Vancouver Academic Writing Centre
Purpose
The Academic Writing Centre’s mission is to help graduate and undergraduate students become stronger academic writers. We provide free assistance to help you revise your papers, presentations, projects, reports, resumes, emails, and other academic writing tasks.
Our goal is to help you to learn how to become more effective and more confident in your writing tasks. Regardless of your current writing skills, you can benefit from sharing your work with knowledgeable and skilled critical readers.
In a 30-minute one-on-one meeting, we can help you to
- Understand the professor’s expectations for a writing assignment
- Generate ideas
- Find and organize your research
- Develop logical arguments
- Develop strategies for self and peer revising
- Identify recurring errors and locate resources to help you correct them
- Use proper citation for your research resources
How to Book an Appointment
Academic Writing Centre
Student Tutors
Download this document and follow the directions. You must be a registered student with an FDU email account to use this service.
How to Register for a Workshop
Workshop Sign Up
Download this document and follow the directions. You must be a registered student with an FDU email account to use this service.
Academic Enhancement Workshop List
Workshops (the date and time will vary each semester) with description are listed below.
| Critical Thinking Skills |
Improve your thinking skills to make better decisions & generate ideas |
| Writing Your Paper |
Effective research & writing techniques using MLA/APA |
| Effective Presentation Skills |
Learn appropriate presentation techniques to become a confident presenter |
| Memory Enhancement & Exam Coping Strategies |
Increase your memory power and retention to perform well in exams |
| Finance Workshops | The workshops deliver Accounting and Finance topics developed within the MADS 6601 content. |
| Note Taking Skills | Effectively process data and turn your note into a study guide |
| Reading Strategies |
How to enhance reading comprehension |
| Time Management | Find out how to balance academic life and work |
Writing Centre Procedures
Responsibilities
The writing tutor will help you to identify how your writing can be revised and improved. However, the writing tutor’s role is not to proofread or edit your work. Instead, the tutor will help you to revise your writing by discussing the assignment with you, identifying issues in your writing, offering strategies that you can apply, and providing resources for improving language functions and rules.
Appointments
When you book an appointment with an Academic Writing Tutor, you are entering into an informal contract in which you commit to meeting with that tutor at the specified time.
If you cannot attend the appointment, you must provide at least 12 hours’ notice, either in person or by email, so that the appointment slot can be made available to another student.
- Book an appointment for either 30 minutes or 60 minutes. This allows the tutors enough time to provide appointment opportunities to all students wanting to visit the Writing Centre.
- Book an appointment only if you are sure that you are able to attend the appointment on time. Punctuality is required. The tutor may refuse to meet with you if you are more than 5 minutes late, and a repeated pattern of missed appointments may lead to suspension of your Writing Centre privileges.
- Book one appointment per day.
- You may book up to 2 hours of appointments in one week unless special arrangements have been made directly through your professor or with the tutor.
- Book all appointments using the online booking application: https://writingcentre.youcanbook.me
- Provide a hard copy of the writing that you want to review. This will help the Writing Centre staff to understand what you need. Either
- bring a hard copy with you to the tutoring session… or
- email a copy when booking the appointment
- You will review one assignment per appointment. Make a new appointment if you want to review another.
- For group projects, members must bring their parts separately.
Tutoring sessions are designed to help you develop as a writer. Arriving on time and being prepared to discuss your needs will help us to better support you. Doing your own editing and necessary practice will help you build your skills.
Writing Centre Handouts