FAQ
We want to answer your questions!
Browse the frequently asked questions (FAQ) that we’ve received from students, staff, and faculty. If you have a question that is not listed below, please Contact Us directly.
Students can schedule two appointments per week, with no more than one appointment made for a single day. Since the UWC is a writing resource that is open to all students on campus, we maintain this policy to support a wide range of students seeking support.
The University Writing Center is a resource that is funded through your student tuition dollars. In this case, there are no additional fees associated with the writing center.
For in-person appointments, we recommend bringing a prompt (or question) and any writing you have drafted so far. The UWC has desktops if you’d like to sign-in to the computer or plug in a hard drive. However, you are also more than welcome to bring your personal device.
For online appointments, we recommend having steady Wi-Fi and a device that you can use to log in to Zoom to work with your tutor. Often, UWC tutors will ask you to use the ‘screen share’ function on Zoom, so please be ready to open Canvas, a prompt, or drafted material, if it pertains to your appointment.
Appointments are scheduled for one hour, which is divided into 45-minutes of tutoring and 15-minutes to “wrap-up” the session. In the final 15-minutes, UWC tutors will ask students for final questions before redirecting the session to complete the session summary form, where we offer an overview of the appointment, resources, and next steps for the student moving forward. Session summaries are emailed to your student email directly after your appointment.
If you need less time than the allotted one-hour session, you are welcome to communicate your timeframe with the tutor, and we can adjust the session to fit your needs.
No, the University Writing Center is not an editing service. Our tutors take on a collaborative approach to writing tutoring and will work with you throughout the session.
Yes! Our center can support students with any grammatical questions or clarification needed throughout a session.
No. Students do not need to bring a complete draft of their work to receive writing support. Our center will support you in any stage of the writing process, including pre-writing (brainstorming, developing ideas, etc.). Students are welcome to make an appointment with a tutor to discuss how to get started on a writing project or any questions that may be acting as a roadblock in your writing process.
The UWC completes a session summary form for every appointment, and it will be emailed to your student email directly after the session is completed. If your professor is requesting proof of attendance, please forward your session summary email or attach it as a PDF if you are required to submit documentation on Canvas.
Yes! We accept group appointments at the UWC. When scheduling your group appointment, please include your group members' full names and student IDs in the comment section.
Additionally, we will include all group members' student emails on the session summary form to ensure that everyone receives a copy.
Yes! At the UWC, we employ a diverse range of tutors, some of which have the ability to assist students in languages other than English. If you have a specific language need, please call our front desk at (562) 985-5162 and ask to book an appointment with a tutor that can support you in the requested language.
Yes! At the UWC, we train our tutors to assist students with citation help. Tutors often utilize online resources as a visual guide to help students format their work. For specialty formatting systems, such as IEEE or AMA, our tutors can guide you to the resources that can best assist your citation questions.
Students who do not show up to their appointment and do not communicate with the UWC will be marked as a no-show for the session via the Beach Connect system. After accumulating three total no-show appointments, including no-shows at other resources on campus, the Beach Connect system will place a hold on your account, which will block your ability to make future appointments at campus resources and the UWC.
To avoid being marked as a no-show in the future, please ensure that you reschedule or cancel your appointment before the start of your session.
