THE WRITING CENTER AT MOTLOW STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

NEED HELP WITH A WRITING ASSIGNMENT? Maybe it’s writer’s block. Maybe you don’t know how to get started. Maybe you finished the first draft and aren’t sure how to go about revising. Maybe writing just really isn’t your thing…

DON’T SWEAT IT! THE WRITING CENTER IS HERE TO HELP! The Motlow State Community College Writing Center is a free service available to all Motlow students. We offer one-on-one sessions with knowledgeable, attentive tutors. We can assist you with any writing project at any stage in the writing process. We can help you brainstorm for an English essay, revise a lab report, or polish a cover letter for a job application. And while we are happy to help you improve any individual assignment, our ultimate goal is to help you become a more confident, competent college writer!

WHAT TO EXPECT: BECAUSE NO ONE LIKES TO BE CAUGHT UNAWARE. While we do take walk-in clients, it is a very good idea to make an appointment in advance using our online scheduler. Seriously, appointment slots are a hot commodity, especially around midterms and finals, so make sure to reserve your spot before they’re gone! *Pro tip: Always try to schedule your appointment at least a couple days before your due date or deadline to give yourself plenty of time to revise. There are few things in the life of a college student that are more stressful than trying to rewrite an essay minutes before turning it in. Trust us on this one. All sessions are 50 minutes long. If you don’t want to use your full time, that is up to you, but we do need those last ten minutes. Keep in mind that tutors, even peer tutors, are employees and have to do mundane things like paperwork sometimes. *Pro tip: Use your time wisely. No one knows your strengths and weaknesses better than you do, so have a few things in mind that you want to focus on ahead of time. Our goal is to help you become a more confident writer, so if there is something in particular you struggle with, like commas or sentence structure, telling us that will help us help you.

WHAT TO EXPECT CONT. Every tutor, both peers and professors, are specially selected for their writing knowledge and abilities, in addition to undergoing training prior to beginning tutoring others. However, we are not mind readers. There is no way for us to know your professor’s exact assignment guidelines and expectations without your help. You’ll get the most out of your session if you come prepared: bring your essay, your assignment prompt, and anything else that may be helpful. *Pro tip: Did your professor outline their grading rubric in their syllabus? If so, bring it. Did they reference information in your text book? If so, bring that too. Did you do research or have to read any articles before writing your essay? If so, bring it. Bottom line, when in doubt, just bring it. Really, it is so much better to bring it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY… You will maintain ownership of your own work. Tutors will not write, edit, or proofread any section of your assignment for you. They will listen, ask questions, make suggestions, and point you toward helpful resources. *Pro tip: You give someone a fish, you feed them for a day. You teach someone to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. We are here to help you become a better, more confident writer. You earn your own grades. That is why our job title is “tutor” and not “editor.”

NOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, LET’S MAKE AN APPOINTMENT! There are two websites you need to know. The first is the Writing Center’s page on the Motlow Website ( To access it, click HERE. In addition to having PDFs that cover making appointments, you can also find tutor bios and links to other sites and materials that have information on everything from MLA format to tips on conquering procrastination. The second is the online scheduling site, WCONLINE ( You can reach it from the page above, or you can click HERE.

MAKING AN APPOINTMENT: STEP ONE The first time you use the online scheduler, you’ll need to register. *Pro Tip: You MUST use address. Otherwise, the system won’t recognize you as a student and won’t let you register.

MAKING AN APPOINTMENT: STEP TWO Once you’re registered, you can choose your campus from the drop down menu and log in. * Pro Tip: If you are scheduling an e-tutor appointment, you can select any campus. You will upload the documents and will not physically be present for the session.

MAKING AN APPOINTMENT: STEP THREE This is what the online scheduler looks like. If a tutor takes e-tutoring appointments, or is an e-tutor only, it will say so here. White boxes are open appointment slots. Click here to make an appointment. This is a face-to-face appointment a student has already made. Green boxes are e-tutor appointments. If you need a specific time or day and there are no appointments available, click here. This will sign you up for a waiting list, and you will receive an if the appointment you need becomes available.

STEP THREE, CONT. If you hover over the clock icon, this box will appear prompting you to sign up for the wait list. If you click on the icon, this box appears. If you get confused on what the different colored boxes mean, hover here. Then, this box will appear.

MAKING AN APPOINTMENT: STEP FOUR Once you have clicked on the open appointment you want to reserve, you will be prompted to fill out this form.

STEP FOUR, CONT. Please be as thorough as possible when filling out your appointment form. This will help your tutor be better prepared for your session. Pay special attention to this section. This is where you select if you would like to meet in person, or schedule an online appointment. If a tutor only meets face-to-face, this section will not appear.

STEP FOUR, CONT. If your tutor does accept online appointments, this is what will show if you select that option. Once you save your appointment, this window will appear. It will prompt you to attach a file, like this one does. You can add your essay and assignment prompt at a later time, but don’t forget to do it before your appointment! To add files to your appointment when you log in at a later time, click on the yellow folder icon in the upper left corner of the main scheduler page.

CAN’T MAKE IT AFTER ALL? We get it; life is hectic. For any number of reasons – illness, flat tire, changed work schedules – you may not be able to make it. Please log in and cancel your appointment (you can do so right up until your scheduled appointment time). Just click on the blue box of your time slot and then click cancel at the bottom of the window. If you don’t cancel, a perfectly good tutoring slot will go to waste and another student may miss out on the opportunity to get help! *Pro tip: if you don’t cancel and don’t show up, this gets marked down as a “no show.” Three “no shows” and your account will be locked! After you cancel, please feel free to make another appointment at a another time. We’d love to see you!

PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY! After every tutoring session, our online scheduler will automatically send a short, anonymous survey to your Motlow address. Please take a few minutes to give us some feedback! It helps us to continuously improve our services.

Thank you so much for your time today! We look forward to seeing you in the Writing Center! Questions? Created Spring 2016 by Clelie Cottle