In fall 2022, writing tutors are available in BOTH the library Writing Café (3rd floor) Sun.-Thurs., 8-10pm, and in the Writing Center (SG 264) MWF 12:30-1:30pm and M-F 4:15-5:15pm.
Additionally, tutors are available with flexible on-call scheduling. Scroll for contact info. We look forward to working with you at any point in the writing process.
What’s the schedule?
The tutors are ready to work with you on-call (that is, you schedule a time) or during scheduled hours.
See tutor photos, phone numbers, and emails below.
How do I connect?
From 8 to 10pm Sunday–Thursday, you can drop by the Writing Café on the third floor of the library. Tutors are also available for drop-ins in the Writing Center (SG 264) MWF 12:30-1:30 and M-F 4:15-5:15. You can also set up an appointment in advance.
To work with a tutor outside of these times, you can reach out directly to any tutor to schedule any time. Tutors have busy schedules and limited hours, so in some cases you may need to work with your second choice. Any tutor can work with writers in any subject. They’re listed below with their majors.
- Lindsey Huffman (education studies) lindsey.huffman@principia.edu
- Kale Ostler (history) kale.ostler@principia.edu
- Grace Pécheck (English and history) grace.pecheck@principia.edu
- Geena Richards (sustainability and political science) geena.richards@principia.edu
- Olivia Skinner (music and education) olivia.skinner@principia.edu
- Sophie Ungerleider (global studies) sophie.ungerleider@principia.edu
- Nadja Peschke (studio art and English) nadja.peschke@principia.edu
What can I expect?
Tutors are available in three ways:
1. In-person during scheduled hours in the library Writing Café, 3rd floor (see schedule below).
2. In-person during scheduled hours in the Writing Center (SG 264, see schedule below).
3. On-call tutoring. Email the tutor of your choice to make an appointment and agree on where/how to meet: in-person or on Zoom, FaceTime, etc. All tutoring is synchronous.
Do I need to make an appointment for the library or Zoom?
· During scheduled hours, appointments are recommended, but not required. When you make an appointment by emailing the tutor on-duty when you plan to visit, the tutor can specifically prepare for you and your paper. (See schedule below.) When you connect with your tutor, it’s very helpful if you print your paper for an in-person session or share your work in progress as a Google Doc for Zoom sessions. You should also share your assignment instructions with your writing tutor.
· For on-call tutoring, outside of scheduled hours, we suggest you email a tutor to set something up.
Other info:
Quick drop-in sessions are good for brainstorming and looking at an assignment or draft together. This may also be a good option if you have a quick citation question or if you just need help understanding an assignment.
Deep Dive sessions are great if you want the tutor to help you look at things like organization and help you resolve any trouble spots with grammar and punctuation. It’s best—but not required—to submit your paper in advance so the tutor can spend time with it before you meet. A session could go down like this:
- Share your paper or Google Doc with the tutor’s principia.edu email. The tutor will download your file and make comments in the document.
- When you meet in person or online, the tutor will share the new document with you and you can ask questions. The tutor will not correct grammar/punctuation/spelling but will notice if there are patterns of error and show you how to fix them.
- Note that if you don’t “show up” for the scheduled time with the tutor, you will not receive any feedback.*
*Writers who do not cancel or reschedule appointments one hour in advance may be denied online tutoring services in the future.
Our Mission: To teach students strategies they need in order to succeed as writers.
In Pursuit of This Mission,
- We offer a safe, confidential environment where we work with students to improve a piece of writing before they turn it in.
- As students ourselves, we are familiar with the challenges writers face as they work through each stage of the writing process. To this end, we strive to empower students to write with confidence.
- Although we will not proofread papers, we are trained to
- offer suggestions
- explain complicated rules
- be a sounding board for ideas
- share strategies and tools for overcoming common obstacles in researching, writing, and editing papers.
Below you will find helpful writing and citation resources.
Principia College Library Citation Guide
Here are some additional links we recommend:
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center Handouts
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/
University of Wisconsin-Madison Writer’s Handbook
http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/
Duke University Thompson Writing Program Handouts and Resources
http://twp.duke.edu/writing-studio/resources
Hunter College Reading/Writing Center
http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu
What is good writing? How do writers get better? What resources are there to help writers develop? And what about research? What are the best ways to navigate the library’s database subscriptions and conduct research at Principia? If you are interested in these questions—and their answers—keep reading!
Teaching the Writing Process (WRIT 350) is designed for students who want to become writing tutors. It focuses on writing processes, tutoring strategies, research, style, and grammar. However, while most students who take this course are interested in being Principia writing tutors, many take it with an eye toward skills that will help them in careers or graduate school.
If you are interested in being in this year’s class, please submit a sample of your academic writing—in hard copy or as an MSWord email attachment—to course instructor Ellen Sprague in the Center for Teaching and Learning. If you have questions, please contact Ellen at ellen.sprague@principia.edu.
