Cornell Writing Centers Spring Announcements

Celebrating 50 Years of Tutoring Writing

The Cornell Writing Centers are celebrating 50 years of tutoring writing. Since 1972, Knight Institute tutors have worked with writers to enrich their experiences with writing, from ideas to drafts to more sustainable processes. Celebrate CWC tutors and the writing culture they inspire!

To celebrate, we are working on a history project that will be shared on our website (coming soon!) and we are selling some fun merchandise. Specifically, we are offering the opportunity to order 50th CWC T-shirts ! We are not making any money off of these orders; rather, we are simply offering them as a way of celebrating our community of amazing writers and tutors! There is free shipping to Rockefeller 174, see the order forms for more details. 

Spring 2022 Tutoring Schedule

For spring 2022, starting Monday, February 7,  the Cornell Writing Centers (CWC) will be offering both in-person and online, synchronous tutoring sessions by appointment or drop-in. However, as with all in-person services, we are prepared to shift all tutoring online should COVID cases become high on campus. Our aim is to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of both Cornell writers and our CWC tutors during sessions. 

Writers will need to register and schedule appointments for all online sessions. For in-person tutoring, writers can make an appointment or simply drop-in to any of our below locations during hours.

The CWC provides support for individuals at any stage of the writing process. It is a free resource available to all of Cornell—undergraduate students, pre-freshman and high schoolers in summer programs, graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni—for nearly any kind of writing project: applications, presentations, lab reports, essays, papers, and more. Tutors (primarily undergraduates during the academic year and graduate students in the summer) serve as responsive listeners and readers who can address questions about the writing process or about particular pieces of writing. They will ask questions that foster critical thinking about your writing, and they will also consider questions of confidence, reading, analytic thought, imagination, and research. All tutors have training in supporting multilingual writers, working with writers remotely online, and in supporting writers working on application materials.

Spring Weekly Tutoring Schedule 

Sundays—Thursdays, 7:00-10:00pm

• 108 Uris Library (in-person & online)
• 403 Olin Library (in-person & online)
• Online Shifts, via WC Online

Sundays, Tuesdays, & Thursdays, 7:00-10:00pm

• 103 Robert Purcell Community Center (in-person only)

Mondays—Thursdays, 3:00-5:00pm

• Mann Library Consultation Area (in-person & online)
• 178 Rockefeller Hall (in-person & online)

Spring 2022 Semester Schedule 

Tutoring Starts

February 25-March 1

Tutoring resumes Wednesday, March 2

April 1-10

Tutoring resumes Monday, April 11

Last Day of Regular Tutoring Schedule

Exams Tutoring 

*Only Online & In 178 Rockefeller Hall

3:00-5:00pm: 

• May 11-13
• May 16-20

Apply to Become a Writing Center Tutor

 Tutoring writing is rewarding work for a number a reasons. Tutors have the opportunity to work with writers and topics from across the disciplines, to collaborate with diverse writers and peer tutors, to deepen knowledge about writing and tutoring pedagogy, and to have work that is intellectually stimulating, meaningful, and fun! We have a vibrant and diverse tutoring community that participates in on-going professional development activities. This work is generative, creative, and an excellent opportunity for students interested in communication, writing, education, and collaborative learning.

Job Description

• Tutors typically work 1-3 tutoring shifts (2-9 hours) a week. We currently have two tutoring shifts: 3:00-5:00pm or 7:00-10:00pm ET. Each semester, our tutoring schedule is recreated to account for tutors' course schedule and changing needs. 
• New tutors must complete a 7-week, 1-credit training course (WRIT 2101). Tutor training is only held in the spring, and begins when the 7-week courses start, midway through the spring semester. 
• After completing the tutor training course (once hired), tutors are required to attend 3 (paid) staff meetings a semester (plus the required first and final semester meetings). Staff meetings are usually at 5:30-6:30pm ET, on varying week nights. During these meetings, as a group, we discuss tutoring pedagogy and practice, workshop a variety of sample student writing, and reflect on tutoring experiences. Staff meetings deepen and extend the introduction to basic tutoring pedagogy and practice covered in WRIT 2101 (tutor training). 
• Tutors get paid an hourly rate

To Apply

More information can be found here. The application form is here. 

Spring 2022 Deadline for applications: Friday, February 11

Application Process: Applications will be reviewed after the spring deadline. A select number of applicants will be invited to sign-up for small-group interviews. The applicants who will be offered positions tutoring, will begin the 7-week tutor training course (WRIT 2101) after group interviews, roughly midway through the semester. Thus, the application and training process approximately takes a full semester. Newly  hired tutors will begin tutoring during the exams period of the semester they get hired and trained. We hope to encourage tutors to apply early in their academic career and to continue tutoring throughout their time at Cornell. 

WRIT 2101: Responding to Writing: Theory & Pedagogy (1 credit)

Course Description: This course introduces students to scholarship on writing pedagogy, requiring them to think critically about collaborative learning strategies, multilingual writing challenges, ethical considerations in peer tutoring, and the ways in which race and other facets of identity inform teaching and learning. The learning objectives include: develop an understanding of different theories of writing and the history of writing centers; practice reading and responding to a variety of different writing genres and student situations in ways that connect theory to practice; learn to question assumptions in specific pieces of writing, frameworks for writing, and in pedagogical interactions; self-reflect on individual writing processes, writing, and previous educational experiences; analyze the ways in which writer and tutor identities affect pedagogical interactions and learn strategies for equitable and ethical tutoring; develop confidence in suggesting interventions for other writers at various stages of their writing processes; and, gain flexibility in utilizing a variety of strategies for fostering writer agency and growth.    

Spring 2022 Tutor Training Course Details:

• Starts Wednesday, March 19 
• Held weekly, on Wednesdays 4:30-6:00pm 
• Knight Institute staff will enroll hired tutors