Writing Center: FAQ and The Writing Process
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need an appointment?
NO, but you may call ahead to avoid a wait if we're busy or to
schedule a meeting with one particular tutor.
Evening hours are available for Graduate and Continuing Education students with a peer tutor by appointment
only.
Contact the Tutor Center at 978-665-3499
- How much time should I schedule when I drop in to talk with
a tutor?
Plan on 20 minutes to 40 minutes. The depends on where you are in the writng procees. Writing Tutors usually can identify a pattern or concern that you will want to improve. Tutors usually do not read with you every page of 5 + page paper.
- Can I just drop off oe e-mail my paper and let someone fix it?
NO. We do not write on your paper. You are the author! Instead,
we explain writing options so that you will be able to improve
your paper.
Map
of the Campus
The Writing Process
Writing is creative.
Writers wander through several stages, moving from planning to revising
to drafting, back to revising, and so on.
Planning
- Why am I writing?
- Who is my audience?
- What are my main messages?
- How can I best state my thesis?
- How do I want to organize the arguments and evidence?
Drafting
- I should just get started.
- Sometimes I start in the middle. I hate introductions.
- It doesn't sound right. Do you understand what I mean?
- I want to add this section, but where?
- How can I write the conclusion?
Revising
What if...
- I moved this information to the first or second paragraph?
- I deleted this whole section and added this other?
- I rephrased the thesis to emphasize my third point?
- I added more argument for the credibility of my sources?
- I looked at the topic from an alternate point of view?
Editing
- I read the paper out loud but it sounds odd. What do you
think?
- Does it flow? Does it move? Is it together?
- I notice "needless words," but how can I get 5 pages
without those words?
- I really don't like my evidence, but it's all I could find.
Help!
- How do I blend quotation/summary into the main argument?
Proofreading
- I've read each paragraph carefully for sentence structure errors,
but I simply do not notice run-ons, comma-splices, or sentence
fragments in my writing!
- I have circled words I'm apt to misspell, but I can't find them
in a dictionary.
- English is my second (or third or fourth!) language. How can
I overcome common ESL problems with prepositions, verbs, and word
order?
- Is the documentation accurate?
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