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| About the Writing Center
Overview Writing Center tutors work with students on the full range of college writing assignments, from a first freshman essay in Expository Writing to a senior thesis, from a lab for material sciences to an application essay for graduate school. Tutors can also help at any stage of the writing process, whether clarifying an initial focus, developing a thesis, structuring an argument, integrating sources, or revising a draft. The Writing Center does not edit or proofread papers, although tutors can help students learn to identify patterns of error, such as recurrent comma splices. The goal of the Writing Center is to help students develop their own writing abilities and to become skilled readers of their own writing. Location and Hours Our hours are Sunday through Thursday, from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Appointments Click here for information on scheduling an appointment. Appointments are scheduled in 50-minute sessions and begin on the hour. You can also drop by the Greenhouse without an appointment. Drop-ins are first come, first serve. How Does It Work? • What should I bring? Bring whatever you have: notes, pre-draft exercises, drafts or parts of drafts. Also, bring the assignment sheet and any comments you have about your writing from your professor or instructor. The tutor will ask you what you want to work on in the conference, so it’s a good idea to think about the kind of help you want. If you bring a draft or partial draft, the tutor will spend some time reading it and will then discuss it with you, usually asking questions and getting you to talk about any problems you see in the draft. If you’re just getting started and haven’t written anything yet, the tutor will ask you about your ideas and help you begin to organize your thinking. Wherever you are in the writing process, plan to take notes during the conference. And before you leave, the tutor will help you think about the next steps you need to take for writing and revising. • Will the tutor read my paper ahead of time? Writing Center tutors do not read papers ahead of time. The Writing Center holds over 2000 conferences a year, with writers at all levels and in all disciplines, and if we read papers in advance, we would be unable to serve nearly as many students. More importantly, however, it is your active participation in the conference - your dialogue with the tutor about your • Can I request a particular tutor? We will try to accommodate requests for a particular tutor, especially for students working on an extended project, but time and schedules determine whether such requests can be met. All tutors aim to help you articulate your ideas to an interested and experienced reader, someone trained to serve as a sympathetic and helpful critic, no matter the topic. Other questions? Email us; we’re happy to help. Tutoring Staff Writing Center tutors are both undergraduate and graduate students, trained to help students develop their own thinking and writing. If you want to know who’s tutoring this year, or if you’re interested in applying to become a tutor, please view our “Tutoring Staff” page. |
Established in 1995, the Writing Center offers undergraduate student writers free, individual conferences with experienced tutors trained to consult on writing assignments in any discipline. Located in the Greenhouse, the Writing Center welcomes all Hopkins undergraduates.
The Writing Center is located in 
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