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CSTW Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing

College of Humanities

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Writing Center Services

Face to Face Tutorials | Online Tutorials | Classroom Presentations

During our tutorials, a trained consultant will work with you to identify the most important areas you want to address during a session. We can help with research papers, lab reports, dissertations, administrative documents, proposals, resumes and other job hunting documents, applications for graduate or professional school, fellowship or grant applications, and articles or book manuscripts. Our goal is to not only improve a specific piece of writing, but to help writers grow.

Because we are committed to helping you see ways to improve your own writing, the Writing Center at CSTW does not edit or proofread papers. We also do not accept papers that are dropped off for corrections. We will, however, teach you how to edit and proofread your own work, and we will explain grammatical concepts. We can also provide you with a list of people who edit and proofread for pay.

Face to Face Tutorials

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You can meet with one of our tutors at either of our locations, 475 Mendenhall Laboratory or at the Science and Engineering Library, to talk about your writing project. Sessions at Mendenhall are 50 minutes long and require an appointment. The Science and Engineering Library Center has walk-in hours and most tutorials are about 20-30 minutes long. Bring everything related to your writing project to your tutorial: the syllabus, the essay prompt or assignment, and any notes or drafts (especially a draft with the instructor's comments).

Generally clients are only allowed ONE appointment per week at the Mendenhall location. For exceptions, please see our appointment policies.

Tutorials can be scheduled online or by phone (688-4291).

Online Tutorials

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Like our in-person tutorials, our online tutorials are discussion-based, meaning that participants talk about their writing. Clients upload Microsoft Word or plain text documents to Carmen, tutors read it, and both discuss the paper via either Carmen’s chat function or those on MSN or Yahoo. Instant Messenger tutorials (like those on Carmen) move a little slower than face-to-face tutorials, but this means that participants have more time to consider what they're going to say. Also, transcripts are archived online in Carmen after the tutorial, so clients can revisit the ideas discussed online. IM tutorials using the MSN or Yahoo VOIP system are much more like face-to-face discussions of writing.

Check out a sample online tutorial.

How to upload your writing for an online or telephone tutorial:

  1. Schedule your tutorial online or by calling 688-4291. You will receive an email confirming your appointment. For a phone tutorial, include your MSN or Yahoo address in the text box labeled “In the space below, write a brief description of your concerns.”
  2. At least an hour ahead of your appointment time, logon to Carmen (http://carmen.osu.edu) with your OSU username (name.#) and password.
    • Under "My Courses," click on the [+] symbol in front of "Special."
    • Click on the [+] symbol next to "College of Humanities."
    • Click on the "Writing Center" link.
    • On the red bar on the top of the page, click on "Dropbox."
    • Click on "Client's Uploads."
    • Click on "Browse" next to the file textbox and locate your Word.doc file.
    • Click on "Upload."
    • Click on "Logout" at the top right hand corner of Carmen.
  3. How to meet your tutor
    1. For an online tutorial: A few minutes before your tutorial time, log back into the Writing Center on Carmen (http://carmen.osu.edu).
      • On the red bar on the top of the page, click on "Chat."
      • Under "Personal Chats," click on your name. This will take you to the chat window, where your tutor will be waiting for you.
    2. For a telephone tutorial using your MSN or Yahoo account:
    Classroom Presentations

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    If you would like to encourage your students to use the writing center, we will visit your classroom and give a brief informational presentation. In addition to introducing students to the opportunities available at the writing center, we can also teach them about aspects of the writing process.

    Furthermore, CSTW's Writing Across the Curriculum Program offers a comphrehensive array of services for teachers interested in integrating writing instruction into courses throughout the university.