Tutoring Services
You have two options available to you for writing assistance: in-person tutoring and online tutoring.
What is In-Person Tutoring?
An in-person tutoring appointment is most ideal for you as a writer: the face-to-face session gives you the opportunity to hear your work read aloud, ask questions, and learn new skills. While each appointment lasts 30 minutes, you have the option to request 1-hour appointments.
- Scheduled Appointments are made by accessing the online appointment book or calling the Writing Center at least 3 hours prior to the desired appointment time: (503) 838-8286. A scheduled appointment promises you the opportunity to work with a writing consultant on a particular day and at a particular time. Thirty-minute sessions are assigned to students who are brainstorming or who have 1-5 pages of double-spaced, type-written work. One-hour sessions are assigned to students who have 6+ pages of double-spaced, type-written work.
- Walk-in Appointments function on a first-come, first-served basis; however, all scheduled appointments in APSC 301 are given priority over walk-ins. This means that during the busiest seasons (the weeks surrounding midterms and finals), many students discover it is best to make scheduled appointments to work with writing consultants. Evening tutoring in HL 116 functions on a walk-in only basis only.
- Night Hours functions on a first-come, first served basis only. Night hours are offered Sunday-Thursday from 7:00-10:00 p.m. in HL 116.
What is Online Tutoring?
While online writing consultations are available when you are unable to visit campus for in-person writing assistance, the sessions are most ideal for students who (1) have 5 or less pages of writing and (2) have frequently utilized our traditional in-person tutoring services.
- Scheduled Online Appointments are made by accessing the online appointment book at least 3 hours prior to the desired appointment time. A scheduled appointment promises you the opportunity to work with a writing consultant on a particular day and at a particular time in a real-time setting.
- Rules for Utilizing Online Tutoring Services include the following: your written work may not exceed 5 pages in length; you must be willing to provide a detailed description of your instructor's directions, when an assignment url is not available; and you must be prepared to focus on higher-order writing issues, such as organization, issues regarding claims and appropriate evidence to substantiate the claims, and bridging gaps in progression. If you would like to focus on lower-order issues, like editing and style-guide formatting, please make an in-person appointment with a tutor.
How Will Your Professor Know When You Have Used Our Services?
At the end of each session, the tutor provides you with a gold-colored confirmation slip to serve as proof of your visit. While many student-writers are not required to seek writing assistance by their instructors, they often choose to attach the slips to their final papers as evidence of their investment in the assignment.
For an online tutoring session, a post-consultation email confirmation notice will be sent to you at your wou.edu email address. The sender line will show the following: "writingcenter@wou.edu." The subject line will read "Writing Center Confirmation Slip for Online Tutoring Session: Your Name."
How Do You Cancel an Appointment?
As a matter of courtesy, we ask that you cancel and/or reschedule a reservation at least 24 hours prior to your appointment. This allows other students the opportunity to work with a consultant during the particular time. To cancel/reschedule, access the online appointment book or call the Writing Center: (503) 838-8286.
- Log on to the online appointment book.
- Go to the "my control panel" link in the top, left-hand corner of the screen directly under the Welcome Back, [your name].
- Under "my reservations," find the appointment you would like to cancel and click on "delete."
- A new screen will appear that resembles your original reservation screen. Scroll to the bottom of the pop-up screen and click on the "delete" button.
- You will receive a confirmation message that your reservation has been successfully deleted.
How Does Online Tutoring Work?
- Schedule an appointment with a tutor whose name is followed by "APS or Online."
- When completing the session registration form, mark the "online" box.
- Several minutes before your appointment begins, log in to the appointment book and click on "my control panel" in the upper left-hand corner.
- Go to "my reservations" and click on the "join chat" button to begin.
- Cut and paste your draft into the text screen.
- Your tutor will greet you, and the session will begin.
- At the end of your session, you have the option of sending both the revised text and your online conversation to yourself via email. Simply choose these options prior to exiting the system.
Prepare for Your Appointment
For a scheduled appointment, you are expected to arrive on time. If you are 5+ minutes late, a walk-in student may take your reservation. Additionally, you should bring the following items to your appointment:
- the instructor's written assignment
- if the assignment involves work from a textbook or handout, bring the source for reference
- a writing utensil
- for drafts: a type-written, double-spaced hard copy
- for brainstorming: scratch paper
What is a "No Show"?
When you fail to show for a scheduled appointment, you will be marked as a no show. After 2 no shows, you will no longer have access to the online appointment book for the duration of the quarter. Access will be reinstated at the start of the following term.