What to Expect

After you have been paired with a tutor, he or she will record information about your year in school, class, professor's name, and writing assignment. You will then meet with a tutor in a quiet area, and he or she will ask that the paper be read aloud. The pencil will be placed in your hand to give you control over the session. Together, you will discuss the paper's strengths and weaknesses and devise a plan for improving the paper.

Below is a copy of the hierarchy of concerns. The items at the top of the hierarchy will be given the most attention by the tutor. If the items at the top of the hierarchy are solid, more attention will be given to particulars such as sentence structure and grammar.  

1. Purpose - Thesis - Ideas
   Organization - Structure - Outline
   Evidence - Examples - Details
    
2. Paragraphs - Introduction/Conclusion
   Coherence - Unity
   Style - Audience - Voice
   Internal Paragraph Structure
    
3. Sentences (length, variety, clarity, structure)
   Grammar - mechanics - word choice

• Bring a printed copy of the paper you are working on. If you are still in the planning or outlining stage, bring your notes.
• Bring a copy of the assignment sheet given to you by your professor, if possible. This allows the tutor to see if you have adequately fulfilled the assignment.
• Have a general idea of what you would like to work on. (For example, do you want to improve your organization? Develop a stronger thesis?) This gives the session a sense of focus from the beginning.
• Sign up for a half-hour time slot before you come in. This guarantees that a tutor will be available for you when you arrive. Appointments can be set up by calling the Writing Centers or by stopping by and writing your name on the schedules, which are posted outside the door at the CSB Writing Center and beside the office in the SJU Writing Center. If you think you will need more than half an hour to work on your paper, sign up for two time slots or come in for two different sessions.

NOTE: We do accept walk-ins, but if every tutor is busy, you will not be guaranteed a session. It is especially important to make appointments during midterms and finals.

• Bring the paper in as early as possible. It is very difficult to adequately revise a paper if you bring it in one hour before it is due; this is stressful for both yourself and the tutor. Bringing the paper in at least a day or two in advance of its due date is ideal.
• There is no need to be nervous; the tutors are students just like you who understand the frustrations involved in writing and are willing to help you cope with them.