Appointments

One thirty-minute appointment is available per student each day. Many students like to get feedback, so this helps us fit as many as possible into the schedule. We can also take students who walk in, but only if we have tutors available. For example, if a student comes in at 11.15 am, but the tutor is needed for a student with an appointment at 11.30 am, then the drop-in student will only get 15 minutes. Appointments are like reservations in a restaurant, they guarantee that people can get in at a certain time.

If you need to cancel an appointment, please be courteous and phone or email us so that we can schedule someone else. Students more than 10 minutes late for an appointment may lose that time if another student is waiting. Also, students who don't show up for appointments and who don't contact us to cancel may lose the privilege of booking appointments for a full semester. After suspension of privileges, these students can still walk in and see if anyone is available, but appointments will always have priority.

Preparing for an appointment

Please come to your appointment with specific problem areas in mind. Bring an agenda, two or three things that you would like help with. If your professor has returned an assignment, he or she may indicate your strengths and your weaknesses. Give yourself a 'pat on the back' for your strengths; then ask for help with your weaknesses. Tutors will only be able to go over two or three issues in thirty minutes, so do not expect to walk out with all the problems corrected in your draft. Often tutors will ask you to correct the issues covered and come back. When you return, we can go over more issues. You may come and work on problems in your writing every day if necessary. It's important to understand, though, that tutors are not allowed to edit or help you fix a draft that has not been submitted yet for grading as this would be academic dishonesty; you would be submitting work that is not your own. 

If you don't bring an agenda, the tutor will read the first paragraph of your draft and choose two or three issues that need work; however, keep in mind that the reading counts towards your thirty-minutes for the appointment. Also, the issues in the first paragraph may not be the most important ones. The reason we cannot teach more than three lessons per student in one day  is that students learn best when they focus on a few issues at a time.

Please keep in mind that learning to write well is a process that does not happen overnight. Give yourself time to learn by making multiple appointments, each one focussing on a few areas. As you learn, you will find your writing will gradually improve.