online writing tutor
The Learning Assistance Centre's focus is on assisting students in developing their writing skills. As a result, the Online Writing Tutor engages students in a dialogue that supports their learning and growth in writing. It is important to point out that the Online Tutoring is not an editing service. We do not fix errors. However, tutors will answer specific questions, work with you on the writing process (development of thesis, organization, task analysis), instruct in areas of difficulty (run-on sentences, pronouns) or help to diagnose areas of difficulty.
It will take a minimum of 48 hours for us to respond to your questions (you can expect a response within 3 school days). So, it is helpful to submit your essays and questions far in advance of the due date to ensure that we can exchange feedback and you can make changes to your work. In the event that we have too many requests, we will let you know within 24 hours so that you can access other resources.
1. Send us an email (learning_assistance@umanitoba.ca) from your UM account with your paper as an attachment. We will only accept emails from a UM account and you must answer the questions asked below. If you do not send from a UM email account and/or do not answer the questions below we will request that you do so before we respond. If you have a personal account that you check more frequently, you can add that address as a cc: and we will include it in our reply.
2. Submit only one assignment per request.
3. We accept papers in Word, Pages and Google documents format. Although we prefer Word documents.
4. In the text of your email message, copy and paste the following questions and insert your answers under each question. It's important to note that it takes time for tutors to respond to an online request. Often, if the paper is long the tutor will only be able to look at the first 7-8 pages. As a result, it is best to limit your questions and make them as detailed as possible. Please see the bottom of this page for some examples of detailed questions.
5. We respond to your requests by providing a summary of suggestions in the body of the email as well as, in the text of your paper which we will attach to the return email. Our tutors will always change the name of your file - usually by adding their initials to the end. So, for example if you submit a paper with the name "paper #1.doc" we'll change it to "paper #1 mu.doc"
If you're not sure how to do any of these functions, don't hesitate to make an appointment at the LAC (201 Tier, 480-1481) and we can go through the process with you.
Questions
2. What is your phone number and email address?
3. What is the course number and name?
4. When is the paper due?
5. What is the assignment? Please provide details of what the professor is expecting students to do and what the goals of the assignment might be.
6. What is the topic you have chosen to focus on?
7. What are your concerns for this paper? Please tell us 2 or 3 conerns that you would like us to address.
Please provide us with any specific questions or areas of confusion that may help us understand your position. For example:
"Am I using transition sentences appropriately?"
"My professor says that I have too many run-on sentences. How do I stop doing this?"
"Does my thesis statement work?"
"Am I staying on topic?"
Short Questions
If you have only a short question to ask that doesn't require sending your whole paper, you can just email your question and the passage of your paper to which the question applies, and we will try to respond to you within 24 hours. Please include the intake questions pasted to the text of your email along with your responses.
| This personal information is being collected under the authority of The University of Manitoba Act. It will be used to communicate with and assist students who seek help in developing their writing skills through the Learning Assistance Centre. It will not be used or disclosed for other purposes, unless permitted by The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Your personal information is protected by the Protection of Privacy provisions of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. If you have any questions about the collection of your personal information contact the FIPPA/PHIA Coordinator's Office (204-474-8339), University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, 331 Elizabeth Dafoe Library, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2. |
201 Tier Building
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada