What to Expect at the Writing Lab

To get the most out of a session with your tutor, you can:

  1. Prepare in advance
  2. Engage with your tutor
  3. Follow up after a session

 

two women working together in the writing lab

Before Meeting with Your Tutor

  1. Know the deadline your professor has set for your draft and make sure to bring a copy (or at least an explanation) of your assignment to your conference. Having this information will make your session more productive.
  2. Reflect on your goals for the assignment. What do you think you need to work on? Showing up to your session with some priorities (like, making sure your thesis is clear, idea development, source integration, etc.) will help you guide your session.
  3. Have your materials on hand. Bring your assignment instructions and your assignment with you to the Writing Lab (you can bring a copy of your assignment on paper or on your laptop, or be ready to open your files/ACE on a Writing Lab computer).
  4. Show up on time, so you may make the most of your session. If you are more than 10 minutes late, you may be asked to reschedule your session.

Meeting with Your Tutor

  1. Share your goals. Let your tutor know what you think you need to work on to improve/polish your assignment.
  2. Be open to suggestions. Your tutor may suggest different things to focus on as you talk. For example, you may arrive worried about your thesis, but the tutor may feel it's strong and instead suggest you think about its support and your essay's structure.
  3. Ask questions. As you work, your tutor will talk with you about the strategies you can use to meet your goals (rather than just tell you what to fix). Asking questions about the options presented or about writing in general will help you improve not only this assignment, but future assignments too. It's up to you to make revision decisions. The tutor is there to help you be confident about those decisions.
  4. Respond to questions. Your tutor will ask you questions about your assignment and what you want to do. Talking about the revisions you could make will help you decide what you want to do as you revise your assignment after the session.
  5. Take notes. You will get great ideas about how to revise your assignment during your session. Make sure to take notes as you talk with your tutor—you might forget them after the session.
  6. Decide if you need another appointment. Remember, if you feel you need a follow-up appointment, you may schedule another meeting with any of the Writing Lab tutors before your assignment's final deadline. You can schedule the appointment before you leave the Writing Lab or later using the online scheduler.

After Meeting with Your Tutor

  1. Make time to revise before your assignment's final draft is due.
  2. Review the notes you took during your session and any of the resources your tutor recommended.
  3. Follow up with your professor, if there were any questions you and your tutor had about the assignment's guidelines when you met.
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