ESL / EAL College Core Writing Tutor

The English Language Institute offers a Writing Tutor for University of Chicago College Core students with ESL/EAL needs.

Writing Tutoring will resume Sunday, October 3, 2021

The ESL/EAL College Core Writing Tutor is affiliated with the Writing Program.

College Core Students

UChicago College Core students can make an appointment.

The day of the tutoring session, the tutor will email the Zoom link and will ask for a copy of your writing.

Once the session begins, you have 5 minutes to join the Zoom call. If you do not join the Zoom call after 5 minutes have passed, the tutor mark you as a “No Show,” and then they will invite people off the drop-in list to take your spot.

Cost: Free

Location: Online via Zoom

Book an Appointment

Non-College Core Affiliates

NOTE: The drop-in list opens 30 minutes before the tutor’s shift begins

UChicago Non-College Core affiliates (other undergraduates, grad students, postdocs, etc.) can sign up to drop in with the tutor.

During scheduled tutoring hours, the tutor will email people on the drop-in list if there is no appointment scheduled or if a student is a no-show. You have 5 minutes to join the Zoom call once they email you, so please monitor your email.

Cost: Free

Location: Online via Zoom

Drop In (Sign in with CNetID)
The tutoring queue can be seen here: [link]

Example screenshot of student in queue

Example screenshot of no students in queue

Tutoring Rules

NOTE: The Writing Tutor is not permitted to edit/proofread student work directly, but can identify issues or patterns of error. The tutor also may not review more than 10 pages of text (Times New Roman font, size 12, double-spaced) in a session.

The ESL/EAL College Core Writing Tutor can:

  • Discuss the specifications of an upcoming writing assignment
  • Assist in selecting the appropriate wording/phrasing
  • Identify patterns of error in grammar and punctuation
  • Provide tips on producing greater sentence variety
  • Identify instances of ambiguity
  • Comment on an essay’s organization and information flow
  • Provide tips on including North American stylistic features to an essay
  • Help evaluate and integrate sources or cited literature
  • Discuss voice, formality, and tone of an essay
  • Provide self-editing tips and direct students to helpful writing resources

Calendar of Tutoring Sessions (Autumn 2021)

Meet our Autumn 2021 Tutor

Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith has a B.A. in Anthropology and Philosophy (Bard College, 2009) and an M.A. in Humanities with a focus on English Literature (University of Chicago, 2020). He has worked as an editor and writer in fine art publishing and activist media, and his academic interests concern social creativity surrounding environmentalism and decolonization. He attended international schools as a child and loves working with students for whom English is a second/additional language. In addition to tutoring with the ELI, he teaches writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences cores.

“I enrolled in the Academic English Pre-Matriculation Program: Writing because because I thought this is a great opportunity to learn North American academic writing, and it did really help me a lot. My instructor, Tim is very patient and thoughtful. He explained topics like controlling claims, sentence boundaries, and even networking etiquette. In addition, we even had outdoor excursion, which was a great way to get to know Chicago and your cohort! Lastly, thanks every instructor and staff member in the AEPP for providing such a fun and warm place for us to learn and have fun!”
Wuxing

Masters student

“I took Written Communication: Crafting Varied and Impactful Sentences because I am a researcher and academic writing constitutes the most important part of my academic life. I now feel more comfortable and confident to write and manipulate an English sentence, demonstrated by my improved writing and self-editing capability. An example is that one of my recent research papers was accepted without any English language revision. An international student who wants to improve his/her academic writing is highly recommended to take this course.”
Kun

Staff

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