» The Writing Center

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Chapman's Writing Center serves both undergraduate and graduate students. We are open for the fall 2022 semester starting Tuesday, September 6th and close Sunday, December 11th.

We have launched a new Canvas site. You can Join the course here. It takes about 30 seconds and will add the Writing Center to your Canvas Dashboard. Canvas is where students can submit documents and schedule appointments. The Writing Center is fully online for the fall semester. We currently offer 2 types of writing tutoring: 

Asynchronous Tutoring

  • No need to schedule or attend an appointment 
  • Submit a draft for written feedback here
  • A tutor will respond with written feedback typically within 24-48 hours
  • Submissions are accepted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Synchronous Zoom Tutoring 

  • Meet with a tutor in real-time through Zoom 
  • To see what times are available and make an appointment, click here 

Our mission is to assist students with the writing and composing they do for academic and professional purposes, providing feedback at any stage of the writing and composing process (no draft, no problem—we can help you get started and understand an assignment).

Academic Writing and Composing

  • Standard essays
  • Research projects
  • Lab reports
  • Technical writing
  • Creative writing
  • Presentations (e.g. Prezi, PowerPoint, etc.)
  • Canvas Discussion Forum responses
  • Capstone projects, theses, and dissertations
  • ALL subjects, including STEM, the arts, etc.
  • ALL levels/ students: first-year through graduate level work

Professional Writing and Composing

  • Resumes and CVs
  • Cover letters
  • Job applications
  • Personal statements
  • Grad school applications
  • Internship applications
  • Writing for publication
  • ALL types of jobs and programs, across disciplines
  • ALL students: Undergrad and Grad

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Preparing for a Visit

When possible, make an appointment well in advance of your paper's due date. This will give you plenty of time to revise your paper in response to your session with the tutor. You may also choose to come to the center before you have your first draft.

Bring:

  • A copy of your course syllabus
  • A copy of your assignment
  • A copy of your paper draft (if applicable)

Most sessions are similarly structured. You will probably spend time in your session:

  • Setting your own goals. If possible, determine your goals before your visit. Do you want help with your thesis statement? Are you concerned about run-on sentence? Do you want to brainstorm ideas? Are particular parts of your paper not working? The more specific your request for help, the more focused and productive your Writing Center session will be. 
  • Describing the assignment and your professor's expectations. This is why it's always a good idea to bring the assignment sheet and the course syllabus! Remember, your tutor cannot attend every class from every professor on campus; your preparation will help the tutor ascertain what the professor may be looking for in your paper.
  • Explaining to your tutor what you intend to communicate in your paper. The tutor will ask questions to help clarify your thoughts and determine the best way to express them. 
  • Listening to the tutor's comments and suggestion about your paper. The tutor will provide feedback on what seems successful in your paper and what might benefit from more work.
  • Writing notes on your draft. Although the tutors will offer suggestions and feedback, it is up to you to decide which comments to use and which to ignore. Tutors may take some notes with their questions and suggestions, but you will do the majority of the writing.
  • Editing and correcting errors on your draft. Again, you will do this with the help of the tutor, who will notice patterns of error and teach you the necessary tools to correct them.

Questions?

Visit our FAQs page or contact us via email or by reaching out to the Writing Center Director Jaime Campbell (see below). Instructors can email us to schedule a brief in-class presentation on the Writing Center.