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West Valley
College Online Writing Center
HOW TO EARN CREDIT FOR ENGL
990/991/992/993 ONLINE
Credit/No Credit
In order to receive the ½ unit of credit for this lab course, you must complete
14 activity sets in MyCompLab. 100% of your grade for this co-requisite
course is determined by your cumulative score in MyCompLab in addition to
your completion of activities involving emailing the online Writing Center (WC)
tutor. A cumulative score of 70% or higher earns Credit, assuming that you
completed only activities and exercises that were assigned. There is no required
attendance in the West Valley College(WVC) WC for online Composition students,
but if you live nearby, you are always welcomed to visit for tutoring services.
MyCompLab
Access and Required Text: You should purchase the Prentice Hall Reference Guide
by Muriel Harris (available at the campus bookstore) which will include a
personal access code to MyCompLab for three consecutive years and for use in
each of the Writing Skills Labs that you will take as co-requisites in future
composition courses at WVC.
MyCompLab Orientation:
If you live near WVC, you are welcome to attend a 15-minute Orientation in the
WC about registering and logging on to MyCompLab during the following days and
times. This is not a required activity for online Composition students.
2/3 (Tue.) -- 10:00am / 11:15am / 12:00pm
2/4 (Wed.) -- 10:00am / 11:15am / 12:00pm
2/5 (Thur.) -- 1:30pm / 2:15pm
2/9 (Mon.) -- 1:30pm / 2:15pm
Assignments:
Please be sure to click on the correct links in MyCompLab and complete the
required assignments. You will not receive credit for completing unassigned
activities. The activity set assignment list (in your “Course Files” box on your
homepage) will be updated throughout the semester, and additional activity sets
will be released. Please check “Course Files” regularly for updates. The list of
assignments in “Assignments” does not reflect the entire list of activities that
you must complete in MyCompLab. You may rely on the “ENGL 990/991/992/993
Assignments” document in your “Course Files” box on your homepage to list all
the activities you must do; assignments will be added as the semester
progresses.
Deadlines:
To help you manage your workload, we recommend completing at least one activity
set each week. In MyCompLab, please see the “Calendar” (not the
“Assignments-Due” list which is not comprehensive) for suggested and final
deadlines. To view deadline information for individual activity sets, click on
the push-pin shaped buttons. The “Calendar” will also be regularly updated
throughout the semester as activity sets are released.
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TUTORING GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS
The mission of the online WC is to provide quality supplemental support for
students taking any courses that require writing. The online tutors look forward
to tailoring their services to your particular needs as learners, readers, and
writers. Please carefully read the following guidelines that will help you get
the most out of your work in the online WC.
1. Physical visits to the on-campus WC are not required but welcomed. If you
live nearby, feel
free to visit us for one-on-one tutoring in our computer-assisted lab. You may
seek help with
essays for your college courses or help with the activities in MyCompLab.
On-Campus Writing Center Hours
Spring ‘09
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 8:30am - 5:50pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5:10pm
Friday, Saturday, Sunday Closed
2. Attend a 15-min. introduction to MyCompLab in the on-campus WC if you live
nearby. This is
not a requirement. These are the days and times for the orientations:
2/3/09 (Tue.) -- 10:00am / 11:15am / 12:00pm
2/4/09 (Wed.) -- 10:00am / 11:15am / 12:00pm
2/5/09 (Thur.) -- 1:30pm / 2:15pm
2/9/09 (Mon.) -- 1:30pm / 2:15pm
3. Seek writing support from the online tutors. Since tutoring is via email,
please allow a day or
two for a response. (At this time, IMing is not available.)
You may email the online tutors at
wvcwritingcenter@gmail.com
3. Begin all email to the online tutors with your registration information. This
information will
help the WC accurately record your credit for having emailed the online tutors
per several
required MyCompLab activities.
In every email, begin with a heading displaying your:
• Full Name
• WVC ID # (not Social Security #)
• Composition Course (ENGL 905, 1A, 1B, or 1C)
• Co-requisite Course (ENGL 990, 991, 992, or 993) and Section #
__________________
4. Use specific questions to focus the online tutors on your writing needs. When
you email, be
sure to ask one or two specific questions that will help the online tutors help
you. Questions that
are too broad—such as “What do you think of my paper?”—will require the tutor to
email you
back to request specific guidance. Do not lose valuable time.
Some sample questions for the online tutor are:
• Is my thesis focused and argumentative?
• Is my organization logical and easy to follow?
• How might I make my introduction/conclusion more interesting?
• Is my evidence documented accurately? How might I make it more persuasive?
• Do I use quotation marks accurately?
• How might I better focus my ideas in paragraph #?
• If you have read this poem/short story/novel/article, can you tell if my
analysis in paragraph # is logical?
• Is my writing in paragraph # audience-centered?
• What grammar skills/editing topics do you suggest I work on based on paragraph
#?
5. Copy and paste parts of or your whole essay into the email along with your
questions. If the
online tutors do not have to download your draft from an attachment, they will
have more
time to spend responding to your writing needs.
6. Show the online tutors the requirements for your writing assignments. The
online tutors will do
their best to guide your ideas in response to assignments from your Composition
instructor, so
be sure to cut and paste (or if necessary, attach) those assignment sheets in
you email. If you are
unable to provide the online tutors enough information about an assignment, you
should ask
your Composition instructors for more guidance that you will share with the
tutors.
7. Share your Composition instructor’s written feedback about your essays. The
online tutors will
tailor their guidance of your writing skills to your Composition instructors’
criteria as much as
possible. Your Composition instructor’s written remarks will help tutors focus
on this, rather
than lead you in misguided directions.
8. Tell your Composition instructor about your tutoring sessions. You may also
help the online
tutors to best meet your needs if you will tell your Composition instructors how
your tutors are
guiding your writing and ideas. You are the link between the tutor and the
Compostion teacher
who have your best interests in mind, so open the line of communication.
9. Ask for help with writing assignments from any courses you are taking. The
online tutors will
help you succeed in any course requiring writing.
10. Seek guidance with your Writing Process. The five parts of the Writing
Process are:
prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Most writers follow the
order of the
process, but every writer has his or her own style. Online tutors will help you
discover and
improve your writing process, so no matter where you are with the assignment,
get help
from a tutor. A WC goal is to help students become more self-sufficient as
writers; thus,
they will help you improve your writing process in addition to your product.
11. Ask for help with your grammatical skills. Do not expect editing services.
Online tutors will
help you improve your editing skills by examining the strengths and weaknesses
in your
grammar skills. They will explain grammar rules and rationales and help your
practice
applying them in your writing. Thus, tutors will not edit your writing for you.
If you visit the
WC in person, you may not leave your writing with a tutor and expect to pick it
up with written
remarks or grammar corrections.
12. Do not expect or allow the online tutors to actually change your writing
themselves. To ensure
the integrity of the tutoring process, tutors will not make your writing choices
for you by
altering your writing directly. The method of tutors is to draw out your
critical thinking and
writing skills practice in response to the course’s curriculum. Tutors who do
the actual work
for you deny you the opportunity to improve your skills.
13. Do not ask online tutors to issue grades for your essays. It is the
Composition instructor’s job
to determine the grades your essays earn. You should not ask tutors to tell you
what they
believe your essays will earn because they are not equipped to answer accurately
since they
are not teaching your class.
14. Ask online tutors to help you navigate online and database research. Tutors
will help you
understand the different values of online versus database sources. They have
extensive
experience using database and Internet search engines. When you are done, they
may also
help you document these sources in your writing so that you will avoid
plagiarism.
15. Learn how to cite sources and create Works Cited using MLA style. When you
have an
assignment that requires documenting sources, ask the online tutors for help.
They will show
you how to use the eBook of the Prentice Hall Reference Guide in MyCompLab to
model the
Modern Language Association (MLA) style of documentation. The guide also
discusses other
forms of documentation such as APA. Citing sources accurately avoids plagiarism
which could
fail or decrease the grades of your essays.
16. Do not ask online tutors for help with essay-exams. Your Composition
instructor may assign
essay-exams to test your critical thinking and writing skills. It is doubtful
that your
Composition instructor would want you to seek outside help with an exam. Always
demonstrate integrity when working with tutors and completing college work.
17. Ask for information about DESP if you think you may have a learning
disability. The
Disability and Educational Support Program (DESP) will test students by
appointment for
learning disabilities. Testing is done on campus, but you may wish to inquire
about an online
testing process. Their Learning Skills courses will teach students processes to
strengthen their
best learning styles while managing their disabilities. DESP’s services help
students become
autonomous. WC tutors will not diagnose students for learning disabilities, but
they will
encourage you to contact the DESP coordinators: Judy Colson at (408)741-2458 and
Cheryl
Miller. DESP is located on campus across from the Health Center.
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