Concordia University

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 submissions online from students in Concordia's traditional, daytime (non-cohort) classes.

How should I submit my writing question or a draft of my writing?
To receive tutoring via email instead of face-to-face, submit your writing question or a draft of your writing (sent 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:

A description of the assignment
Your email address
Your college or program
Whether or not this is the first time you?ve used the Writing Center
One to three specific writing issues you?d like help with
The paper?s due date.

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 skills is to take the feedback tutors have provided on one of your papers and apply it to the next paper you write.

If you submit multiple pieces of writing with one email, the focus of your interaction with the tutor becomes editing rather than learning how to improve your writing, and both you and the tutor miss out on opportunities to learn.

How many times may I submit the same piece of writing?
You may submit the same paper up to two times for online tutoring. In other words, if you choose to make significant revisions (not just a few editing changes) to your paper based upon a tutor's comments, you may submit your paper one more time to have a tutor read and provide comments about your revised draft.

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, Turabian, etc.). Tutors do not, however, 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.

Does the Writing Center keep information about tutoring sessions confidential?
Not entirely. Tutors do not discuss your writing or tutoring session outside of the Writing Center; however, when asked, the Director of the Writing Center shares information about specific tutorials with Concordia faculty and staff. Tutors and student assistants who work for the Writing Center or for members of the Writing Center staff enter general information about tutorials into a database, but this information is used in aggregate form only, primarily as a basis for improving and expanding future Writing Center services. If you have questions about the Writing Center's confidentiality policy or use of student information, please contact the Director, Lisa Whalen, at whalen@csp.edu.

For more information about Writing Center policies and practices, please visit Writing Center F.A.Q.s