Frequently Asked Questions

How do I schedule an appointment?
You can schedule an appointment in one of the following ways. You may call us up (4-5411) and set up a suitable time to meet with a tutor, or you may send us an email at <writectr@iastate.edu> to set up a meeting, or you may walk in (300 Carver Hall) and work with an available tutor.

Who can use the Writing Center's services?
The writing center is a free service available to all active members of the ISU community. Just make sure you bring in your ISU card when you come in for a consultation.

What does a tutoring session involve?
During the tutoring session, the tutor will discuss the writing assignment with you. The tutor will look at the assignment sheet and discuss issues brought up in class, as the case be appropriate, in order to gain an insight into the assignment. The tutor will work with you at any stage of the writing process you may be at, such as invention, research, drafting, or revising. The tutor will discuss writing issues with you, for example focus, organization, transitions, research, and formatting by carrying out a collaborative discussion on the specific writing.

What should I expect at my first appointment?
The receptionist will ask to sign up in the appointment register and will request you to show your ISU card, so make sure you bring it along with you. You might be asked to be seated in the waiting area for your tutor to become available. Then, the tutor will sit with you in one of our tutoring rooms and discuss your paper with you.

What should I bring to the tutoring session?
To ensure that you get the best help we can provide, make sure you bring the following with you: your paper, assignment sheet provided by the instructor, all earlier drafts of the paper, and any notes and research material that you have for this paper. Come prepare with ideas to discuss and specific questions you want to ask.

What kind of writing can I bring to the Writing Center?
You may bring any academic assignment that you have been given by an instructor. In addition, you can also bring in application packets for job or college admissions, or any personal writing that you might want a reader response on.

Who tutors in the Writing Center?
The tutor staff includes the center coordinator and trained graduate and undergraduate tutors.

What if I only have a quick writing question?
In case you have a quick writing query, you may call us (4-5411) to ask a question or send us an email <writectr@iastate.edu> with your query, and we will respond back.

What writing issues won't the Writing Center help with?
The center staff will not proofread the paper for you, but we will sit with you and go over grammatical patterns and help you identify and revise syntactic errors. So, you cannot drop off your paper and expect it to be corrected and revised by us. We expect you to be collaboratively invested with us in the writing process. We do not guarantee a specific grade on the paper, but we will help you improve your writing skills by discussing writing issues such as focus, organization, development, transitions, formatting, and mechanics.

English is not my first language. How can the Writing Center help me?
The center tutor will work with you to help you examine higher-order concerns such as content, organization, and errors that alter or obscure meaning. We are willing to work with your instructors to ensure that we can provide you with specific help that will help you communicate effectively through your papers. We will discuss syntactic and semantic issues, but we will not proofread or “fix” your paper.

Will my professor (or anyone else) know I came to the Writing Center?
It is up to you whether you want us to inform your instructor whether you came to the writing center or not. We send out confirmations slips after every session letting your instructor know that his/her student came to the writing center for a tutoring session. You can sign your name on the slip and reveal your identity if you wish your instructor to know that you visited us, but you are not expected to sign the slip.

How can I become a writing tutor?
You may contact the center coordinator if you wish to know more about how you can become a writing tutor.

How long before my paper is due should I schedule an appointment?
Writing process always takes some time and thought, so it is strongly recommended that you come in as early as possible. The center gets busy especially during mid-terms and finals week, so make sure you plan well in advance, so we can provide you the best help we can.

How does the Writing Center help someone with a learning disability?
We will work together with the student services and see how best we can be of any help to you if you have a learning disability and are made aware of it.

The Writing and Media Help Center is an Iowa State University based institution and is funded by the English department.
All material posted on the website is strictly for academic purposes.

Copyright © 2005, Iowa State University of Science and Technology. All rights reserved.