1. Does the Writing Center still offer in-person tutoring?
On September 13, 2021, the BMCC Writing Center brought back in-person tutoring with a writing professional at 199 Chambers Street, Room S510. The Writing Center also provides online tutoring in the Upswing online learning platform. Use your BMCC student email username and password to log in and make an appointment. Here are instructions to help you use the online system.
2. What does the Writing Center do?
A sixty (60) minute, one on one tutorial with a writing professional is at the heart of our services.
- The first five-to-ten (5-10) minutes of a session focus on your reasons for visiting the Center and expectations of your writing. We discuss current progress, discuss advice you received in the past from instructors and peers, and set goals for our time together.
- The next forty (40) minutes are spent addressing your stated goals.
- In conversation with a Writing Coach, students practice many phases of the writing process: brainstorming, listing, freewriting, rewriting. Students learn and review strategies for open-ended and methodical questioning, active and unexpected brainstorming, radical revision, and meticulous editing.
3. Do I have to make an appointment to meet with a Writing Coach?
The Writing Center offers scheduled appointments for all registered students. Please be reminded that we are a highly utilized service on campus. As a result, making an appointment is highly recommended. To make appointments, please login to Upswing, type “Writing Center” (or “Writing Coach Only”) into the search engine, select your coach, day, time, and duration for your appointment. For more detailed instructions on scheduling an appointment on UpSwing, click here.
4. What if I arrive late to my appointment?
If a student does not arrive ten (10) minutes after the appointment’s start-time, the session will be given to a student on the waitlist.
5. How many appointments can I make?
You are permitted to schedule two (2) appointments per week, upon availability. Please schedule each appointment on two (2) different days of the week. If multiple appointments are made on the same day, a member of our administrative team will cancel each additional same-day appointment. Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with proof of registration with the Office of Accessibility.
Will the Writing Center proofread or edit my work?
The BMCC Writing Center teaches you how to proofread and correct your own work.
6. Will the Writing Center check my grammar?
The BMCC Writing Center utilizes many strategies that help you focus on your grammar and punctuation. One of our primary strategies focuses on reading out loud for correction.
- We encourage students to listen to themselves read their papers aloud.
- We ask students to read exactly what is written. Every letter should be pronounced.
- We ask students to pay close attention to exactly what is said out loud when reading.
- We sometimes read out loud for a student if they are too shy or uncomfortable.
- We ask students to “use their ear” and note anything that sounds incorrect or awkward.
- We discuss what sounds correct and what does not sound correct.
- We discuss the viability of possible corrections.
- We sometimes point at errors the student orally corrects but does not notice on the page.
- We sometimes ask, “There is an error in that sentence. Can you find it?”
More strategies for reading out loud can be found here: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/proofreading/
7. Does it cost anything to visit the Writing Center?
The Writing Center is a free service graciously and partially funded by The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act of 2018 (Perkins V) administered by the New York State Education Department.
