Online Writing Tutor

If you are a YC student and need a quick guide to the writing process or help with your drafts, this resource is for you. Any student who is currently enrolled in a class and who needs help with any writing-related activity may use this resource.

How to Get Help from the Online Writing Tutor

The process for submitting your paper may take as long as 10-20 minutes. If you do not have time now, please preview the steps, prepare your information, and return to this 'site when you have enough time to complete the process. NOTE: You MUST submit your paper in "Rich Text Format"; this means that you need to save your paper with the ".rtf" suffix before attaching it to the submission form.

The tutor will e-mail you with comments, usually within 48 hours (Ex: For a paper you submit on Friday, you may not be receiving a response until Sunday, so it's important to please PLAN AHEAD!). During periods of high use, turnaround time may be longer. Although the online tutor may provide editing guidance, this is NOT an editing/proofreading service.

Before using the Online Writing Tutor service, you are encouraged to take a moment to view the Little Brown Handbook online site to help you further improve your paper. If you wish to work with a tutor in person, please visit the writing tutor on your campus.

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How to Make the Writing Process Easier

• I. Getting Started
• II. Prewriting, Writing and Revising
• III. Finalizing your work: Editing and Proofreading
• IV. Other Writing Resources

I. Writing: Getting Started

If you have to write something, and you don't know how to begin, here are a few tips that might help you get started.

1. Read over the assignment one more time (If you are still feeling lost, contact another student from the class or meet with your instructor.
2. Get your ideas down onto paper. At this point, don't edit your thoughts or worry about mechanics. You are "prewriting."
3. Organize your ideas, perhaps by making an informal outline (an organized list) or a webbing or "map" based on your prewriting.
4. Start by writing the easiest part of your assignment first. Work your way back from the easy to the more difficult parts.

II. Prewriting, Writing and Revising

PREWRITING is simply the uncensored writing done at the beginning of the writing process to get ideas flowing. Three types of prewriting are freewriting, brainstorming, and mapping.

• Freewriting: To get started on any writing assignment, identify your topic and then write down any and all ideas that come to mind, without worrying about grammar or spelling or even correct wording–just get the ideas out of your head and onto paper! When you are finished, read over your freewriting and organize your ideas using an outline or a graphic organizer (a “map” or cluster).
• Brainstorming (Or Listing): This method begins by identifying your topic and then listing every idea that comes to mind WITHOUT censoring, editing, or judging any idea. You can also try working with another person to brainstorm a list—again, without judging the ideas. When you are finished, organize your ideas using an outline or a graphic organizer.
• Mapping (Or Clustering, Webbing, Using Graphic Organizers): If you like to “see” your work, you might try using a graphic organizer to both identify and organize your ideas. These “concept maps” can take many visual forms, but they always start by writing down the main idea or topic and then by identifying the supporting ideas and drawing lines to show their relationship to other ideas on the page. Check your textbook or search the Internet for examples. (Try searching "clustering ideas" or "graphic organizer" or "mind mapping" for a start).
• WRITING and revising are the next steps. Once you have written down your ideas and organized them, you can use them to begin writing your first draft. Don't stop at one draft, however. The key to good writing is revising (reading, rethinking, and reworking) until your meaning is easy for the reader to follow and understand and your information is complete, accurate, and, when necessary, correctly documented.
• REVISING is an important part of the writing process. In working to make your paper better, there are two things that you'll want to check—content and organization.
  • Check your paper to make sure that you have clearly identified your main idea and that you have included the details, facts, and examples needed to support the main idea.
  • Check to see if your paper is logical and easy for a reader to follow. Ask yourself, "Does every sentence in the paper have a clear connection to the main idea?" Read the paper aloud to yourself, or if possible, have someone else read your paper aloud to you.

As you revise, you may want to use the Tutoring Services that are available in the Learning Centers. Also, you may use the Online Writing Tutor service available at the top of this page to give you some valuable suggestions; submit your writing for review.

III. Finalizing your work: Editing and Proofreading

The "surface features" (spelling, punctuation, etc.) are not the most important aspect of your writing, but they can get in the way of communicating clearly. In fact, some readers will not even try to understand what you have written if it is too much work to get past the spelling errors, punctuation problems, or sentence fragments.

Some tips for making your editing and proofreading more effective include the following tips:

1. finish your writing assignment early enough to give yourself as much time as possible between writing it and putting the final touches on it;
2. find someone you trust to help you identify the MINOR changes that should be made to your final copy, and
3. read your paper aloud (or ask someone to read it to you).

If you struggle with grammar and sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, paragraph construction, or other aspects of writing, consider enrolling in an English Module.

IV. Other Writing Resources

• Electronic Resources - access to databases for research through the YC Library Services web site
• Yavapai College Magazines & Newspapers - find electronic or print magazines & newspapers
• Style Guides at YC Library

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