Students studying in library

The Andrew Bodenrader Center for Academic Writing and Composition

Welcome to the Writing Center!

The Writing Center’s mission is to provide Manhattanville students with support at any stage of the writing process. We strive to build the confidence of student writers through encouraging, collaborative one-to-one sessions with peer tutors, graduate Writing Center Fellows, and Academic Writing faculty. Overall, we help students develop as writers and learn writing skills and strategies that will help them succeed at the college level and beyond. In addition, we are committed to providing valuable work and teaching experience to our peer tutors and graduate fellows, as well as promoting and supporting student research in writing studies.

Spring 2024 Hours*

Monday-Thursday 10 AM-9 PM

Friday 10 AM-2 PM

*We will open on Monday, January 29th, 2024. In the meantime, please visit NetTutor for writing assistance!

 

Tutoring Schedule What to Expect How to become a Writing Tutor

Tutoring Appointments

The scheduling calendar will be available beginning January 26, 2024. Please check back for updates! The Writing Center offers in-person sessions as well as asynchronous and synchronous online tutoring appointments to all undergraduate and graduate students.  We encourage you to schedule an appointment.  You may also drop in in person (Library 122) or online (in MS Teams), but please note that you may have to wait for a tutor to become available.
females peer tutoring

In-Person Tutoring

Make an Appointment

Please select this option if you would like to meet with a peer or professional writing tutor for a 45-minute in-person session in the Writing Center. All documents will be shared virtually (if you do not have a laptop, we can provide one).

 

Two male students at library computer

Synchronous Tutoring (Online Videochat)

Make an Appointment

Please select this option if you would like to meet with a peer or professional writing tutor for a 45-minute videoconference. All meetings  will take place in MS Teams, an online collaborative platform, and will require the use of a webcam, microphone, and screen sharing.

 

Female student at laptop

Asynchronous eTutoring (Email Feedback)

Make an Appointment

Please select this option if you would like a peer or professional writing tutor to review your writing and provide written feedback via email. You will need to select a time for your email review, but you will not need to be present virtually at the time of your appointment. 

 

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Drop-In Tutoring

Click here to drop in online

We both offer in-person and virtual drop-in tutoring! Please note that these sessions are limited to 20-minutes during high traffic times. 

 

 

Asian female student in class

EAL Tutoring

Make an Appointment

Please select this option if you speak English as an Additional Language and would like tutoring in written and oral communication skills.

 

 

Several students in class

Group Workshops and Events

The Writing Center offers in-person and online workshops throughout the academic year on topics like citation, grammar, and argumentation.We also hold write-ins each semester where you can write with your peers in in a supportive, collaborative environment. Scroll down to see all upcoming events at the Writing Center. 

What to Expect at The Writing Center

 
Male and female student working at computer in library
In order to best assist you with your writing, we ask that you:

 

  • Try to proofread your work before uploading it to the appointment form
  • Be prepared for online synchronous virtual sessions ahead of time (be sure you have a strong WiFi connection, webcam, and headphones, and have downloaded MS Teams)
  • Come to in-person and online synchronous sessions prepared with questions (or submit these questions along with your paper for asynchronous sessions)
  • Please note that writing tutors will work with you on one assignment per session. After completing the session, please spend an equal amount of time working on the piece before making another appointment.
  • Be mindful of the comments you have received, and please make these revisions before scheduling another tutoring appointment
  • Please note that tutors do not copy edit papers; they will provide in-text feedback and links to resources by using comment boxes in the margins.
  • If your assignment is longer than 15 pages, you will need to schedule more than one appointment!

We look forward to working with you!

How to Become a Peer Writing Tutor

To become a writing tutor in Manhattanville's Writing Center, the completion of ENC 3006 and ENC 4007 is required. This year-long course sequence is intended for students interested in the theory and practice of tutoring and teaching writing.

 

Prof. Brower talks to a student

 

Required Courses and Training

Fall Semester: ENC 3006: Theories of Teaching and Tutoring Writing (3 credits)

This course introduces students to the academic fields of writing studies and writing center studies. These research-based, interdisciplinary fields focus on analyzing the production, consumption, circulation, teaching, and tutoring of writing in various contexts. By exploring and discussing both foundational and recent scholarship in these fields, students will learn about the theories and philosophies behind best teaching and tutoring practices. Subtopics explored in the course include cultural, linguistic, and dialect awareness, genre studies, multiliteracies, multimodal composition, anti-racism, dis/ability and accessibility, and learning transfer. Additionally, the course introduces students to the various research methods used in writing studies, including field observation and interviews. In class, we will examine groups of readings, consider the issues and debates suggested by those readings, and reflect on their significance for writers, tutors, and teachers. Students will build a multimodal ePortfolio to document their learning, including weekly reading responses, a rhetorical and genre analysis of a previous writing experience, an analysis of their writing process, a tutoring observation essay, a group multimodal presentation, and a tutoring and teaching philosophy.

Spring Semester: ENC 4007: Practicum in Teaching and Tutoring Writing (1 credit)

This course focuses on approaches to working with student writers in both face-to-face and online learning environments, including the first-year writing classroom and writing center. Through writing and responding, engaging in role-playing, observations, tutoring sessions, workshops, and mini-lessons, students will learn the ways in which varied theoretical perspectives can be translated into practice. Undergraduate students will gain hands-on experience by first shadowing peer tutors and reflecting on these observations, then tutoring one-to-one in the Writing Center.  Graduate students will observe University Writing classes and reflect on these observations, then plan and execute writing workshops and mini-lessons in the writing center and first-year writing classroom. All students will be required to keep a log of their tutoring and teaching observations and sessions and attend monthly Writing Center staff meetings. Both undergraduate and graduate students will also be required to research and read a variety of theoretical texts and develop an ePortfolio in which they reflect upon their tutoring and teaching experiences and the relationship between theory and practice.

Donate to the Andrew Bodenrader Fund

Donations to the Writing Center contribute to the professional development and scholarship of peer tutors, funding their attendance and presentations at regional, national, and international Writing Center conferences. 
Books on a shelf in the library
 

The Andrew Bodenrader Center for Academic Writing and Composition

Manhattanville University has named the Center for Academic Writing and Composition in honor of Professor Andrew Bodenrader, who is remembered for his passion for teaching, intellectual curiosity, love of language and literature, adventurous spirit, and steadfast dedication to students and colleagues alike. Everyone who was fortunate enough to cross his path encountered an empathetic, dynamic, and brilliant educator. Andrew Bodenrader's legacy lives on in the Writing Center that he established, which has developed from a resource into a community. If you would like to make a donation to the Writing Center in Professor Bodenrader's memory, please click here. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 
While we strongly recommend that you make an appointment to avoid wait times, you have the option to drop-in to the Writing Center in Library 122 without an appointment, or you may post a question or start a video call in our online Drop-In Channel in Teams. 
Both in-person and online (chat or video call) drop-in sessions are typically only 20-minutes long, which gives enough time for the students questions or concerns to be handled efficiently and easily. For online drop-in sessions, you can send comments back and forth with a tutor in the Drop-In Channel; however, sharing documents within the chat section are prohibited, so you must request a video or audio call to initiate screen share. 
If you are on-campus and wish to visit Writing Center, you can drop-in without an appointment. Please note that you may need to wait until a tutor is available, and that during high-traffic times, sessions are limited to 20-minutes. Our online drop-in feature is for any student who might only have a simple question or concern--that is when you can reach out to the tutor on call or in the chat feature! You can do that by clicking here to access the "Drop-in Tutoring" hours channel in MS Teams. Ask a question in the chat and have a conversation in the chat section, or start an audio/ video call with a tutor that is available. Right now, hours are limited and the service is only available at certain times, so be mindful before posting a question. 

Asynchronous tutoring is when a student receives written feedback through email. This is for someone who feels uncomfortable joining an audio/video call, has a technology barrier, is unavailable to meet synchronously, or simply prefers written feedback to oral feedback. It does however, require you to have access to your email and requires you to check your email to be sure you have received your comments and feedback. You might not want to choose this option if you have already received written feedback from your instructor or another tutor, or have real- time questions you would want to ask the tutor during your session.

Synchronous tutoring is when a student has a virtual meeting through MS teams. This is for someone who would feel more comfortable addressing questions and concerns they may have during a real-time audio/video chat with a tutor. Tutors will use screen share to go over your writing project with you. Although we do not require you to turn on your camera during a session, it is still important that you have functioning internet service, a computer with audio and video capabilities and headphones.

Synchronous sessions are typically 45-minutes long, which gives the students and tutors enough time to discuss assignment guidelines, build rapport, and discuss the writing project through an interactive session (screen share and audio/video chat). It also leaves time for any technical mishaps that can take place in a virtual setting.
The Writing Center does not function as a paper editing service, but rather as a place for writers to improve themselves with the help of our staff. That being said, we will give feedback on what is written and students in ANY session will receive an opportunity to learn and improve their own writing skills and abilities.
We will work with you on the writing skills you want to improve on and give feedback on what you have written. You should apply the skills you learn at the Writing Center in order to write more effectively. There are many factors that may go into making a paper better; what we are focused on is making a better writer so that all your future papers may be improved.
Any immediate updates on the writing center can be found on the homepage of the Writing Center's website. You can also find any updates on our Instagram @abcmville.
You can contact us at writingcenter@mville.edu for any questions or concerns and we will get back to you as soon as we can. You can also visit our Digication ePortfolio for more information. 

 

 

 

 

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