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Policies

In order to provide the best possible service to as many students as we can, our appointment policies are as follows:

  • You may schedule up to 3 appointments per week total. This can be divided into any combination of face-to-face, feedback-by-email, and IM/Webcam appointments, so long as the total does not exceed 3 appointments.
  • You may not schedule more than 2 appointments on the same day.
  • If you must cancel an appointment, please use WCOnline to cancel your appointment or, if you can't get to a computer, call us (773.325.4272 or 312.362.6726). If you miss more than 3 appointments without notifying us, your WCOnline account will be deactivated and you must use our services on a walk-in basis only.
  • If you are more than 15 minutes late for an appointment without notifying us, then your appointment will be forfeited and marked as missed.
  • If we must cancel your appointment, we will notify you as soon as possible, and will offer you either an alternate tutor or time slot.
  • You are expected to abide by DePaul University's code of academic integrity and conduct, as outlined in the Student Handbook. You can expect the same of us.
  • SNL Students: According to SNL policy, we are unable to work with students on any of the Undergraduate Proficiency Exams, including Academic Writing for Adults Proficiency (L4) and Critical Thinking Proficiency (L5). For detailed information regarding SNL's Proficiency Exam policies, please visit their website here.


Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of help does the Writing Center offer?
You determine the direction of the sessions. Our tutors will help you understand your assignment, develop your paper's topics, thesis, and ideas. We can show you how to revise your paper, and we can teach you basic writing skills such as grammar, mechanics, summarizing, and paraphrasing. A tutor can also help you find, narrow, and support your thesis with prewriting exercises and by talking through your ideas to get started. Although tutors will help you with grammatical difficulties, tutors will not proofread your paper for you or speculate on what grade you might receive on that paper.

What is my role in the tutorial?
Always bring your assignment sheet, your paper (if you have one), and any source materials, such as an essay or book to which you are responding. If you have copies or drafts of a paper, bring your disk. During the session, expect to answer questions from your tutor about your paper topic, your writing process, or other issues regarding your assignment.

What if I don't have a specific paper assignment?
Even if you do not have an assignment, we can teach you different strategies for prewriting, writing, working under pressure, improving grammar, and other aspects of writing.

Can I get help with my resume and application documents?
Yes, please bring us your notes, job posting, school catalog/application documents, or any other useful documents in order to help us understand your objectives.

Can I work with someone at a computer?
Yes, we offer Computer Assisted Tutorials ("CAT"s). CATs are for students who prefer to work/revise on a computer. You may print out a copy of your paper to work on only during an appointment with a tutor. Your paper must be saved in Microsoft Word (*.doc) or Rich Text Format (*.rtf).