writing center tutoring

On a typical day at the writing center, the tutors come in to work at 10:00 and leave at 4:00. Generally, there are at least two tutors on hand at all times. When a student walks in, one of the tutors asks if he or she needs help. Oftentimes, a student is looking for one of the professors who shares our office, or, perhaps, only needs to borrow a stapler. When a student is looking for help with a paper, though, one of the tutors immediately introduces himself and sits down with the student. The tutor asks the student about the assignment and what he or she hopes to take away from this session. Most of the time the student has at least a portion of a paper written and is asking for guidance on where to go from that point. The tutor is well-equipped to offer suggestions on the paper's structure, theme, grammar, etc. A tutoring session only lasts thirty minutes, however, so time is of the essence. The goal of the writing center tutor is to develop the writer, though, not the paper. Therefore, in some cases, additional sessions may be required.