Cabrillo College

Writing Center Home

Online English 100L, Writing Laboratory

Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Avoiding Plagiarism

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Writing Center

Tutoring

	Are you having trouble starting an essay?
	Is it difficult for you to write effective introductions and conclusions?
	Do you need advice on writing for essay exams?
	Do you need help revising an essay?

The Writing Center and ESL lab offer lab units that provide one-on-one tutoring. See the Labs link for information on English 502 and ESL 200L, 201L, 202L, 203L, 204L, and 502. The Cabrillo College Writing Center tutors can help with these questions. Any English as a Second Language Cabrillo student may come to the Writing Center to work with a tutor. The writing does not have to be for an English class; students may discuss their writing for any class. Students may also bring in essays for financial aid, job, and university applications, or other personal and professional writing projects.
Our goal is to help students develop their own writing styles. We want students to have a clear understanding of different types of essays and writing techniques so that they can choose what is most effective for a particular piece of writing and its intended audience and purpose. Writing Center tutors help students choose a focus for their papers and decide what information to include and what information is unnecessary or distracting. We discuss ways to order the information to make the paper as effective as possible. We also help them discover ways to make smooth transitions in ideas and language. If a student has a recurring problem with grammar, the tutor will help the student learn to identify the specific problem and discuss options for correcting it. We encourage students to develop their own writing voices. Writing Center tutors will not proofread papers (go through a paper correcting all grammar, punctuation and spelling errors). Because this is an educational institution, our goal is to help students improve their writing skills; making corrections for writers does not help them recognize and correct their weaknesses. We discuss effective writing strategies and possible revisions with students. It is up to students to consider our advice and decide what works best for their papers and writing styles.

*Due to budget cuts the following labs require an instructor's referral: Eng 502 and ESL 502* These no-credit, no-fee labs provide one-on-one tutoring to any Cabrillo student.

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Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003, phone: 831-479-6100