academic writing center

operation

Peer learning

The peer learning facilitation is carried out through experiential activities such as workshops organized by the tutors. The purpose of peer learning is reciprocal knowledge gain, to interact with other students and enhance the educational output. Past workshops have covered the following topics:

• How to Enjoy Writing
• Punctuation Marks and Grammar in Use
• Working with Sentences
• Reading and Taking Notes
• Strategies for Better Writing
• How to Coin the Title of Your Project

The AWC team introduces ‘Core Companion Seminars’. These seminars provide an opportunity to discuss topics with other students, develop ideas, and initiate others so that the students have the chance to work on their assignments before they are due. Usually, these seminars take place before seminars with professors alongside such courses as Great Books.

One-on-one consultations

The consultations provide students with assistance at any stage of their writing process for any assignments, from presentation outlines to full-year research projects, and offer the opportunity to:

• Engage in conversation about their work with the tutors;
• Receive feedback on the clarity of their thoughts, the organization of their ideas, or their approach to a particular task;
• Identify the errors in writings in terms of English proficiency, structure, and style.

Online feedback

Students may receive an online type of feedback upon their request. The request should contain a specific goal of the feedback provision. In their feedback, tutors share their rigorous comments on the projects sent attached to students’ request email. Students and/or tutors can schedule consultation meetings in case they have any questions that need to be tackled.

tutors selection

Tutors are selected among the SAS BA students. The head of the AWC selects students based on a holistic approach. Students are selected not only based on their academic performance but also on the basis of their social behavior and adherence to academic integrity norms that can be demonstrated during their study at SAS. As working with students can be considered a difficult task, students who are invited to the AWC Team shine at executing high levels of organizational skills, discipline, public speaking, ambition, empathy, and situational awareness. Students are invited to the AWC team on a yearly basis.

tutor's duty

Tutors are senior students who undergo basic and specific nuances of academic writing norms. They are trained in academic writing structure, style, and English language. They are motivated to help their fellow students, indicate issues with the coursework, and look at students’ submitted work with a fresh eye. In short, tutors offer support; they never do the coursework on students’ behalf. Tutors do not focus on helping students get high grades; they concentrate on making the coursework clear, improve students’ understanding of the hints and tricks of academic writing, and they offer great peer learning strategies that boost students’ academic and professional performance.

F.A.Q.

– How do I schedule a meeting or send a paper for feedback?

You can email any tutor of your liking to the AWC Team. Tutors should get back to you in a couple of hours.

– How should I prepare for a consultation?

To get the most out of your consultation, come with a prepared outline of the work you are seeking a review of. It would be just perfect to send such a draft to the tutors 6-12 hours prior to the meeting. We are happy to consult with you about anything related to your progress, e.g., getting started, organizing your thoughts, being overwhelmed, etc.

– Where are writing consultations held?

Consultations may be held either online or on-campus. You will agree on the location with your tutor.

– How long do consultations take?

Consultations can range from 5 to 60 minutes. The duration of the session, of course, depends on how long it takes to reach your goal.