Writing Center Frequently Asked Questions

The Writing Center, which is supported by the English Program, is a FREE peer-centered/peer-guided service that offers student-to-student help to writers. Our tutors can help you with any kind of writing from any class or discipline. We can help you at any point in the writing process: understanding an assignment, coming up with ideas, deciding on the best thesis, structuring the paper, reviewing a draft, understanding citation, or working with grammar and punctuation. You can use our services face-to-face or online.

We offer three different types of appointments. The first of these options is the in-person tutoring session. For this session, the student should visit the Writing Center on the fifth floor of the library, and they will be able to work side-by-side with their tutor.

The other two appointments are in an online format. An eTutoring appointment is an appointment for the paper; the student does not need to be there during that time. The student uploads their paper to their appointment form, and the tutor looks it over during the appointment time. The tutor will leave comments on the paper and send it back to the student. The second online appointment is an online meeting/chat. The student’s appointment form will contain a link that they will click when it is time for their appointment, and the tutor and student will be able to utilize audio/video features and a chat board.

We are in BA 527 (library 5th floor). Visit our online appointment scheduler to see our hours. Here’s the link to our online schedule: https://southwestmsu.mywconline.com/

For face-to-face appointments and online meeting/chat appointments, students work in person or online in real time with the tutor. For eTutoring appointments, students don’t have to be online during the appointment but must make certain that they have uploaded their papers to be reviewed during that time.

Our tutors are mostly juniors and seniors who have taken a training course. Tutors from all majors are welcomed.

What’s most helpful is what is best for you depending on your circumstances and paper. We recommend face-to-face appointments when possible because it can be easier to talk with students and ask questions to figure out what you already know and how we can help. But online appointments can also be useful. Online meetings/chat appointments still provide the opportunity to talk back and forth with the tutor, and eTutoring appointments can provide you with useful feedback. Especially for eTutoring appointments, it helps to fill out the appointment form with as much information as you can provide.

We highly recommend that students schedule appointments by using our online scheduler. Students are welcome to drop-in to the center, but it would be a good idea to check the online scheduler first to make sure the Center is staffed before visiting. For directions on how to use the scheduler, visit this link: How to Make a Face-to-Face Appointment.

Overall, the Writing Center can help you become more comfortable with writing. For example, tutors can guide you if you need help coming up with an idea or brainstorming, if you need feedback on structure or organization, if you would like a reader's response to a completed draft, or if you are experiencing problems with grammar and mechanics.

Students have FREE access to highly trained tutors.