Enhancing Your Students’ Experience in the Writing Center

When you send your students to the lab, help them to get the most out of the experience:

• Be clear about your expectations - what do you want students to work on in the Learning Center?  If a student needs to work on a paper, suggest the student bring in assignment sheets or a written description of paper; also it’s helpful for us to have your course syllabus along with your grading criteria
  
• Ask students to set their own specific goals for the session (e.g. feedback on mechanics and grammar, content, organization, or a combination, etc.). In the Learning Center, we have referral forms that you can use to check off the areas a student needs the most work on - if you check more than one, rank them so the tutor knows which area is most crucial to address first.
  
• Ask students to first proofread their work several times before seeing the tutor and circle areas they’re not certain about. This ensures time is not wasted addressing issues the student could have handled on his/her own and encourages the student to take responsibility to do all he/she can before seeking assistance.
  
• Encourage students to type their draft (unless it is an in-class essay or from a lower level ESL class) ~ it’s more difficult when tutors have to struggle with legibility.
  
• Encourage students to plan ahead for tutoring sessions before their paper is due. REMIND THEM that tutors do NOT “FIX” papers for them but will guide students in finding their own errors throughout the paper.