Student FAQs

A: To make an appointment for the first time, just ask the front desk for help getting started or:

1. Register for a free account here–enter your uic.edu email and choose a password and you’re set! It takes just 5 minutes.
2. Click make an appointment on our home page  at https://uic.mywconline.com/
3. Enter the time and date and type of session you want, or choose the calendar view to see our schedule for a week at a time. White spots show available sessions–click a white spot you want and fill out the appointment form.
4. If you want to work with a specific tutor, you can choose “I want this specific tutor” under Tutor Preference.
5. Click the “Create Appointment” button at bottom.
6. Look for an email confirming your chosen tutoring session. You’re done!

Note:

• If you don’t see any appointments free when you need them, we sometimes reserve a drop-in tutor for last minute needs, so it’s worth checking with our desk person. Just email writingcenter@uic.edu or call 312-413-2206 during our daytime hours.
• If you need to cancel your session, please do so at least an hour beforehand so other writers can claim your spot. Just login, click your session, and hit the Cancel Appointment button at bottom–or contact us by phone or email.

After every session, usually within 24 hours, but by the end of the same week at latest, tutors write a Writing Center Report documenting the session, a letter to the you summing up the work you did together and next steps. It gets emailed to you automatically by WConline, so that you can forward it to any instructors who need proof of attendance.

So look out for a “Writing Center Report” from mywconline.com in your email–if you don’t see it by the end of the week you came for tutoring session, just contact us at writingcenter@uic.edu or call us during our daytime hours, and we’ll make sure to resend.

Our peer tutors are fellow UIC undergraduates from all majors, from English to Engineering to Biology to Music to Rehabilitation Sciences to Art History. What they have in common is:

• a belief that ALL writers (themselves included) benefit from conversation with an outside reader
• a commitment to meeting writers wherever they are at without judgment, and
• an enthusiasm for collaborating with fellow students who want to improve their writing.

All our tutors take a semester-long tutor training course called English 282, Tutoring in the Writing Center, as a prerequisite, and engage in ongoing professional development.

Any UIC student who has completed English 161 with a B or higher is eligible to take our semester-long tutor training course, English 282, which is part Writing Center pedagogy seminar/part apprenticeship where students tutor 2 hours a week on a volunteer basis for credit. Students who complete 282 are then eligible then to apply for a paid staff position. It’s a competitive hiring process, since we have more applicants than openings, but students who do well in the class and in tutoring feedback have a great shot.

Here is a sample course description:

• English 282 prepares students to tutor writing from all academic disciplines and levels. The course is reading- and writing intensive, drawing on established theory and evidence-based practice from the field of writing center studies. As part of the course, students tutor two hours a week starting the fifth week of the semester. Students continue to meet in class in small sections capped at 12 throughout the semester, analyzing their sessions, critically engaging theories of tutoring, conducting research, and developing collaborative approaches to tutoring that foster an inclusive community among fellow UIC students. With its emphasis on integrating learning with practice, the course is ideal for students of all majors who would like to develop professional skills, especially critical thinking, communication in diverse environments, and leadership.
• Prerequisite: A or a B in English 161 (or the equivalent transfer course) or in other courses that have a substantial writing requirement.