Where is the Writing Center located?
The Writing Center is located at 78 Griffin Hall (lower level of Saint Mary's Hall). Enter the Saint Mary's Hall side door ramp entrance for easy access to our location. 

What are its hours of operation?
The Writing Center is open for tutoring daily Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 5, and Monday through Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8. The center is also open Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30. 

How do I schedule an appointment?
While walk-in tutoring sessions are available, they are not always guaranteed. To make sure a tutor is available at your convenience, please schedule an appointment either by calling ext. 1432 or signing up at the Writing Center. We regret that we cannot make appointments for tutoring sessions through e-mail or our web site. We advise scheduling an appointment at least 24 hours in advance as the sessions fill quickly. 

Who can use the Writing Center's services?
The Saint Mary's University Writing Center is a free service available to all members of the Saint Mary's University community, including undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and staff. However, priority is given to undergraduate student needs. 

What does a tutoring session involve?
In a tutoring session, you will spend about 30 minutes talking with a qualified tutor about your writing project. In an atmosphere of trust and respect, you and the tutor will discuss the assignment, read through your written work if there is any, ask and answer questions, and work together to strengthen your skills as a writer. Each year hundreds of Saint Mary's University students find tutoring sessions beneficial to their writing. 

What should I expect at my first appointment?
Through tutoring sessions, a relationship is built between the tutor and writer. In this partnership, the tutor and writer work together to discover meaningful insights into the writing process. The tutor does not take charge of the tutoring session; rather, the writer decides the direction of the session, and the teaching and learning of both tutor and writer builds the structure of their partnership. This partnership is always interactive, never dominated by either party. The dialogue between tutor and writer centers primarily on the larger scale issues of organization, content and development of the writing project before concerns of style, grammar, word choice, and punctuation are addressed. One or two main issues will be addressed in the tutoring session, so it is likely that your tutor may suggest making follow-up sessions if your time frame allows. 

What should I bring to the tutoring session?
It's important to bring your assignment sheet with you to your tutoring session to give the tutor an idea of the expectations of the writing project. Before you come to your first session, do some preliminary work on the assignment: read the assignment thoroughly, make notes of any questions you have, discuss the assignment with classmates, brainstorm some ideas, or begin an outline. It's important to bring your assignment sheet with you to your tutoring session to give the tutor an idea of the expectations of the writing project. Also bring with you any notes, outline, and any initial writing you have produced, along with some ideas and questions about your writing plan. Above all, come prepared to think and talk about your writing project. 

What kind of writing can I bring to the Writing Center?
Writers can bring any kind of writing to a Writing Center tutoring session. Writers often request Writing Center services for academic projects, but there is a growing demand for assistance with and feedback on application essays, resumes, business letters, and other writing.

Who tutors in the Writing Center?
Qualified writing instructors and highly trained undergraduate students, many who are LaSallian Honors students from a variety of departments, staff the Writing Center. All tutors participate in a minimum 10-hour training program. For more information on the tutoring staff, please see our staff page. The dates and times each tutor works are posted on the wall above the appointment sheet. Although the tutors' styles and techniques may vary, they are all qualified to interact with you about your writing at any stage of the writing process. 

Will my professor know I have used the Writing Center's services?
Professors will not be aware of your participation in tutoring sessions unless you tell them or you request that your tutor send them a summary of your tutoring session. The tutor respects the confidentiality of the session and will only discuss the session with another individual if you grant permission to do so. If you choose to have the tutor inform your professor, the tutor will send a summary sheet that describes the writing issues you and the tutor addressed during your session, the title of your writing project, and the date of your session. The summary sheet does not evaluate you as a writer, the assignment, or the professor. Most professors are delighted to learn their students take advantage of the Writing Center's services and believe it shows initiative and dedication to improvement on their students' part. 

What if I only have a quick writing question?
Writing Center tutors welcome all kinds of writing questions. You do not have to make an appointment for a brief question; please drop in or call us at ext. 1432.

What writing issues won't the Writing Center help with?
Writing Center tutors will not allow writers to drop off their papers with the belief that the tutor will proofread their paper for them. The tutoring partnership centers on the instruction of the writing process, not on last-minute grammar checking. 

Are there any policies I should be aware of?
Remember that each tutoring session lasts about 30 minutes, and that you are expected to call to cancel if you cannot make your appointment. Writers can only schedule two sessions per day, and these sessions cannot be back-to-back unless the Writing Center director gives permission. Keep in mind that even though you have collaborated with a writing tutor, you remain responsible for your writing project and can choose to accept or reject any suggestions you receive.