Welcome to the Student Writing Center (BYOB= Bring Your Own Brain!)

 

OUR LOCATION: 2nd floor learning commons in Alden Library.

REGULAR APPOINTMENT HOURS: 9 a.m.- 10 p.m., Monday-Friday; 4 p.m.-10 p.m., Sunday

*SPRING WALK-INS: Mondays 6-9 p.m. & Wednesdays 10-12 a.m.
(NEW: Look for additional walk-in opportunities when you see “Tutor Available for Walk-ins” signs displayed during our regular hours. Just walk up to the tutor with this sign at his/her table and say you’d like a walk-in session!)

WHAT WE DO:

• Offer free, one-on-one assistance in meeting the requirements of college writing. OHIO students can visit us at any point in the writing process.
• Offer workshops and study tables on writing-related topics (See “Workshops” link above.)

WHAT WE DON’T DO:

• Accept dropped off work.
• Proofread or edit your work for you.
• Guarantee an “A” paper.

HOW TO USE OUR FREE ACADEMIC SERVICES:

Download our informational flyer: SWC_2012

Sign up for a face-to-face session here:  
http://ohio.mywconline.com

For shorter walk-in sessions, come to the SWC and sign up with the walk-ins tutor on duty (first-come, first-served). 

For online tutoring help (reserved for commuting students and graduate students), email our coordinator at stewarc1@ohio.edu.

Also “like” out the SWC Facebook page for announcements, writing tips, or to post questions.

Our Policies

Failure to follow these policies or treating a tutor disrespectfully may result in revoked Student Writing Center privileges.

• NEW POLICY: Graduate students are encouraged to work with our Graduate Student Writing Center for large or long-term projects. Grad students are still welcome to work with SWC tutors for shorter projects. Tutors listed in our weekly schedule are labeled with (u) for undergraduate and (p) for professional (degree-holding).
• When you come to a session, bring the assignment sheet, a writing utensil, specific questions, and (preferably) a hard paper copy of your current draft.
• OHIO students may schedule up to two (2) 50-minute face-to-face sessions per week and one (1) walk-in session per applicable day.
• No back-to-back appointments with the same tutor.
• You may only schedule and attend sessions for yourself/your own writing. All members of a group project must be present and active in a tutoring session.
• Please cancel an appointment ahead of time. If you accumulate more than two (2) “no-shows,” you may lose your writing center privileges for the rest of the quarter.
  
  Tutoring vs. Proofreading & Editing: An Explanation for Student Writers
  
  • Proofreading and editing are technically publishing terms. “Proofreading” means to check a paper for mistakes in spelling, formatting, etc. before sending it to a professional printer.  “Editing” has a similar meaning except that an editor also has quite a bit of power. Editors can make all kinds of changes to your paper (or force you to make them) whether you like those changes or not. In addition, proofreading and editing are passive activities—you (the writer) don’t need to be there for an editor or proofreader to “shred” your paper to bits or even rewrite the whole thing.
  • In the technical sense then, tutors will never overly proofread or edit your paper because we believe that 1) it’s your paper, not ours, so you need to be the one who makes changes and improves your paper (After all, you’ll be getting the grade, not us!); and 2) you’ll learn more about writing and proofreading when you are active in the session. However, tutors are willing to help you find and fix mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. The difference is that you will be involved in the process. The tutor will work with you and teach you how to proofread and edit for yourself as much as possible.
  • Keep in mind, though, that the tutor will always work with you on your paper’s most pressing concerns given the requirements of the assignment, the due date, etc. Most of the time, a paper’s most pressing concern is NOT proofreading, editing, or grammar, so the tutor will encourage you to spend the tutoring session reorganizing, focusing, clarifying, or developing your paper—things that will make you a better writer in the long term and things that usually have a much bigger impact on your grade than spelling mistakes.
  • A perfectly proofread paper can still be an “F.” If you and your tutor consistently disagree on your paper’s most pressing concerns, then the tutor may decide that it is best to end the tutoring session.

Student Writing Center  | Ohio University | Athens OH 45701 | 740.593.2646
stewarc1@ohio.edu | © 2012 Ohio University. All rights reserved.