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The Writing Center
The Writing Center is a support service for students looking for friendly advice and feedback from trained peer tutors (with majors and minors across the curriculum) at any stage of the writing process. We're located on the 3rd floor of Snowden Library.
By-Appointment, In-Person Writing Consultations
Appointments occur within our regular operating hours as listed below. To secure a slot, make an appointment by clicking the button below. Please arrive on time, wear a mask (if required by the College), and bring your laptop (and/or two printed copies of your essay).
CLICK HERE TO BOOK AN IN-PERSON APPOINTMENT
Walk-in Writing Consultations
During walk-in hours, we serve students on a first-come, first-served basis. Please wear a mask (if required by the College), and bring your laptop (and/or two printed copies of your essay). View our walk-in hours below and plan accordingly.
Remote Writing Consultations for Covid-Related Reasons
Email-based feedback is reserved only for students who cannot meet in person due to a Covid-related situation. To request remote help with a writing assignment, students should send their questions and/or drafts as Word or PDF attachments via email to the following address (Note: Please avoid sharing files via SharePoint/OneDrive or Google Docs, as permission issues may disrupt the feedback process).
tutoring@lycoming.edu
Students should list up to 3 specific questions or concerns and indicate the course, professor, and due date/time. Attaching assignment guidelines is also good idea.
Tutors will provide feedback via email within a reasonable amount of time. It's best to allow for a 24-48 hour buffer between the time you submit your draft to the Writing Center for feedback and the time you must submit the essay to the professor. Emails sent outside of “business hours” are welcome but will not receive a response until the next available shift. See our operating hours below.
Students who cannot come to the Writing Center in person (due to Covid) are also welcome to reach out to individual writing tutors directly via email as needed. See links to email addresses and specializations in the staff list below.
Operating Hours: Fall 2021
In the case of inclement weather, the Writing Center will operate normally if the library remains open to students.
Writing Center Staff
What to Expect
Good writers themselves, the writing tutors at Lycoming College have been trained to guide you through the writing process, from brainstorming to final revision. They do not take control of your work or [re]write your papers for you. Take advantage of the friendly advice they can provide at every stage of your writing project.
Please note that the Writing Center is not a proofreading and line-editing service; rather, it is an educational resource. So, if asked, tutors can watch for sentence-level error patterns (repeated issues) and draw the writer's attention to them in a helpful way, but proofreading and close line-editing is ultimately the writer's responsibility. We recommend that students take time to read their own essays out loud to catch errors.
Writing tutors will not know exactly what the professor is looking for or how he/she will evaluate your paper. (Always bring your assignment guidelines!) Also, writing tutors cannot guarantee you a higher grade on a given assignment; their goal, however, is to help you develop as a writer.
Come Prepared: Bring your laptop/personal device OR two printed copies of your draft (if you've gotten that far), your assignment guidelines, any relevant materials, a mental list of what you're concerned about, and your patience.
Visit Reports: Every time you consult with the Writing Center, we send a brief report to your professor to show that you are making an extra effort to succeed (unless you indicate that you do not want your professor to be notified). In order for the check-in/check-out process to occur smoothly, remember to bring your college ID.
Word to the wise: Don't procrastinate on your writing projects! If you wait until the last possible minute to bring your paper to the Writing Center, you might not have enough turn-around time. Plus, we can get pretty busy at times.
Questions and concerns can be directed to Mrs. Shanna Wheeler, Director of the Writing Center (wheelers@lycoming.edu).
Are you struggling with a formal research paper?
Seek out a model paper to guide you! You can read sample student research papers in Schemata: Student Essays Across the Curriculum.
Other Writing Resources