the tutor work with you on a writing task: your paper, draft, outline, assignment, textbook, class notes, readings on which the assignment is based.
Do I need a professorial referral? Will my professor know that I’ve been to the Writing Center?
A professor’s referral is not needed, though some students visit the Writing Center based on a professor’s suggestion. Tutoring sessions are treated confidentially: “What happens in a Writing Center session stays in the Writing Center.” Most students want us to inform their professors that they have worked with a tutor, in which case we send the professor a brief report of the work covered in the tutoring session. If a student does not want his or her professor to know about a tutoring session, we do not send a report.
Who are the Writing Center tutors? How are they selected and trained?
They are sophomores, juniors, and seniors whom Skidmore faculty members have recommended to the Writing Center Director based on their writing strengths and communications abilities. For their training, students must enroll in and complete English 303Honors: Peer Tutoring Project, a course focused on collaborative learning and rhetorical theory and practice.
What do tutors do? What happens in a typical session? Will tutors edit my paper? May I make repeat visits?
At the start of your meeting, the tutor will ask you to fill out a short form that asks you where you wish to focus the tutoring session. You and the tutor then determine a working agenda for your visit. Sessions typically focus on shaping a thesis from notes or a rough draft, talking through the purpose for writing a paper, discussing the match between the writing task and the content, focusing on the readability and precision of the prose, checking on documentation adequacy and proper format, and reviewing punctuation and grammar rules. Tutors do not edit student writers’ papers, but they do work alongside writers as they make their own editing decisions.
Will the tutor be familiar with the subject of my paper?
While Writing Center tutors have a variety of academic majors and minors, you should not assume that a tutor will be a specialist in the subject of your paper. Tutors are trained to help writers question and explore the content of their papers. For specific questions about style and format in a discipline that arise in a tutoring session, tutors may consult handbooks and web sites devoted to disciplinary writing.
What do I do if the Writing Center is open but no tutor is on duty?
Our policy is for tutors to cover tutoring shifts for their fellow tutors. Occasionally a tutor may be unable at the last minute to find a substitute. Should this be the case, return later that day, and call 580-8441 to schedule an appointment.
What if I have concerns or questions about the Writing Center?
Please contact Professor Phil Boshoff, Department of English pboshoff@skidmore.edu
