The Write Foot: Utilizing the Academic Writing Center

By: Katie Rose Kenawell (she/her/hers), Academic Learning & Tutoring Center Writing Team Captain 2019

Read: <4 minutes

Students in need of academic support and tutoring should be encouraged to go to the The Academic Learning & Tutoring Center here at Tulane. With resources to help students in nearly any subject, the ALTC is a relaxed environment for students to learn from one another and grow academically. Among our resources, the ALTC is proud to have the Academic Writing Center. When students need help in brainstorming, drafting or editing their writing for classes, they can make an appointment with one of our welcoming writing tutors.

Don’t ever feel nervous or awkward coming to the writing center. It can be intimidating to ask for help, but we’re always here to help, not judge. Sharing your writing with others isn’t easy, and we recognize the courage it takes to share with a stranger.

Writing tutors can help students with essays and assignments that will be turned in for credit, unlike other subject tutors, who cannot help with for-credit class assignments. Our writing tutors are trained in academic writing as well as more specific linguistic topics that apply to Tulane’s student body, like non-academic English dialects and English as a second language.

In addition to the standard training all the writing tutors undergo, many of our tutors are trained in particular fields which may be helpful for our students. As such, about half of our writing tutors are graduate students, studying a variety of topics from public health to political science. By looking at our tutors’ biographies when selecting an appointment using our TimeTap scheduler, students can choose to pick a writing tutor that has experience in the field of the particular writing assignment with which they need help. For instance, if a student has a paper due for a public health class, we have a graduate student in the school of public health who is a specialist in public health writing. For a class like Writing 1010, which is specific to undergraduates, the student can select one of our undergraduate tutors who has had the chance to take that class. No matter the class or assignment, the ALTC Writing Tutors can help students improve their writing!

Use the buttons below to link to some useful study resources. These items are also included on our Student Success Guides webpage.

Writing Help