A Tutorial Session

Roxy Readers - I finally have a chance to say hello again to everyone. It’s been a busy time for our coastal area. We are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, but we are on the rise! Despite the challenges our community has faced, we are very busy at the SWC. Many are first-time visitors so I thought I’d devote this blog to discussing tutorial sessions.

#Truth…. We are a welcoming place full of friendly people, lots of technology, and some awesome coffee! Still, some people feel a bit nervous walking into a tutorial session. Here’s a play by play that can help ease your nerves and give you the confidence you need to ace that tutorial session and leave feeling accomplished.

The Intro (not to your paper, but to your tutor!) - We’re super good at putting you at ease. The tutorial session might start with some stellar eye contact, an awesome handshake or smile, and an introduction. We want you to feel comfortable here.

The Sit Down – Let’s get to work. Your tutor will ask you what you’re working on. Once that’s out of the way, we ask you which professor it’s for, what class, and if you have the assignment sheet. We’ll likely look over the assignment sheet so we can become familiar with the professor’s expectations for the assignment. All of this preliminary stuff allows us to give you the best and most accurate service that we can.

The Good Stuff (what you specifically want help with) - We try to make sure you lead the session. We want to work on what you want to work on. Once we have a game plan, the tutor may read your paper if you have part of it written. If you haven’t written anything, then we’ll help you brainstorm, storyboard, or just talk it out. Basically, the theme of the session is you!

The Time – The sessions last up to 20 minutes, but you can come back as often as you want. Towards the end of our time together, we’ll start to wrap things up and ask if there’s anything else we can work on before we part ways. You are welcome to hang out for as long as you want and sign up for another session after you’ve incorporated what you learned in our time together.

Good to Know – A common misconception about writing centers is that we are here to edit (correct) your paper for you. This is not true. Our mission is to teach you to be a stronger, more confident writer. We won’t write on your paper, tell you what we think your grade should be, or put words in your mouth. We want your writing to be your writing. We’ll focus on higher order concerns first like content and organization before we address lower order concerns like grammar.

There you have it, your basic tutorial session. Of course, each one is different. That’s why we love our jobs so much! Hopefully this helps ease you into a tutorial session with one of our amazing tutors. Come visit us at the SWC and find out what all the hype is about.

See you next time the sun is up, the breeze is cool, and the waves roll into view. ‘Til then, hang ten!