EOU Learning Center
Support Services
THE WRITING LAB ~ Because every writer needs a reader!
"True excellence is only possible in the presence of others." -- Hannah Arent
Winter Term 2010 Drop In Schedule
How to use a Writing Tutor
You will need to sign up at least a day in advance with any of our well trained writing lab tutors. Students currently working as writing tutors have taken or are currently enrolled in WR 220, Methods of Tutoring Writing. If your paper is 8 pages or longer, please consider signing up for two, back-to-back, 30 minute conferences with the same writing tutor.
- We'll read your paper along with you and discuss choices in expressing your ideas.
- We'll teach you to revise, edit, and proofread so you'll become more independent.
- We'll offer suggestions to improve your writing but can't guarantee you a grade.
- We'll suggest research sources and methods but we can't do it for you.
How can a Writing Tutor help me?
A writing tutor reads and responds to a draft of your paper, essay, or lab report in order to provide you with a fresh-eyes perspective. By asking questions and making comments, a writing tutor can help you focus, develop, clarify, refine & organize your writing. The conversation with the writing tutor is designed to bridge the gap between everyday language and academic discourse, allowing you to gain confidence and control in a comfortable setting. In your conference, you can try out your ideas on a real reader. You may think of it as practicing before the game, rehearsing for the performance, or trying on words and structures until they suit you and the rhetorical occasion.
You are responsible for your own writing.
You can -- in fact, you must-- make
your own choices about how much and what sort of revision you will do.
Writing tutors are not TA's who instruct you on the subject matter of a particular
course. In a conference, you are the expert on the course material while the
writing tutor points out patterns of grammatical error and stylistic problems, but
they do not proofread or edit copy as if a draft were a final product. They will
share editing techniques with you if you ask.
How can I become a Writing Tutor?
Contact Susan Whitelock at swhitelo@eou.edu or call 962-3853.
For more information please call, write or e-mail us.
Learning Center
Eastern Oregon University
One University Boulevard
Loso Hall, Room 234
La Grande, OR 97850-2899
Phone: (541)962-3663
Fax: (541)962-3820
E-Mail: lcenter@eou.edu
Site maintained by: Kathryn Shorts
