Reading & Writing Center

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The UAA Reading & Writing Center provides reading and writing assistance to UAA students at all levels and all disciplines. Certified and formally trained tutors offer help for those seeking to improve their reading, writing, and study skills.

Services Offered

Reading & Writing Center tutors work with students at all levels to help improve and integrate their reading and writing skills into regular study habits through one-on-one discussions of their work. Our goal is our students’ long-term improvement in their work.

Tutoring can be a useful resource at any point in the writing process from brainstorming ideas before a paper is written, to looking over a written document. The Reading & Writing Center tutors also offer assistance in understanding and using APA, MLA, and Chicago Style formats.

Format of Service Delivery

The goal of the Reading & Writing Center is to promote productive learning. The brief descriptions below describe the format of typical reading and writing sessions:

Reading

These 20-30 minute sessions are designed to help students review and understand assignments, to develop effective reading strategies, and to improve their overall comprehension of texts. Interactive discussion helps students learn how to interpret and analyze text through exploring its content, identifying associations, and formulating new ideas.

Writing

Tutoring sessions are usually 20-30 minutes, which is ample time to brainstorm ideas or review specific components of most papers. The Reading & Writing Center is a teaching and learning environment, and does not function as a proofreading or editing service. Rather, students will identify their focus or objectives for the session and then work one-on-one with a tutor. Often, students will read their writing aloud and, through interactive discussion with the tutor, identify opportunities for learning and improvement. At the end of the tutoring session, students should work independently or with peers to incorporate new ideas and skills into their writing. Students are welcome and encouraged to come back if they have additional questions or need further assistance.

English as a Second Language (ESL)

English as a Second Language (ESL) tutoring is one-on-one or group specialty tutoring for students who are learning English as a new language so they can function productively in a society that uses it as its primary language. This service is provided to assist those who are acquiring the language itself, and also help them to use it academically. All aspects of language are addressed, including pronunciation, grammar, structure, vocabulary, usage, and style, and at all levels.   

How to Prepare for Your Session

In order to get the most out of your tutoring session at the Reading & Writing Center, we encourage you to come prepared. The following tips will help you to prepare for your tutoring session:

What to do during your session

Tutoring sessions in the Reading & Writing Center are most useful when both tutor and tutee participate in the session. The following tips will help you to get the most from your session:

• Engage with your tutor and actively participate in the session

• Learning is interactive and dialogic. Tutors will ask you questions and may make some suggestions, but your writing belongs to you as both a product and responsibility.

• Ask questions!

• Tutoring sessions are learning-centered. Let your tutor know when you are unsure of their meaning or need clarification of a concept.

• Turn off your phone

• • As a courtesy for others in the lab and to ensure your focus, silence your phone and refrain from answering calls or texts during your tutoring session.

What to do following your session

After your session in the Reading & Writing Center it is important to integrate what you learned into your work.  The following tips will help ensure that you are continually learning and improving your reading/writing skills:

• Review, revise and return

• Once you have reviewed and revised your work, feel welcome to return to the Reading &Writing Center and meet with a tutor for another session.

• Often, a tutoring session will help you to identify ways to improve your writing not just on a particular assignment, but in other works as well.  Consider what you learned in the session and how you may be able to transfer those skills to subsequent pieces.

• Access the LRC Library for additional resources that you can use independently.

•  Form writing groups with your friends or classmates. Reading and offering suggestions for your peers’ writing is a great way to improve your own!
  

Online Resources

SLED Online Tutoring- As part of the Learning Resources Center's integrated approach to tutoring services, SLED (Statewide Library Electronic Doorway) is available for all UAA students in the areas of English, math, science, social studies, and study skills. Sign in for a live online tutoring session through the Live Homework Help service website at http://sled.alaska.edu/homework.html. This online service is offered seven days a week and is available from 1 p.m. - midnight. 

Online Resources

Mango Languages is a self-paced online language learning program that teaches practical conversation and cultural awareness for over 30 languages including English as a Second Language. Each lesson covers all four key-language components—vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and culture. The courses are available in two versions. Mango Basic teaches common, helpful phrases in a short period of time and is designed to appeal to a beginner in a new language. Mango Complete is designed to provide more in-depth understanding of a language and its culture. To access Mango Languages, go to http://libraries.mangolanguages.com/alaska/start and create a user profile on the course site.