Our Writing Center is located on the third floor of the library in room 334. Stop in to say hi, sign up for an appointment, or work with an available tutor.

We offer two types of online tutoring services: Virtual Face-to-Face tutoring and email draft tutoring. 

• Virtual F2F Tutoring: Our Virtual F2F (face-to-face) tutoring services are essentially a video call with a tutor where the tutor and student can virtually connect and work on the same online document simultaneously. It’s a great option for your students who are just getting started writing and want to brainstorm some ideas. It’s also great for students who have a draft that they need to revise, but they’re not quite sure where to start. 
• Email Draft Tutoring: Email tutoring, our asynchronous tutoring option, lets students upload a draft to a tutor and receive written feedback on the day of their scheduled email appointment. This feedback is meant to be facilitative—we focus on students’ ideas, we make sure they’re meeting the goals of the assignment, and we let them know what’s working well and what could be improved in future drafts. And while we do not edit student papers, we can teach them how to proofread their own work.

Writing Workshops and Retreats for Students (ONLINE ONLY)

In addition to our one-on-one conferences, the Writing Center offers writing workshops on various topics (like how to write a strong thesis statement, how to organize ideas in writing, and how to get started on a new writing assignment). We also hold writing retreats where students can join us virtually for two hours of structured writing time with tutors on hand for help. Schedules will be posted on the Writing Center’s Brightspace site.

Writing Resources for Students and Instructors:

We have a number of writing resources available on Brightspace for both students and instructors, with more being added every week. Join our Brightspace site and click the “Writing Resources” tab on the left.

Brightspace Site: 'Marist Writing Center'

Join our site in five easy steps:

1. Sign into Brightspace
2. Click on Discover in the Navigation Bar  
3. Search for "Writing Center" 
4. Click on the site
5. Click on Self Enroll

• Information for students
• Information for faculty
• Make an Appointment

For Students

Who we are:

The Writing Center is staffed by part-time faculty, full-time faculty, and student interns. Our tutors are experts in writing and have experience working with writers from all disciplines.

What we do:

The Center sees its mission as helping students and the Marist community at large become more self- sufficient writers by showing them how to express ideas clearly and effectively. We help writers at any stage in the writing process--from choosing a topic to drafting and revising--for any writing project, including both academic and non-academic writing. We work with writers on everything from thesis statements and organization to grammar and citation methods.

Students are encouraged to bring assignments, ideas, or rough drafts, although tutors will work on completed papers as well. In addition, members of the Marist community may come for help with non-academic writing tasks including cover letters, personal statements, and other job/graduate school application materials. For more in-depth employment and career advising, we recommend visiting the Center for Career Services.

How we tutor:

Our Writing Center tutors take a facilitative, non-evaluative approach to writing. This means we focus on having a conversation about your work and your writing goals. We do not copyedit, proofread, or rewrite papers. That being said, we would be glad to help you learn to copyedit and proofread your own writing.

Most sessions are 30 or 60 minutes long. We focus on structural and organizational matters as well as the generation of ideas, and are dictated by the student's concerns. Predominantly, our staff hopes to see writing improvement over time and to empower students in a substantive way, not just to get the student a better grade.

Did we mention it's free?

Each semester, hundreds of Marist students benefit from talking and working with our Writing Center instructors. Let us help you!

Making an appointment:

Students are encouraged to make appointments by calling ext. 2735 during Center hours or online at marist.mywconline.com. Walk-ins are assisted on a first-come, first-served basis. We recommend students make appointments in advance to ensure they receive the help they need. Additionally, there are limited online tutoring sessions available; see the Marist.mywconline.com webpage for available hours.

When you make an appointment, please let us know if you need any accommodations.

Scheduling policies: You are allowed four one-half hour slots per week for a total of two hours per week. You can sign up for back-to-back slots for a total of one hour if you have a long paper or need the time.

You must show up for your appointment, cancel it online, or send an email to the Writing Center to let us know you can’t make your appointment at least 60 minutes beforehand.

If you know you are running late, please call us. If you don’t arrive within ten minutes of the time you slotted, you lose your appointment, even if you’ve signed up for two concurrent sessions. This will allow us to accommodate walk-ins. This kind of cancellation is a "no-show." If you accumulate 3 no-shows during a semester, you will lose the ability to make appointments for the rest of the semester--although you can still continue to use walk-in appointments.

Be sure to be on-time and prepared for your appointment. Bring all materials: your tutor may wish to discuss the assignment, your research, or suggestions from your instructor.

For Faculty

It is our mission to help students become better, more confident writers. Through face-to-face and online consultations, our experienced tutors provide a supportive audience for writers and offer feedback and strategies for revision.

We encourage you to mention the Writing Center on all of your writing assignments and to recommend the Writing Center to all of your students. Research shows that writers in all disciplines, regardless of experience and skill, who discuss their drafts and ideas with an outside reader are more motivated to continue writing and more likely to make meaningful revisions to their final papers.

Instructors are asked to strongly encourage students to go to the Center during the early stages of the writing process. We can assist students in interpreting assignments, developing outlines and thesis statements, and ensuring all parts of an assignment are complete. While we will accommodate required Writing Center appointments, it's important to note that writing improves most when students themselves are motivated to seek help themselves.

For those students who need intensive work on their writing, please suggest they set up regular, ongoing appointments with the same Writing Center instructor. If you are especially concerned about a student's writing, please reach out to Stacy Wittstock at stacy.wittstock@Marist.edu

Writing Center services also extend to classrooms across campus. Our staff can provide brief introductions to Writing Center services, custom writing instruction tailored to specific courses, and presentations to groups on particular writing subjects. To arrange an outreach or co-teaching program, please contact the Director of the Writing Center, Stacy Wittstock (stacy.wittstock@Marist.edu).