Frequently Asked Questions

Our services at the WLC are for current students taking undergraduate courses at UIW. You may come to the WLC to receive help on assignments for any of your UIW undergraduate courses. In addition, you may come in to discuss writing that is not for a particular class (e.g. scholarship essays, personal statements, etc.). If you need help with writing for a graduate course, you will need to visit the Graduate Support Center.

There are no additional costs for tutoring; our services are included with your tuition.

At the WLC, we do accept walk-ins; however, we recommend you make an appointment ahead of time to ensure a tutor will be available. During busy times, such as midterms and finals, we highly encourage scheduling an appointment a few days in advance.

The best way to schedule a writing session is to visit us in the Student Engagement Center in room 3167 or call us at 210-829-3870. Be ready to give your name, student ID number, information about what you wish to work on, and the best times you are available. Alternatively, you can email this information to the WLC at wlc@uiwtx.edu to request an appointment.

You will work with the tutor to help expand ideas, incorporate research, identify errors, brainstorm, and ensure your work is well-organized and follows the prompt. If it is your first time coming to the WLC or Tutoring Services for the current semester, the tutor will have you sign a small sheet outlining the Tutoring Services and WLC policies and roles of tutors and tutees.

You must be present and play an active role in the tutoring session. Since we are a tutoring service, our goal is to help you improve as a writer; therefore, we cannot simply edit or proofread your paper.

Our tutors can help you with any part of the writing process, from brainstorming in the beginning to citing at the end. You are more than welcome to bring in whatever work or ideas you have so far.

You may schedule up to two writing sessions ahead of time. Once you attend a session, you are welcome to schedule additional appointments. You are welcome to schedule two hour-long appointments back-to-back. Educational research shows that extended sessions are not optimal for learning; therefore, we ask that you take a small 10-15 minute break after the first session.

Tutoring sessions are typically scheduled in one-hour blocks; however, you are welcome to schedule a thirty-minute session if an hour is not needed.

It is highly recommended that each student schedules his or her own appointment in order to easily confirm appointment times and answer any questions.

Yes, you are welcome to schedule a group session. Be ready to give each student's name, student ID number, information about what you wish to work on, and the best times you are available. Note: If you are writing a group paper, it is ideal to have all members present. Because our focus is to help you improve your skills, our tutors can only help review the parts of the paper that were written by the group members who are present.

To get the most out of your session, please bring your syllabus, your professor's prompt, the assignment sheet, and any other information that you think is important for your work.

Please notify us if you are running late, or the session may be released to other students 15 minutes after the start time.

To cancel or reschedule, you may call us at 210-829-3870, see us in person, or send us an email. Be ready to give your name, student ID number, and the appointment day and time. To make appointments available to other students, we ask that you give us at least two hours' notice if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Any session canceled without at least two hours' notice will be counted as a no-show.

We ask that you give us at least two hours' notice if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, or you will be counted as a no-show. After five no-shows (including appointments with Tutoring Services), you will not be able to make appointments for the remainder of the semester; however, you will be able to drop in for writing sessions, as available.

We cannot refer any outside or private tutoring. All of our tutoring is done on campus during the WLC business hours. You can find our tutoring hours for the current semester on our homepage.

We hire writing tutors who are motivated, responsible, and ready to guide UIW undergraduate students in improving their writing, regardless of the students' skill level. Working at the WLC will give you the chance to be a positive influence on students and to enhance your own writing and leadership skills. Students who would like to apply to become a writing tutor must have a 3.0 or higher GPA. To apply, please submit an application, two faculty recommendations, a sample of your academic writing, and an unofficial transcript. For more information, visit the Work at the WLC webpage or contact the Director of Learning Support Services, Dr. Amanda Johnston, at ajohnsto@uiwtx.edu or (210) 805-5856.

Our printers may only be used for writing or content tutoring sessions. You may print your paper before or after the session. If you have not had a tutoring session and you need to print your paper, you may go to the library or the Media Center.

You are welcome to use our computers. You can log into them using your UIW credentials (first part of UIW email and password).

You are welcome to bring drinks with lids in the WLC. We ask that you please help us keep our space clean by not eating food inside the WLC.