“You come in perplexed and you leave happy,” Writing Center tutor Paul Legault said about the services The Writing Center provides. The center, run entirely by graduate students, offers one-on-one tutoring sessions for students writing papers, essays, resumes, theses, reports and personal statements.
The goal of the center is “to make people independent, good academic writers,” Writing Center director Lindsay Wright said. Students can either walk in or schedule an appointment in advance for a one-hour session with a tutor. Wright said tutors review papers, offer specific suggestions and give students detailed, constructive feedback.
“It’s almost like if you were able to get your professor to sit down with you for an hour and go through your paper line by line,” Wright said.
Wright and Legault both stressed that Writing Center tutors do not edit grammar or proofread, which they believe is a common misconception. Tutors focus instead on organizing the structure and strengthening the argument of each paper they review.
“The main thing we’re going to attack is to try and make sure there’s an argument in the paper,” Legault explained. “As simple as that sounds, it’s actually the most difficult part of writing a paper.”
Wright, too, emphasized the necessity of a strong, clear, supported argument.
“Making a claim that’s debatable, organizing paragraphs, thinking about objections readers might have and actually addressing them ... these are all signs of a real, sophisticated argument,” Wright said.
Third-year College student Adriana Callejas, who recently visited the Writing Center for the fourth time, said while writing papers she keeps in mind the advice she has received from Writing Center tutors. During her last visit, she brought a draft of her four-page psychology observation paper to the center for review by a tutor, who gave her new ideas to discuss in the paper. Callejas said she continues to visit the center because tutors offer help with phrasing of ideas and do not make students feel dumb in the process.
Not all students, however, are completely satisfied with the Writing Center’s services. Second-year College student Pooja Mehra recently made her third trip to the Writing Center, seeking help on a five-page English paper. While she said she views the Writing Center as a great resource for students, she “wish[es] they had given [her] a little more input.”
When her paper was returned to her, she said, her teacher had highlighted several problems that Mehra wished had been pointed out during her session at the Writing Center.
“They can’t reread your paper and tell you exactly what to do to get an A,” she explained, “but I wish they would have been a little more detailed in their comments.”
Fourth-year College student Steve Frames said he is skeptical of using the Writing Center because he feels “like they wouldn’t be able to give constructive advice.” He said he worries that the services offered by the Writing Center seem too general.
“If I am writing a science-oriented paper,” Frames said, “I think it’s really different than an English paper, and I don’t know that they’d be able to actually give me the help I need.”
Wright emphasized that The Writing Center is not just for English majors.
“A lot of students sometimes ask us how we can help with their chemistry paper if we don’t know anything about chemistry,” Wright said. “Actually, it’s not necessary to know or understand the content of a paper to help with the structure of its writing.”
Chemical engineering papers, she said, need topic sentences and clearly structured paragraphs just as English papers do.
Wright and Legault both said they have worked with various types of writing, such as medical school applications, resumes, dissertations and graduate theses. “Even though these people are good writers, it’s always helpful to have someone else read [their work],” Legault said, noting tutors can offer fresh perspectives and new suggestions.
The Writing Center’s 35 tutors represent a variety of departments although a majority are majoring in English. Ideally, Wright said, they are people who have a lot of teaching experience.
“They have all been trained in the principles of academic writing as they are taught through our writing program,” Wright said about the qualifications of the Writing Center tutors.
Together the tutors plan to average 215 hours of tutoring per week during the fall semester, Wright said.
Tutors become involved, Wright said she believes, “for the love of teaching and really helping people with their love of writing. I think everyone who works here loves language and loves writing and wants to inspire that in students.”
Legault, who teaches poetry writing in the English department, agreed. “The job itself is really wonderful,” he said. “You’re working one-on-one; sometimes it gets frustrating as a teacher if you have a lot of students because you can’t give them all individual attention.”
In order to reach more students, the Writing Center has expanded its hours in Clemons Library. While the main office of the Writing Center is located in Bryan Hall, Wright said tutors are regularly sent to other locations around Grounds such as the Engineering School, student-athlete study halls and Clemons Library.
“We’re just trying to expand, and to provide more and better services, because learning to write well is probably the most important skill that a student can learn,” Wright said.
Read More
It’s okay not to be okay
By Mai Hukuoka | 6 days agoWhether talking to a friend, a loved one or a professional, it is so necessary, and human, to need more than you can provide for yourself.
Taking a break at Tangerines Kitchen
By Charley Thomas | January 6, 2025What the restaurant somewhat lacks in ambiance, it compensates for in tasty dishes and prompt service.
Virginia Policy Lab — a hub for student-led policy action
By Katherine Haden | December 9, 2024Students propose their own projects and collaborate with other members to research their issues of interest, brainstorm solutions and write policy proposals.
