Tutoring in Writing

Wheaton offers both peer and professional tutoring to all students. Peer tutors work late afternoons and evenings, Sunday through Thursday, on a drop-in basis, in the Scholars Lab of the Library and via Zoom, no appointment needed. Professional tutors, who are also writing faculty, work Monday through Friday during the day. Both faculty and peer tutors work with students from all majors on any type of writing, whether it’s for a class or is self-sponsored, at any stage in the writing process.

On this page:

Tutoring for Students

We encourage all students to work with our faculty writing tutors. Students who face ongoing challenges with writing such as learning differences or extreme writing anxiety may make weekly appointments with these writing tutors. Honors Thesis writers may also wish to set up regular appointments with faculty, who can provide continuity on larger projects. These tutors confer with students from all disciplines, and at any stage in their writing process, from invention to editing. Both faculty writing tutors teach writing courses.

Students may bring in any form of writing, at any stage, or even just the writing assignment itself. Faculty tutors can help you to get started, to move forward (developing, clarifying, supporting, organizing ideas) and to return to a draft so you can revise, edit and improve it. They’ll show you what is working well so you can build on that, and they’ll also help you see where you can improve.

Some of the tutoring with faculty will occur remotely (online, via Zoom) and some will occur in person.

Writing tutorials with faculty resume August 27th for the Fall 2024 semester. Some occur in person, in individual faculty offices. Others will be held remotely, via Zoom or Google Meet. Please use the Google appointment book links below to schedule a tutorial.

Regular faculty tutoring hours have concluded for the Fall Semester and will resume for the Spring 2025 semester. Please check back here for hours. Happy Holidays!

Ruth Foley  foley_ruth@wheatoncollege.edu
Office: Library, Room 214

Angie Sarhan Salvatore  sarhan_angie@wheatoncollege.edu
Office: Library, Room 212

Professor Campana has retired and is no longer tutoring, but you can still reach her at ccampana@wheatonma.edu.

Peer Tutoring in the Scholars Lab at Wallace Library

Writers collaborate! Often they start with understanding an assignment. Sometimes, they test approaches. At other times, they check to see if they’ve sufficiently supported their arguments and integrated sources smoothly and accurately. They read to see if an essay is organized, and if it makes sense.

Wheaton peer tutors work with writers on these aspects of composing and more. All of our tutors have successfully completed a course in peer tutoring (EDU 220). They’re great listeners who have a knack for helping other writers to improve their drafts.

Frequently Asked Questions about Wheaton Peer Writing Tutors

What do writing tutors do?
Peer writing tutors work with you at any stage in the writing process, from brainstorming to revision, and any stage in between.

What don’t writing tutors do?
We don’t edit or proofread for you, but we can teach you strategies for proofreading your own writing. Our goals are to help you develop your writing process as a whole. We don’t tutor outside of our scheduled hours, and we don’t work on resumés (but the Filene Center does).

What happens during a tutoring session?
It depends! The average session is usually around 30 minutes and seldom lasts for more than an hour, but this can vary based on what stage of the writing process you are in and what type of assignment you are working on. Our sessions can be thought of as conversations; we want to talk with you to help you develop your ideas.

We can also help you to sharpen your thesis statement (if your essay needs one); to organize the ideas with the essay; to order the sentences within a paragraph and to check for topic sentences. We can discuss formal elements such as transitional ideas; tone and citation of sources. We’ll identify places where the writing is going well and places where we think it could be improved. If you ask us a question about grammar that we can’t answer, we can look it up with you.

We will start by looking at the assignment and then go where you need to from there. We’ll ask you what you think of the writing and which areas you’d like to work on, too.

What qualifications do writing tutors have?
We have been recommended for and completed EDU 220, which focuses on the theory and practices of peer tutoring.

How do I schedule an appointment?
You don’t! Writing tutoring takes place on a walk-in basis during our scheduled hours.

Where and when does tutoring take place?
Tutoring takes place in the Scholar’s Lab of Wallace Library, just to the left of the front entrance. Tutoring hours are from 4-10pm Sunday through Thursday.

What kind of work can I bring in?
You can bring any paper from any course, grant applications, creative works, or any other writing you would like help with.

I’ve heard that sometimes tutors will ask writers to read their papers out loud. Am I required to do this?
No, you are not required to read your paper aloud. We encourage this process because we have found that hearing your writing helps you catch mistakes that you might not otherwise; however, we want you to feel comfortable! If you do not want to read your paper aloud, we are happy to read it for you.

DOs

  • Bring 2 copies of your paper (if you have one)
  • Bring a copy of the assignment
  • Come with an open mind
  • Come with questions or goals for the session

DON’Ts

  • Worry if you don’t have anything written yet!
  • Expect the tutor to edit or proofread your paper

If you have questions about becoming a peer tutor, contact Professor Ruth Foley.

View the Course Catalog to see writing courses available at Wheaton College

Consultations with Faculty

Writing faculty are also available to confer with colleagues and to present workshops to specific classes or other groups about issues related to teaching writing. Such issues include, but are not limited to

  • Course and/or assignment design
  • Responding to and evaluating student writing
  • Researching
  • Collaborative writing