Students- FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

About the Tutoring:

1. How does tutoring work? What is minimalist tutoring?

2. Is tutoring just for students who are failing their Writing courses?

3. Will tutoring really help me earn higher grades?

4. How long will tutoring last?

5. What should I bring with me to my tutoring sessions?

6. Is there drop-in tutoring?

About the Tutors:

1. Who are the tutors?

2. Will I receive one-on-one tutoring at the Writing Centers?

3. Do I meet with the same tutor every week?

Signing Up:

1. When can I sign up? What do I need to sign up?

2. Can I sign up for more than one set of five tutoring sessions?

Location/Hours:

1. Where is the Writing Center located?

2. When is tutoring available?

3. Is tutoring free?

Policies:

1. Do I get credit for coming to tutoring?

2. What is the attendance policy?

3. What should I do if I have to miss a scheduled tutoring session?

4. Can I come to tutoring even if I am not in a Writing class?

5. Will my teacher know that I am coming to tutoring?

About the Tutoring

How does tutoring work? What is minimalist tutoring?

Students receive individualized and directed assistance to develop their reading and writing skills. The primary goal of the Center is to move students towards independence in these skills. The tutor will help you learn to read closely, develop critical readings, revise your drafts, and correct your errors on your own. The tutor will not do the work for you, correct your paper, act as a proofreader or style-checker, and will not explain the readings to you. Rather the tutor will work with you on your own paper to help you learn how to revise, complicate, and develop your own readings of texts. The tutor will also work with you to develop the skills necessary to determine and correct your own patterns of error.

This approach to tutoring is minimalist in that it seeks to minimize your dependence upon the writing tutor. The tutor's job is to assist you in identifying problem areas with your writing, to provide you with a concrete plan for working on those areas, to allow you the time to begin doing that work yourself, and to provide you with guidance when you get stuck.

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Is tutoring just for students who are failing their Writing courses?

No. While tutoring can make the difference between failing and passing for some students, any student in any Writing Program course can benefit from tutoring. Because you meet one-on-one with a tutor, and because the tutor is in contact with your teacher, sessions focus on your individual writing skills. Certainly students who are in danger of failing should sign up for tutoring, but you might also want to register if you are generally a B student and you want to figure out how to write papers that will earn A's. We're confident that every student who comes to a Writing Center and takes tutoring seriously becomes a better writer.

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Will tutoring really help me earn higher grades?

Attendance at the Writing Centers does not assure improvement. In conjunction with regular completion of coursework, however, tutoring is an effective way to address the challenges of college-level expository writing. Students who sign up for tutoring early in the semester also tend to improve more than those who wait until the last minute.

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How long will tutoring last?

You will meet with your tutor once a week for an 80 minute session for five consecutive weeks.

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What should I bring with me to my tutoring sessions?

BRING ALL CLASS MATERIALS AT ALL TIMES, including the textbook, your notes, all of your first and final drafts, and any other relevant materials. Students who bring nothing to a tutoring session are liable to be marked absent. Even if you think you have nothing left to work on, your tutor can help you revisit old problem areas and further refine your reading and writing skills.

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Is there drop-in tutoring?

No. The Writing Centers do not provide drop-in tutoring: in order to insure that you receive sustained assistance learning how to identify and correct the problems with your own writing, all Writing Centers require students to sign up for five tutoring sessions.

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About the Tutors

Who are the tutors?

The tutors are a mix of advanced undergraduate students who are highly skilled writers, graduate students who are highly skilled writers and/or Teaching Assistants from the Writing Program, and Instructors and Part-Time Lecturers from the Writing Program. All have received intensive training that prepares them to implement the Writing Center's minimalist approach to tutoring.

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Will I receive one-on-one tutoring in the Writing Centers?

Yes. Each tutor is assigned two students per session but the tutor will alternate between students so each student gets personal attention.

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Do I meet with the same tutor every week?

Yes.

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Signing Up

When can I sign up? What do I need to sign up?

The Centers will begin to accept requests for tutoring during the third week of the semester. Students must come to the center of their choice to sign up for tutoring; we do not accept enrollment forms over the phone or through electronic mail. When you come to a center to sign up, you must bring a copy of your period-by-period schedule of classes, work, and free time, because tutors are assigned by class period. You will also need to provide the name of your teacher, the number and section of your class (i.e., 100:05, 101:DH), your home and campus addresses and phone numbers, and your e-mail address.

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Can I sign up for more than one set of five tutoring sessions?

If you have attended all of your sessions, at the end of your first five weeks of tutoring, you will have the opportunity to renew. You can continue meeting with the same tutor at the same time until the Center closes at the end of the semester

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Location and Hours

Where is the Writing Center located?

The Livingston Writing Center main office is in Lucy Stone Hall B104A on the Livingston Campus. Our number is (732) 445-4048. Tutoring during periods 2-5 take place in Lucy Stone Hall B103. Evening tutoring (periods 6 and 7) takes place in the Learning Center in Tillett Hall 111, just across from Lucy Stone Hall.

Donald Dow is the Livingston Writing Center Coordinator; his office is in B104D and he can be reached at (732) 445-5657 or donald.dow@rutgers.edu.

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When is tutoring available?

Tutoring is available Monday-Thursday 2nd-5th periods in Lucy Stone Hall B103 and Monday-Thursday 6th & 7th periods in the Learning Center in Tillett 111. We also offer tutoring Fridays 2nd-4th periods in Lucy Stone B103.

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Is tutoring free?

Yes.

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Policies

Do I get credit for coming to tutoring?

During the Fall and Spring semesters, you get 1.5 E credits for tutoring. These credits are empty credits. This means they do not count towards graduation or get factored into your GPA. They do get counted within the number of credits you are carrying for the semester, however, and can thus assist you in maintaining full-time status. For example, if you are registered for 12 credits and you sign-up for the Writing Center, you will be carrying 13.5 credits. These E credits will also appear on your transcript (as 355:096) and will be graded pass/fail based on your attendance at tutoring.

University College students and part-time students do not receive E credits for the Writing Center unless they wish to pay for them. In this case, the student must inform the center of this wish at the time of signup.

There are no E credits during summer tutoring.

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What is the attendance policy?

You are expected to meet all of your scheduled appointments. You are allowed to miss 1 out of 5 sessions. If you miss more than 1 session, you will be dropped from the tutoring schedule and receive an F in the Writing Center course (355:096) on your transcript.

If you sign up later in the semester (or renew later in the semester) for four or fewer sessions, you are not allowed any absences. If you are absent you will be dropped from the tutoring schedule and receive an F in the Writing Center course (355:096) on your transcript.

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What should I do if I have to miss a scheduled tutoring session?

There are no excused absences. If you are going to be absent, however, you should call the Writing Center as a courtesy so that your tutor can be informed. (Tutors are not paid when appointments are missed.)

If you are going to miss a session, please contact the Writing Center at 732-445-4048.

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Can I come to tutoring even if I am not in a Writing class?

Our services are primarily for students in Writing Program courses. Students in other courses at Rutgers can attend tutoring at the discretion of the directors of the individual Writing Centers. If you are in a non-Writing Program course and you wish to attend Writing Program tutoring, you must have writing to work on consistently for five weeks.

If you are not enrolled in a Writing Program course, you may get help with your writing at the Learning Resource Center on your campus. To find out more about the LRCs, please go to their homepage.

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Will my teacher know I'm coming to tutoring?

Yes. Your teacher is notified when you sign up and the tutor and your teacher also exchange notes every 3 sessions, assessing your progress and discussing additional areas where your writing might improve. Your teacher will also be informed if you miss a tutoring session.

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