The Center for Academic Success and Exploratory Majors has a system in place to support first-year students with the help of Writing Mentors. Writing Mentors are successful, faculty-nominated student writers who are trained to help new students become stronger, independent, and more confident writers. Each First-Year Experience (FYE) class has a designated Mentor to serve that specific course.  They can help with any stage of the writing process, including the following: 

 

• Understanding the essay prompt
• Brainstorming potential topics
• Creating outlines
• Expanding ideas
• Formatting
• Citing & citations
• Organization
• Overall revision (multiple revisions = better papers = higher grades)
• Editing
• Defining/refining your individual writing process

 

Here's how it works:

• Each FYE class will have one Writing Mentor specifically assigned to that professor and course. 
• Mentors are responsible for communicating regularly with their assigned professor and class. Each mentor has the option to 1)  arrange at least five hours' worth of drop-in hours leading up to each paper due date, where they will e-mail their assigned class and professor several days in advance with the drop-in hour schedule, or 2) ask student to schedule appointments with them prior to a paper due date.
• NOTE: In Fall 2020, all meetings between an FYE Writing Mentor and student are encouraged to take place virtually.
• FYE students should come prepared with the paper prompt and rubric, if available, as well as any prewriting that they have completed. Appointments are not required during drop-in hours; however, students should prepare to wait a few minutes in case the Writing Mentor is finishing up a meeting with a classmate. In the case of virtual drop-in hours, this may mean the student will enter in the "Waiting Room" and be admitted once the Writing Mentor is ready for you.
• If FYE students can't make the Writing Mentor drop-in hours, they can visit the Writing Center Desk Hours. In Fall 2020, these hours will take place virtually from 7-9 p.m. No appointment needed.
  NOTE: This should be a last resort. The Writing Mentors will be able to help FYE students the best since they will already be familiar with the professor, the course, and the assignments.