Frequently Asked Questions about the Kathleen Jones White Writing Center

A trained undergraduate or graduate student tutor will work with you on a one-to-one basis at any point in your writing assignment—finding ideas, drafting, revising, or documenting sources.

Yes. The computers in our lab run the full Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access and Publisher) as well as Adobe Photoshop and Premiere. You may print out your papers at the center using the IUP Pay-Per-Print service. We also have a small library of reference books, including current editions of the MLA Handbook, APA Manual, dictionaries, grammar books, and thesaurus.

No, but a tutor will help you to correct or proofread your paper. We think it's important to first get the ideas and organization the way you want them, and to leave the proofreading and correcting for another session. But your tutor will try to help you in whatever way you most need it. And while a lot of progress can be made in 30 to 45 minutes, you should not expect to leave here with a perfect paper. Instead, you should expect to leave with some good ideas for revision.

It's a good idea to bring a copy of the assignment or course syllabus, as well as any notes, outlines, or rough drafts you may have.

Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are strongly encouraged; this guarantees that a tutor will be available to help you. Appointments can be scheduled by visiting the Academics tab in MyIUP and clicking “schedule a writing tutorial.” Appointments are held in the Writing Center (Stabley Library 203) or online. 

At your request, the tutor will send your instructor a form stating when you visited and what you worked on. That way, your instructor will know that you are making an effort to improve your writing by visiting the Writing Center.