Welcome to EWP’s Global Writing Center!
(1) As part of NYU’s Expository Writing Program in the College of Arts and Science, the Global Writing Center offers writing support for any student in NYU’s Global Network. Using Google’s video chat (Google Hangout) and document sharing functions (Google Docs), students will discuss their writing one-on-one with an experienced peer-tutor (“Senior Tutor”) trained to help them address their writing needs. Students can expect to work actively during the session and to have some new writing as well as a plan for how to move forward independently by the end of the session.
(2) During the fall semester, the Global Writing Center will offer consultations for Study Abroad students from September 24th through December 14th.
Making an Appointment
(1) Writing Center sessions are 45 minutes long. In the fall semester in particular, you should try to schedule your appointment at least one week prior to the date when you want the conference to take place. Allow yourself time to schedule the appointment, revise your writing based on the progress you make during your conference, and turn in your paper by the due date.
This year, there are 10 Senior Tutors with whom you may make an appointment: Paramesh Karandikar, Janice Lee, Leonard Santos, Kelsey Moore, Natalie Behrends, Samantha Fritsch, Denise Tan, Abigail Weinstein, Gabriella Serpa, and Charlotte Kahan. The Senior Tutors are designated as “ST” on the Writing Center’s online schedule (https://nyu.mywconline.com), and each of them is available for as many as eight hours of consultations every week.
(2) To make an appointment with one of the Senior Tutors, you must first create an account with the Writing Center system by registering at https://nyu.mywconline.com. Then, please email globalwritingcenter@nyu.edu , indicating at least five times/dates starting on the hour (e.g. 2:00 pm on Tuesday, November 1st) when a tutor is available and you would like a conference. You may also state a preference for a particular tutor. If we are able to schedule you at one of the times you propose, you will receive an email confirming the date and time of your appointment, as well as contact information for the Senior Tutor with whom you will be working. You and your tutor will also be invited to a google calendar event at the time of your conference. If we are unable to schedule you at one of the times you request, we will email you to request additional times when you can be available. Be sure to offer at least five alternative times so that we can make your appointment as quickly and easily as possible. Appointment times listed are Eastern Standard Time, so when you request an appointment, be sure to adjust for any time difference between your site and NYU’s Washington Square campus. You may schedule one appointment per week and six appointments per semester.
Preparing for Your Appointment
(1) No later than one hour before your conference is scheduled, use Google Docs to share your draft with the Senior Tutor with whom you will be working. If your writing concern relates to a particular assignment, please also upload the assignment as well as any written comments you have received from your professor as you have worked on the assignment.
(2) Prior to your conference, review your draft and related materials, and think about the particular questions or concerns that you would like to address during the conference.
(3) Be sure that you are on Google Hangout through your NYU email by the time scheduled for the start of your conference. Your tutor may spend the first several minutes of the hour skimming your draft, so do not be concerned if the tutor does not join the Hangout at the start of the hour.
What You Can Expect During Your Conference
(1) The Senior Tutor will ask you for input at the start of the session so that the two of you can set the agenda for the session.
(2) During the session, you and your tutor will consider the writing that is on the page and the writing that is not yet there. Your tutor will prompt you to think actively, to compose new writing, and to discuss your thoughts about your paper and your writing process.
(3) Your tutor will treat you with respect and respond fully to your concerns. Since we at the Writing Center are just as interested in your long-term development as a writer as we are in your paper, you may also be asked to try a new strategy. Our aim is two-fold: to address your concerns about your current writing and to suggest to you something new about the craft of writing.
Our Bottom Line
(1) The Senior Tutors are writing consultants, not proofreaders, editors, ghostwriters or graders of your paper. You should not expect them to read through your paper and fix it. Rather, they will make suggestions about style as they come to understand your meaning, and they will address any patterns of error that they see in your writing.
(2) The Senior Tutors will not tell you what your idea is or how to read a particular piece of evidence. Instead, they will prompt you to rethink and complicate your idea, and they will help you develop ways to clarify, deepen, and refine your readings of evidence.
(3) The Senior Tutors will not assess the validity of a grade you have received or predict the grade you will receive.
Our Attendance and Cancellation Policies
(1) To cancel a scheduled session, email globalwritingcenter@nyu.edu at least 24 hours in advance so that another student can use the time set aside for your conference.
(2) If you are not available on Google Hangout by ten minutes into the time scheduled for your session, you will lose your session.
Troubleshooting
(1) For questions about using Google Calendar: https://support.google.com/calendar/?hl=en#topic=3417969
(2) For questions about using Google Hangouts: https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3110347?vid=1-635782029763755667-2632118954
(3) For questions about uploading and sharing files on Google Docs: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/7068618?vid=1-635781990307304622-2488137520&visit_id=1-636114633840065469-2760681679&rd=1