How can students get help?

Drop-in writing workshops are available several times a day, Monday through Friday.  Students can attend any workshop that is convenient, and they need no referral from you. In cases where you especially want to encourage attendance or you want verification that a student has attended, there is a workshop referral form available in the Core Office. Workshops give LARC counselors the opportunity for activities that take advantage of group dynamics, such as clarifying and brainstorming assignments or critiquing thesis statements. Students have a chance to ask questions about their concerns, so some individual attention is often available, especially when groups are small.

Are appointments available?

Yes. Students who attend workshops become eligible for individual conferences, for which they will need to make an appointment. These conferences give us a greater opportunity to work with students on language issues, paper organization and other topics requiring individualized feedback. You can refer students directly to individual conferences (forms available in the Core Office), by-passing the workshop requirement, but we ask that you use this option sparingly, since the number of appointments is limited.

Unfortunately, many students, even those referred by you, wait until the last minute to make appointments. The best use of valuable appointment time occurs when students think and plan ahead.

As a “support” service, we support both the student’s efforts to learn and your efforts to teach. If you and the student have already met in conference and the student has a draft that includes your comments, we will try to help them respond to your advice and direction.

Do LARC counselors make comments on student papers?

We work very closely with students to point out opportunities for revision and to recommend revision strategies at the sentence, paragraph, and paper levels. We may circle or underline sections that students need to work on and we may write very brief questions or comments in the margins. These notations are usually to remind students of what was discussed in conference. On no occasion do we write copy on a student’s paper. To do so might confuse you about the origin of a student’s work. LARC has a written policy on appropriate assistance that all writing counselors abide by. You, therefore, can trust that in so far as LARC is concerned, the work is the student’s own.

We are dedicated to a philosophy of teaching students to be independent learners, and in no case do we revise, correct, or edit student work.

What is the difference between LARC tutorials and LARC writing services?

LARC tutorials are run by undergraduate peer-tutors who are experienced Core students. These students have achieved high grades and have usually been recommended by Core staff. They are chosen for their communication skills and their enthusiasm for helping students. They participate in a rigorous program of training, observation, and certification guided by LARC professional staff.

Peer-tutors do not directly assist with student papers. A Core student participating in a tutorial will develop and practice skills that affect college learning, including listening, note-taking, test-taking, and pre-writing skills, but peer-tutors refer all paper questions to LARC professional staff.

All writing counseling is done by LARC professional staff, whose credentials include advanced degrees and many years of teaching experience. Each writing counselor at LARC has a kind of specialty in the course in which they do workshops, but each counselor sees students from many UCI courses. Whenever possible the LARC appointment desk routes appointments to the workshop leader in a particular course. Core workshop leaders keep other counselors informed about Core assignments, texts, and writing issues.

Does LARC have a Core web site?

Yes, we do. The LARC Electronic Writing Center, which is linked to the LARC home page offers students “how to” advice on each Core assignment. These tips are specific to the rhetorical task of each assignment and include such topics as “getting started” and “how to know if you’re on track.” The Electronic Writing Center (EWC) also has pages on revision and grammar and a bibliography of internet resources. Some of the pages, such as the  “article finder,” are directed to ESL students. The EWC’s current address is www.larc.uci.edu/lewc/index.htm.