Overview
College students do a lot of writing. They encounter many different writing occasions during their time in college, and the kind of help we offer supports better writing for a rich variety of purposes. Tutors in the Writing Center provide assistance tailored to students’ writing needs and learning objectives.
Writing for Classes
We don’t just tutor students writing for English classes because so many disciplines place importance on good writing. History, Psychology, Sociology, Business, Humanities, and Nursing are but a few examples of disciplines that do. Obviously we could never staff the Writing Center with subject matter specialists in every academic discipline. What we offer instead is tutoring by reader-responders trained in a technique for helping students produce writing, a successful approach that is interdisciplinary yet focused on the individual writer.
Writing in the Disciplines
Writing for various academic disciplines is what many students do in college, and while the technique we use focuses on the individual writer, we actively pursue more detailed knowledge about the expectations that specific professional fields and academic disciplines have in regard to writing. During the spring, 2008 semester, we will partner with the Dean of Instructional Services, Resource Development, and Research in surveying all Mesa faculty about the writing they assign.
Writing Group Tutoring
We offer tutoring for classmates in a specific course who wish to come together as a group to the Writing Center. We will arrange a meeting time and assist with identifying learning objectives at the students’ or their instructor’s request.
Writing for Transfer Applications
We help students transfer successfully to universities or four-year colleges when they have to write personal statements or application essays as part of their transfer applications.
Writing for Post-Transfer Writing Assessments and Professional Examinations
We partner with the Mesa College Transfer Center in presenting informational workshops on San State University’s Writing Proficiency Assessment (WPA), an essay-based requirement that all transfer students meet before the end of their first post-transfer semester at SDSU. We also assist students preparing for timed-writing examinations required for professional certification in their chosen field, for example the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST).
Writing Scholarship Applications
Many students have come to the Writing Center for help with writing scholarship applications. We partner with the Mesa Student Affairs Office in staging scholarship application workshops and follow up by scheduling one-to-one tutoring sessions with applicants as they write their applications.
Writing Appeals
At times, some students will need tutoring on writing appeals in response to academic disqualification or denial of financial aid. We work with both the student and the appropriate college offices in assisting with proper preparation of the written portion of an appeal.
Writing for the Workplace
We have tutored students in many kinds of workplace-related writing. Resumes, cover letters, recommendations, and reports are recent examples.