Writing Center Services

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Frequently Asked Questions

Face-to-Face Tutoring
Online Tutoring
Availability
Computer Lab
Grammar/Mechanics Workshops

Face-to-Face Tutoring

If you've never been to the Writing Center, you may not know what happens in a tutoring session. Generally, tutors will help you with whatever you need to be successful on your assignment, but there are some things we will not do because they will not help you become a better writer. Here are some things we can help you with:

• We will help you to understand the assignment your instructor gave you.
• We will help you learn ways to generate ideas for writing papers, and we will help you learn strategies for developing and organizing your essays. However, we will not write your paper for you. Academic dishonesty is grounds for expulsion from the University.
• We will work with you on developing and improving your own writing style, and we will also offer general suggestions for improving an essay. However, we cannot guarantee a "quick fix" of your writing problems.
• We will provide individual help for specific problems in grammar and mechanics after you have worked through as much as you can on your own. However, we will not take responsibility for finding all of the mistakes in your paper. You must take responsibility for anything you turn in to a professor.
• We will help you learn to revise an essay, proofread, and edit your own mistakes. However, we will not proofread or edit your paper for you. We are here to help you learn the skills to these things yourself.
• We will look over a paper that has already been graded to help you understand your errors and how to correct them. However, we will not judge the paper according to a grade, rank, or score. This is solely the responsibility of your professor.

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Online Tutoring

We do have a place for you to ask questions of tutors online; however, because of limited resources, we can only take questions from UTA students. You may submit specific questions about grammar and citations in brief passages (no more than two paragraphs), or specific questions about more global issues in papers up to five pages, such as whether the paper is focused on a thesis or how well the organization works. We cannot comment extensively or do detailed analysis of long papers online; if you have many questions about an assignment, please come in to the Writing Center for a tutoring session.

Allow plenty of time before your assignment is due for online tutoring. Generally, responses to online requests take 24 hours. If you submit a long paper and ask for help with grammar and mechanics without asking specific questions, please be aware that we may suggest that you bring in the paper for face-to-face tutoring or reply with a request that you ask a more specific question or give us a more focused passage to work with. Online tutoring is best suited to questions about specific sentences or grammar questions, or general suggestions regarding the structure or focus of a short essay. To ask a question, go to our Online Tutoring page. Please read the section below, also, since it applies to both face-to-face and online tutoring.

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Availability

You may either call the Writing Center to schedule an appointment or drop in to see if anyone is available for tutoring. If you drop in and all the tutors are working with clients, you may be asked to make an appointment for a later time.

If you are using the online submission form, be aware that we only respond to these requests during hours of operation. Because we answer these requests on a first-come, first-serve basis, you should allow at least 24 hours for responses.

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The Computer Lab

At the Writing Center, we pride ourselves on having a user-friendly computer lab. We have many Dell PCs running Windows 2000, with Microsoft Office software and access to the Internet and the UTA network. This means that any information you save to your student J-Drive space can be accessed from our computers.

We have two laser printers that produce high-quality printouts, although we ask that you limit your printing to five pages per session.

Our capable staff is available and willing to help you learn to use both our software and the computer resources available through UTA. All you need to do is ask for help.

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Grammar/Mechanics Workshop

Even in this era of technical wizardry and automation, there are some areas where an individual must master specific skills in order to succeed in school and business; Standard Written English is one of those necessary skills. Our Grammar/Mechanics Workshops offer you an opportunity to review grammar and mechanics rules and style issues in a small-group setting where you can get answers to your questions.

The workshops are designed to work around the busy schedules of students. Grammar classes are offered at various times during the spring and fall semesters, and classes can be joined at any point. The times are announced shortly after the beginning of each semester.

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