APPOINTMENTS

Overview

Our center operates by appointment only to ensure that visiting students receive a quality session with our writing tutors. Our philosophy is rooted in the belief that writing takes time, and we aim to honor that in our session. 

To work with a tutor, please schedule an appointment using the Beach Connect system. 

Beach Connect How-to Guide

Beach Connect App

For help scheduling appointments, you can contact us during open office hours:

  • Visit us at the Shakarian Student Success Center (SSSC), room 245 (second floor).
  • Call us during business hours: (562) 985-5162.
  • Email UWC@csulb.edu with your question from your student email account. 

 

The UWC offers the following services to currently matriculated CSULB students: 

  • One-on-one sessions: sessions will be scheduled through Beach Connect as one-hour-long. Please expect to work with a tutor on your writing for 45 minutes, then leave 15 minutes at the end of the session to complete a session summary form and session feedback survey.
  • Small-group sessions: for 2-4 students from the same class working on the same assignment.
    • NOTE: These sessions must be arranged in advance. One team member must create the appointment under their account/name. In the appointment comments section, please include the full names and student ID numbers of all other team members. All team members must check in and be present for the session to begin.
  • Workshops: the UWC provides online workshops on a variety of key writing concerns throughout the semester. There will usually be two rounds of a workshop topic throughout the semester. For workshop collaborations, please email uwc@csulb.edu. 

The UWC does not provide drop-ins; we work through appointments only. You can, however, schedule an appointment before the hour begins or right as the hour begins. 

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early for your scheduled session to check in. After you check in, your writing tutor will talk with you about your goals for the session and what you hope to accomplish by the end of the 45-minutes. 

Together, you will discuss how best to approach your writing assignment and meet your goals, be they to develop a strong argument or to make your writing clearer. The writing tutor will offer advice and support, but will not write or edit the paper for you. Rather, they will help you to become a better writer, one who can write clearly and effectively independently. By the end of the session, you will have developed a set of specific action items that you can implement to improve the quality of your paper. 

Before you leave, you will be asked to fill out a Session Summary Form and a Confidential Session Feedback Survey. The session summary form will be emailed to your campus email and will summarize what you worked on during the session. The session feedback survey will ask you to share your experience of how the session went. 

If you do not receive the session summary right after your session, please email us at uwc@csulb.edu with information about your session -- date/time, the tutor you worked with, your student ID number, etc. Please do not email tutors directly regarding session changes or your session summary. 

Writing tutors in the writing center are undergraduate and graduate students at CSULB who are interested in helping students become better writers. They are excellent writers themselves, and many are preparing for careers in teaching. All of our consultants are well-trained and are required to maintain and update their skills through ongoing professional development. 

  • We help students at every phase of the writing process. You don’t need a full draft. We can help you get started by breaking down the prompt, help research for sources, brainstorming/outlining, etc.
  • Bring what you have; anything that you think will be useful for the writing session (e.g., prompt, brainstorm, notes, instructor comments, draft, etc.). You can use our computers to access your work, or bring your own device to work from.
  • Schedule appointments ahead of time. Try not to wait until your assignment is due. Give yourself at least 3-7 days before your assignment is due in case you need to make additional appointments. Waiting until the day before or the due date will often not be as effective.  
  • Make sure you know the following information for your session:  
    • Campus CSULB ID number (9 digits)
    • Campus email address with the correct format (firstname.lastname##@student.csulb.edu)
    • Course name/number (e.g. ENGL 100B) along with your instructor's name.