Writing Lab

Writing Lab

Tutoring Stages

 
1)  When looking at a piece, tutors first see whether the student has met the assignment’s requirement, i.e. answered the question.  
 
2)  Second, the tutors attempt to identify a thesis statement and ensuing topic sentences, ensuring flow, order, cohesion, and focus. 
 
3)  Third, the tutors look at each paragraph, how it is introduced, how it is divided, how it is organized and structured, and how it works together. 
 
4)  Fourth, tutors will look at how students incorporate and document research. 
 
5)  Finally, tutors will look at sentence-level errors, beginning with the most major (fragments, run-ons, missing words, subject-verb agreement) and working towards the least major (consistency, commas, word choice). 
 
This can be a long process, and a half-hour session does not ensure that tutors can cover all areas; therefore, students should make multiple appointments for one assignment. 

What Tutors Can Do

Writing Tutors 
  • Can help with any stage of the writing process
  • Can help students outline work
  • Can help students find, use, and cite research properly
  • Can look at paragraph unity and flow
  • Can make sure that the work reflects the thesis
  • Can help students locate errors in grammar and mechanics
  • Can work with sudents on any specific questions that students may have

What Tutors Cannot Do

Writing Tutors
  • Cannot simply correct work for students
  • Cannot do work for students
  • Cannot ensure that work is perfect

On-line Tutoring

Spring 2011
Beginning on Thursday, January 20, 2011, an online tutor will be available on Sunday evenings beginning January 23, 2011 from 3 pm to midnight.   
 
In order to schedule an appointment with the online writing tutor, stop by Learning Resources in Parmer Hall 010 (lower level of the building) and sign up in person.  (Parmer Hall is the new building located in the northwest corner of Dominican's main campus).  Or, call us at 708-524-6682 or 708-524-6689 to schedule an appointment.  All appointments are recorded in the Writing Lab appointment binder.  All Thursday evening appointments must be submitted by 2 pm on Thursday, and all Sunday evening appointments must be submitted by Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. 
 
Once your appointment is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email from the Learning Resources office.  It will then be your responsibility to submit your assignment as an attachment via email to rgreen@dom.edu.  Please submit your assignment or question(s) to the tutor at least one hour before your scheduled time to ensure that he receives the document before your scheduled appointment.  To be clear:  this is NOT an online chat forum.  The time slot you've reserved will be for the tutor to read and comment on your work.  When he is finished, he will resend your draft back to you with his suggestions.  At that point, you may send any follow-up questions you want to ask. 
 
When submitting a draft of a paper, please adhere to the following guidelines:  30 min. for 1-4 pages; 60 min. for 5-8 pages.  If you have an assignment that exceeds 8 pages, please contact the Learning Resources Director at 708-524-6670 for special arrangements.

Make an Appointment

To make an appointment, a student can
 
  1. visit the Learning Resources Center in the lower level of Parmer Hall, Parmer 010
  2. call extension 6682, if on campus
  3. call 708-524-6682, if off campus
  4. email pploegman@dom.edu 
 
For Fall 2011, Writing Tutors are available
 
            Sunday 3:00pm-11:00pm (see online tutoring portlet)
            Monday 8:00am-6:00pm
            Tuesday 8:00am-6:00pm
            Wednesday 8:00am-6:00pm
            Thursday 8:00am-6:00pm/8:00pm-10:00pm (online only)
            Friday 8:00am-5:00pm
            
 *tutoring times vary based on tutor availability           

Meet the Staff

Peter Ploegman, Writing Lab Coordinator and Professional Writing Tutor pploegman@dom.edu
   Peter is a 2001 graduate of Trinity Christian College, and he received his Master's in Education at National-Louis University in 2006.  He currently serves as Assistant Writing Area Tutor Coordinator and tutors writing at Triton College, where he has worked since 2001.  He has also taught composition courses in Triton College's English and Adult Education departments.
 
Bob Greenwald, Professional Writing Tutor rgreen@dom.edu
   Bob is a 1999 graduate of Dominican.  In 2000, he received his Master's in English literature from Northeastern Illinois University.  He headed Dominican's Writing Lab from 2000-2010, and he has worked as an adjunct English instructor since 2001.   In addition to his work at Dominican, Bob teaches full time in the English Department at Triton College. 
 
Brian Carrizosa, Student Tutor   
   Brian graduated from Dominican's Rosary College of Arts and Sciences with a Bachelor's degree in English.  Currently, he is pursuing his Master's degree at Dominican's Graduate School of Library and Information Science.  Brian has been a Writing Lab tutor since 2007.
 
Allison Kolman, Student Tutor
   Allison graduated from Dominican's Rosary College of Arts and Sciences with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology.  Currently, she is pursuing her Master's degree at Dominican's Brennan School of Business.  Starting as an undergraduate, Allison has been a tutor in the Writing Lab since 2003.