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Submit Papers Online

Please note: This option is only open to students in cohort programs.



FAQ Concerning Online Tutoring


Who may submit papers online?

Students in any of Concordia’s cohort programs may submit their papers online. At this time, the Writing Center does not have the resources to accept email submissions from students in Concordia’s traditional (non-cohort) classes.

How should I submit my writing question or a draft of my writing?
To receive tutoring via email, submit your paper, as a Microsoft Word attachment, to writingcenter@csp.edu. Please also include the following so that tutors can provide you with the best possible feedback on your writing:
  • Your name and e-mail address
  • Your college or program
  • Whether or not this is the first time you’ve used the Writing Center
  • Your instructor
  • A description of the assignment
  • The assignment’s due date
  • One to three specific writing issues to concentrate on.

How many papers may I submit with a single email?
Submit only one piece of writing per email. The best way to improve your writing is to take the feedback you receive on one paper and apply it to the next paper you write.

Tutors also respond to writers on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you submit multiple pieces of writing with one email, tutors are less able to respond to other writers in a fair and timely manner.

Are there length requirements on the papers I can submit?                                                  Yes. Because the Writing Center is a teaching service and not an editing service, ideal practice is for tutors to provide feedback on no more than eight pages at a time and give you the opportunity to improve your skills by applying what you learn from those pages to future papers. We realize, however, that students sometimes need help with longer papers.

For longer papers, students may send the entire paper and designate which eight pages (maximum) they would like tutors to read and respond to.  If the students do not wish to designate a specific eight pages, tutors will start from the beginning of the paper and read the first eight pages.  After you have received our feedback on that section, you may submit another eight-page section of the same paper.  Make sure to include specific questions and/or concerns with each section.

How many times may I submit the same piece of writing?
You may submit the same paper up to two times. In other words, if you choose to make significant revisions (not just a few editing changes) to your paper based on tutors’ comments, you may submit your paper one more time.

May I submit a short question to the Writing Center using email?                         Absolutely.  Feel free to e-mail or call us with any writing-related questions or concerns. This is sometimes the most expedient way to find answers to smaller, less complicated writing questions. We may also attach one of our handouts to the response in order to provide further information.                         

Will tutors correct APA and grammar errors?
It depends. Tutors provide feedback on a piece of writing with the intent of helping you develop your writing skills, not with the intent of helping you produce a perfect paper. Therefore, tutors begin by commenting on high order concerns: thesis statement, focus, organization, clarity of ideas, introduction, conclusion, paragraph structure, transitions, and avoiding plagiarism by citing sources. If those appear solid, tutors focus on low order concerns: sentence structure and flow, usage, punctuation, mechanics, grammar, and citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). In most cases, tutors do not point out every error in a paper. 

Tutors might correct one or two instances of a particular citation or grammar error, in addition to explaining what the error is, as a means of demonstrating the concept, but after the first one or two instances, they only provide guidance so that you gain practice identifying and correcting the error yourself.

Submit Papers Online

"Writing is thinking on paper."
-William Zinsser

Contact Writing Center
Theresa FitzPatrick, Director
Charlotte Lewis, Associate
Local: (651) 603-6233
E-mail: writingcenter@csp.edu

Mailing Address
275 Syndicate Street North
St. Paul, MN 55104-5494
Campus: 651-641-8278

Please contact Theresa FitzPatrick about content on this page last updated on June 17 2009.
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