Writing Center Services

  • The Writing Center offers Fullerton College students 30 minute one-on-one in-person and online tutorial sessions with supervised, trained student/peer tutors or with English and ESL instructors. The Writing Center also offers asynchronous appointments for students who would like to submit their essay for written feedback from a trained peer tutor or instructor.
  • The Writing Center welcomes students from all disciplines for assistance with all writing projects. Students can receive help with all parts of the writing process: brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing.
  • Appointments are not required but are encouraged. Drop-ins are welcome, as same day and waitlist assistance is also often available. Students may schedule up to three appointments of any kind per week. EOPS and DSS students may have an additional one-hour appointment per week through Above and Beyond Tutoring.
  • The tutor training program at Fullerton College has been certified by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). After completing English 280: Language Arts Tutoring Practicum, Writing Center tutors are CRLA certified. In addition, many of the tutors in the Writing Center have achieved advanced or master tutor status through subsequent training and tutoring.

 

What is peer tutoring?
Peer tutoring is a system of instruction where learners of equal status help one another learn. Basically, peer tutoring is one student, who is usually highly proficient in the subject area being discussed, helping another student.

Who are the peer tutors in the Writing Center?
Peer tutors in the Writing Center are students who have completed or are enrolled in the tutoring course, English 280: Language Arts Tutoring Practicum. Peer tutors have been trained in helping other students at any phase of their writing assignment. In addition, peer tutors have successfully completed upper-level writing courses and have been nominated by their English professor for the peer tutoring program. In short, peer tutors are strong writers who have a desire to help other students become stronger writers inside and outside of their courses.

What are the benefits of peer tutoring?
Peer tutoring is advantageous for many reasons. Many people find peer tutoring beneficial because of the relationship between the student and tutor. Often, students feel more comfortable and at ease talking with their peers for help on assignments because there is less of a power dynamic than is present with instructors.
Because they are also students, peer tutors can relate and respond to other students in ways that instructors may not be able to, which can lead to more productive and enjoyable tutoring sessions. (However, at the Writing Center you also have the option of working with a faculty tutor, and faculty tutors on occasion may participate in a session with a peer tutor.) In addition, peer tutors are usually able to share personal experiences and strategies with tutees based on their own recent successful experiences as students.

English 280: Language Arts Tutoring Practicum

The peer tutors who work in the Writing Center have been nominated by English instructors and have successfully completed a comprehensive training program, including a three-unit class, Language Arts Tutoring Practicum. The class is co-taught by a professor from the English Department and a professor from the ESL (English as a Second Language) Department.

The course covers tutoring theory and practice, and throughout the semester, students practice tutoring in role play situations, discuss tutoring techniques for a variety of sample papers, make presentations demonstrating grammar issues and various tutoring scenarios, and write journals and essays reflecting what they have learned about tutoring techniques and theory. In addition, students are required to work in the Writing Center three hours per week, where they tutor under the supervision of a faculty tutor.

To be eligible for English 280, students must receive a grade of C or better in English 100 and be recommended by an English instructor. The corequisites are English 103, 103H, 104, 104H, or 201. Students may take English 280 and one of the corequisites concurrently. Students who complete the English 280 course with a “B” or better are eligible to be hired as hourly tutors the following semester.

If students are interested in becoming a Writing Center tutor, they should contact Heidi Guss, Writing Center Coordinator at writingcenter@fullcoll.edu, or speak with their English instructor.