SIUC
Writing Center
The goal of the Writing Center is to help students from all departments become better writers through one-to-one work with a tutor. Tutors are specially trained to guide student writers and foster their independent exploration of writing strategies.
In addition to our traditional on-site tutoring services in the Faner, Lentz, and Trueblood Writing Centers, we currently offer synchronous tutoring sessions for SIUC students. In these sessions, tutors meet with students in a real-time online chat environment. Our online writing lab (OWL) uses RichCo's WCOnline™ program, enabling students to make an appointment, upload a paper, and work on writing with a tutor online through a combination of one-to-one chat and tutor/tutee simultaneous viewing of the student's paper.
To help make your first online tutoring session as easy as possible, we have provided answers to some questions you may have and provide a brief tutorial to get you started on the steps involved in using our OWL.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- How does the process of using our online services work?
- What can the writing center tutors help me with?
- Who are your tutors?
- What are the system requirements for using this service?
- When is the OWL available?
- How do I make an appointment?
- What if I don't have an essay draft?
- Where can I find resources and examples to help me improve my paper?
- What if I prefer to meet with a tutor face to face rather than online?
- What do I do once I've made an appointment?
- How do I submit my paper?
- Is there a limit to the number of pages I can submit?
- What happens when the tutoring session is over?
- How many appointments can I make?
- Is my personal information protected?
How does it work?
Before you can make an appointment with an SIUC Writing Center tutor and upload the paper you wish to work on, you will need to register through the WCOnline site at www.rich65.com/siu. When you register, you will be asked to explain what you would like to work on during this particular tutoring session. You may upload your paper at any time after registering up until two hours before your tutoring session. Uploading at least two hours in advance will allow your tutor time to read your paper in advance of your session. Each chat session will begin at 20 minutes past the hour and last for 30 minutes.
What can the writing center tutors help me with?
In the OWL, just as in our on-site Writing Center locations, our tutors can help you develop effective writing strategies--strategies for getting started on writing projects, narrowing topics, organizing and developing essays, and finding your own grammar and punctuation errors.
Who are your tutors?
All of SIUC's OWL tutors are students at SIUC. The Writing Center staff consists of graduate assistants in English and experienced undergraduate tutors from a variety of departments. All tutors participate in intensive training before the Centers open, and specialized training continues throughout the semester. The tutors you work with online are the same tutors that work in our on-site locations. In most cases, graduate student writers will want to select graduate tutors.
What are the system requirements for using this service?
WCOnline runs best off on Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or later and Mozilla FireFox 2 or later. Other browsers may not load the online tutoring module.
The WCOnline program that we use for our tutoring session only recognizes .doc files, so please save your papers in .doc format, even if you are using Windows 2007 (.docx).
When is the OWL available?
The OWL is currently being offered on a pilot basis and thus is available for a limited number of tutoring hours. Please check the WCOnline scheduling page for available appointment times.
How do I make an appointment?
You can make an appointment by logging on to the WCOnline site at www.rich65.com/siu. This URL will take you immediately to our online scheduling page. A detailed explanation of how to schedule an appointment is provided in the tutorial accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
What if I don't have an essay draft?
While it is usually the case that we work with tutees on some aspect of a paper draft, there are times when a tutee needs help generating ideas and getting started on a paper. If you need help with this aspect of a writing project, specify this on the form you fill out when scheduling an appointment. These sessions will tend to be more exclusively chat-based (talk-based) rather than being a mix of chat-based and draft-based (text-based), but can be equally beneficial to you. However, if you have been working on a draft and want help with text-based concerns, you will need to upload a draft of your paper when you schedule your appointment or no later than one hour before your appointment begins.
Where can I find resources and examples to help me improve my paper?
SIUC OWL has a library of handouts available online for your use. These include guidelines for all aspects of the writing process, including getting started, writing introductions and conclusions, writing research papers, and general grammar, punctuation, and syntax rules, to name just a few. The handouts can be accessed on our regular Writing Center website at www.siu.edu/~write.
What if I prefer to meet with a tutor face to face rather than online?
If you are on the SIUC campus, you have the option of meeting with a tutor in one of our campus locations. Our Faner Writing Center is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the last scheduled appointment beginning at 3:00 p.m. The Faner Center is also open on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. with the last appointment beginning at noon. Our satellite centers at Lentz and Trueblood halls are open Sunday through Thursday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. To make an appointment at Faner, call (618)453-6863; at Lentz, call (618)453-2573; at Trueblood, (618)453-2927.
What do I do once I've made an appointment?
Once you've scheduled an appointment with an online tutor, you will need to upload your paper and log in to your online tutoring appointment. Follow the directions provided in the tutorial below for uploading your paper and logging into WCOnline for your scheduled appointment.
How do I submit my paper?
For directions on submitting your paper, see the tutorial on the next page by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
Is there a limit to the number of pages I can submit?
Yes. Although the WCOnline program itself places no limits on the number of pages you can upload, our tutors will only be able to work on 5-6 pages at a time due to time constraints.
What happens when the tutoring session is over?
Once your session is over, you may request a conference summary to go to your instructor informing him or her of what you worked on in this particular tutoring session, what you worked on with your tutor, and what your next steps will be for this paper, as well as some things you will continue to work on to improve your writing, generally. We would also request that you fill out the post-session evaluation provided through the WCOnline tutoring site. This evaluation lets us know how we are doing and what we can improve on to make your online tutoring experience more productive. Finally, you will receive an email containing a copy of your paper including the revisions made during your tutoring session.
How many appointments can I make?
In order to meet the needs of more students, you may make only one online tutoring session per week.
Is my personal information protected?
Yes! The personal information that you provide to the SIUC OWL and WCOnline is strictly used for tutoring and statistical purposes; it will not be shared with outside parties.
Click Here to continue on to the online tutoring lesson.