Writing Support

Writing tutorials offer individual feedback from a professional writing instructor. Bring in an assignment at any stage in the writing process and learn what you are doing well and how you can improve.

We offer 30-minute and 50-minute tutoring sessions. For Fall 2021, most appointments will be online, with a few in person in AC-313.

To book a writing tutorial, go to WCOnline.

When it's time for your tutorial, log in to WCOnline (using the link above) and click on the yellow box that is your tutorial. In the new window, click the red text Join an Online Consultation and the web interface will open.

Procrastinating on a writing assignment? Feeling isolated? Writing retreats are structured online work sessions that get you moving forward using goal setting, timed writing and the knowledge that others are working too. In a retreat, you will make progress on writing assignment, learn writing strategies that can help with productivity for future assignments and feel good about writing.

We offer regular open retreats that everyone can attend, and we also offer course-based retreats. Check your course Quercus site to find out if there is a retreat scheduled for your class. 

Open Retreat Schedule
Fall 2021 open retreats will run Fridays from 1:00pm - 2:30pm starting October 8th until December 3rd.

Click here to find a wide array of writing advice. We have help for you at all stages of your writing.

What can I expect of a writing tutorial?

In a writing tutorial, you sit down with a writing instructor, review your assignment guidelines and whatever you have written so far, whether it is a full draft or a few rough notes.

The goal is to help you with whatever aspects of your academic writing need work: planning and outlining, structuring (an entire paper or any of its elements), grammar and sentence structure, argumentation, referencing and so on. In a tutorial, we give you feedback on the assignment you bring in, and we teach you writing and editing techniques that you can apply in your future writing.

What is the difference between an in-person tutorial and an online tutorial?

Online writing tutorials are very similar to regular writing tutorials except that instead of meeting face-to-face in an office, student and instructor meet online through the WCOnline interface. There is a video link where student and instructor can see one another's faces and interact, a central whiteboard to share assignment instructions and your draft, and a text chat function.

WCOnline is a web-based interface so you don't have to download anything on your computer. What you do need to do, however, is make sure you have high-speed wireless access and are in a quiet space where you can concentrate.

What can I expect in a writing retreat?

In our retreats, everybody writes, with some useful and supportive structures. Here's the basic outline:

1. Welcome, introduction, ground rules.
2. Warm-up fun freewrite (NOT about the assignment!). This will make you feel positive and ready to write.
3. Individual goal-setting activity. It emphasizes focus and direction, so you know where you’re going.
4. 2 x 20-minute writing sessions with a 5-minute break. Everyone writes. Yes, everyone: students, course instructors, writing instructors...
5. Concluding reflection and time to share the progress we’ve made and set out the next steps in our writing projects.

How do I prepare for a writing retreat?

Find a quiet place where you can concentrate and get together everything you need to write: assignment instructions, ideas, outlines, drafts, reading notes, doodles, favourite mug, chocolate…

Can I email my work to CTL Writing Support and have someone correct it for me?

The face-to-face (in-person and online) contact involved in writing tutorials is very important. You take the time to bring your work in and we take the time to sit down with you, read what you’ve written and give you feedback on it. Our focus is on helping you to become a better writer, not on editing or correcting student work. It is the process that we engage in with you that helps you to understand how to improve your writing and become a better writer.

I know I have grammar errors in my writing but I don't know how to correct them. Can someone help me recognize my mistakes and teach me to fix them so that I don’t make the same errors again and again?

Absolutely! Bring in a piece of writing to a writing tutorial and we will help you identify your errors and teach you to recognize and correct them. Remember that learning to write correctly takes time and dedication. We will focus on only one or two errors per tutorial, so depending on the number of errors you may need more than one appointment. You will also need to work on your writing skills between appointments.