• About
  • Writing in the College
  • Celebrating Student Writing
• Requirements
  • Primary Writing Requirement
  • Upper Level Requirement
• Courses
  • WRT 105 & 105E
  • WRT 105E Extension
  • WRT 108
  • WRT 245/ENG 285
  • WRT 571/ENG 571
  • WRT 572/ENG 572
• Writing Center
  • Resources for Writers
  • Resources for Faculty
  • Resources for Tutors
• Employment
  • Graduate Student Employment Opportunities
  • Undergrad Student Employment Opportunities

College Writing Program

Guide to Class Visit Guidelines

Information to cover during the visit

Consultants: Please be aware that you should cover this information during the visit, but you should NOT use these guidelines as a script. You should find a style of presenting this information that works for you. This document is designed to be a helpful reference.

Tutors find it helpful to begin with

• Introducing yourself (name, department, that you are a writing consultant) and telling the class that you are there to explain the writing tutoring services available at the College Writing Center and to address any questions they have about the Writing Center;
• Passing out the CWC fliers and telling the students that they highlight important information about our services, but that you are going to tell them in more detail about what to expect from our services

After a brief introduction, give an overview of some important information about how we work with students. Here are some points to cover:

• all of our tutoring services are free to UR students;
• we work with all levels of writers (dispel the myth that tutoring is just for weak writers; you may even mention that graduate students working on dissertations and faculty members publishing articles use our services);
• our tutors are here to act as a kind of “test” audience and to engage you in a dialogue about your writing;
• we are not a proofreading service; all of our tutors will ask you questions, and have a conversation about how to improve your paper;
• we work with students on all types of writing: WRT 105 papers, final research and term papers, book reviews, abstracts, lab reports, etc.;
• we are here to work with you at all stages of the writing process, from brainstorming to polishing a final draft, and everything in-between;
• in a class like WRT 105 where you will be doing a lot of writing and revising, using the services the CWC has to offer can be a great way to see a real improvement in the quality of your writing and your confidence as a writer over the course of the semester.

In addition, we want students to understand the difference among our services so that they could choose tutoring that best serves their needs. Refer students to our flier when talking about these differences.

1. Writing Consultants: Consultants are graduate students from across the disciplines (we have tutors from chemistry, linguistics, education, English, etc.). We are trained writing tutors who are very enthusiastic about helping students with their writing; consultants are there to have a friendly discussion to help you improve your paper, not to judge you or your writing in any way.

Consultants tutor students by appointment only; each tutoring session is typically 50 minutes.  Our hours are Monday–Friday 9am-early evening. Use our online scheduling system to sign up for an appointment. If you have difficulty scheduling an appointment you can drop by or call our office.

Please be aware that we are very busy during certain times of the semester (particularly at mid-term and during the last two weeks of classes), so you should plan ahead and book your appointment one or two weeks in advance to be sure you are able to find an available appointment.

Standing Appointment Option: If you meet with a writing consultant who you find helpful and work well with, you may want to consider setting up a standing weekly appointment with them. This is a great way to get a lot accomplished as you work on your writing projects for the semester. Stop by our office if you have questions about setting up a standing appointment.

2. Writing Fellows: Fellows are undergraduates from a wide variety of majors who have taken a course in Advanced Writing and Peer Tutoring (WRT 245). Fellows offer walk-in evening tutoring hours in the Writing Center and in Susan B. Anthony Hall (hours and locations are listed on the flier). Like the consultants, fellows are there to discuss all types of writing with you at any stage of the writing process.

Note: Encourage Students to try a face-to-face tutoring session with a consultant or fellow before trying our on-line services. Face-to-face sessions are the best way to introduce students who have never used our services to the benefits of writing tutoring.

3. Write-On (on-line feedback service): Submit your paper online - with a specific question about it - and receive feedback from a writing fellow within 24 hours.

4. IM tutoring: We have recently launched a new Instant Message tutoring service through AOL Instant Messenger.  IM sessions are limited to 20 minutes and are primarily designed as a follow-up to a face-to-face session or Write-On submission. They are also a good way to address quick and specific questions (such as questions about grammar conventions, citations, etc.).

Finally, tell students what to expect at their tutoring session:

• students should bring the prompt  (assignment sheet) for the assignment they are working on;
• students should expect to discuss what they are working on and what stage of the writing project they are at;
• encourage students to come in with an idea of what they would like to work on and accomplish during the session (their goal).

Give the students a chance to ask any question they have about our services.