Who goes to the Writing Studio?
Anyone from the Penn State Brandywine community. Whether you are an experienced or inexperienced writer, we are here to work with you! All good writers know the benefits of talking about their work with another writer. Many writers, both experienced and inexperienced, find it useful to talk about what they're writing and get feedback. The dialogue process helps writers clarify, focus, and organize their ideas.
But isn’t the Writing Studio just for English classes?
The Writing Studio isn’t just for English classes – students from any class at Penn State Brandywine can come to the Writing Studio! We can work with you on research papers, speech outlines, response essays, lab reports, creative writing (whether assigned for a course or not), proposals, personal essays, resumes, application essays, and more! In the past year, we’ve worked with students across the disciplines, including HDFS, BA, ACCTG, PSYCH, COMM, CAS, ASTRO, BIOL, NUTR, HIST, AMST, PHIL, and SOC, to name just a few!
How do I schedule an appointment?
Go to the Make an Appointment page (or go directly to https://brandywine.mywconline.com) and follow the directions there.
What do I bring?
Bring your assignment sheet if you have one. Many professors provide students with an assignment sheet or prompt. Talking with someone else about your assignment sheet can help you figure out what’s expected on an assignment and can help you devise a plan for completing it. Bring a draft if you have one. If not, bring ideas. Most important, bring a positive attitude about working with another reader on your writing.
After I get an assignment, how soon should I come to the Writing Studio?
Schedule your appointment as soon as possible. You can schedule appointments up to four weeks in advance. Don't wait until the day before the paper is due because we may already be completely booked and won’t be able to help you. Schedule an appointment now!
What if the Writing Studio is completely booked?
If you are having trouble finding an open appointment because we're all booked up, consider putting yourself on the waitlist. On the online schedule, just click on the clock next to the day you want an appointment. Fill out the form and you'll be notified if someone cancels!
Will my professor know I visited the Writing Studio?
You may request that the Writing Studio send your professor a brief summary of your session. This notification is, of course, optional. This summary will let your teacher know you attended the Writing Studio and will give a brief description of what you worked on during your session. Professors often view attendance at the Writing Studio as an indication of your effort and motivation.
How often can I come? How long is my appointment?
Most appointments are 30 minutes. If you think you’ll need it, you can schedule two back-to-back sessions (if available). You can sign up for four 30-minute sessions per week. You can also try to drop in for appointments, but priority will be given to those writers with appointments. Any student who is ten minutes late will lose his/her appointment slot, which may then be assigned to a walk-in.
What if I need to cancel my appointment?
That’s fine. However, we ask that you cancel your appointment ahead of time so that another writer can use that appointment spot. To cancel your appointment, login at https://brandywine.mywconline.com, click on your appointment (it will be an orange box), and click on “cancel appointment” at the bottom. If you do not show up for your appointment and do not cancel ahead of time, you will be marked as a no-show. If you accrue three no-shows, you will lose your appointment privileges for the rest of the year. We take no-shows very seriously, so please remember to cancel your appointment ahead of time!
Can I just drop my paper off so someone can correct my mistakes?
No! The idea of the Writing Studio is that you work with another person to improve your writing. We will not write for you, nor will we proofread your papers. Our tutors will show you some proofreading techniques and work through the process with you.
Do the tutors give grades? Will I get a better grade in my course if I go to the Writing Studio?
Writing Studio tutors do not give grades nor do they influence your professors in the grading process. Most students do find that their paper grades improve over time by coming to the Studio, but we don’t promise better grades. Students earn their grades and students remain the writers of their papers. Students can earn a college credit by taking the English 5 writing tutorial alongside their English 4 or English 15 class.