Students at Sinclair Community College needing help with writing need not look further then the Sinclair Writing Center, located in the left corner of the library in Room 7L06. The Writing Center works on a walk-in and a first-come, first-served system.
“You just need to walk in. We have computers that people can work on and if you need a tutor just let one of [the tutors] know,” said Lindsay Puterbaugh, who is a student tutor at the writing center.
After the student walks into the writing center, all they need is their tartan card. When the card is swiped they can go to an available computer and print out their papers. With their paper printed, that signifies that the student is ready for the one-on-one tutoring, according to Kristina Onder, director of the writing center.
The student, if tutoring is needed, will then be helped in the order that they arrived.
“We typically have two to three professional tutors on duty,” Onder said. “We genuinely want to talk. So that we can help student’s find sources, research and develop their arguments. Then our goal is to help them understand the particular subject. That is why we don’t just edit students papers, we are not an editing service.”
Students can come to The Writing Center for help with writing in a variety of subjects.
“It doesn’t have to be an English paper. It can be a paper for psychology, religion…whatever [the subject] is; we’ll help you with it,” Puterbaugh said.
For those needing more than the allotted 15 minutes with help on their papers, extended sessions are available. The sessions are typically an hour in length.
“We are really busy and it is hard to spend more than 15 minutes with one students, when there are 10 students needing help,” Onder said. “But our tutors have been tutoring for years and some of them will eat their lunch at their desks…that’s how dedicated they are.”
Students in Academic Foundation classes (Developmental classes) are encouraged to visit with the Tutoring and Learning Center for help.
“We don’t tutor the tutorial learning center students because they have different needs and their tutors are specialized and trained to help academic foundation students,” Onder said. “Tutoring sessions there are more pin-pointed for their curriculum.”
While help on papers from tutors are guaranteed, Puterbaugh stresses that grades for papers are not.
“We can’t guarantee ‘A’ papers. But we can guarantee that we’ll do everything we can to help you.”
Puterbaugh said students do not even need to bring in fully written papers to receive assistance from The Writing Center’s tutors.
“[The Writing Center] can help you with grammar questions, MLA or if you even need help coming up with an idea of what to write about. We can’t come up with the idea for you but we can help you with the brainstorming process,” Puterbaugh said.
For students who may be intimidated to ask for help at the writing center, Onder believes that the center is an open and friendly environment.
“We’re a very fun and open group. We are friendly and laid back. We like our jobs and that shows. Don’t be intimidated to come in for help. We’re students too so we know what it’s like,” Onder said. “In high school and in college, I got writers block all the time. So I understand how students feel.”