SVSU WRITING CENTER
TUTORING FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
Zahnow 308 989.964.6061
Effective writing is critical for graduate students for two reasons: first, it is essential for 
success in every graduate program; second, it is a foundation for career advancement. The Writing Center supports graduate student writers who face new challenges: complex and/or unfamiliar writing assignments; expectations to know and use the professional literature in the field; multi-phase papers that culminate in a final extensive report; or gaps in previous writing or language experience.
(NOTE: Writing Center mentoring is not appropriate for masters theses or capstone projects; please contact your faculty advisor for assistance with these.)
Graduate students have three options:
For shorter papers (under 8 pages):
Option 1. Face to face tutoring with any Writing Center mentor
For longer papers (over 8 pages):
Option 2. Face to face tutoring with a designated graduate mentor
Option 3. Online tutoring with a designated graduate mentor
Each of these options is outlined below.
Option 1. Face to Face Tutoring with any Writing Center Mentor
At any time, graduate students may visit the Writing Center for shorter papers (under 8 pages); sessions will be conducted with any of the Writing Center staff. See our webpage for hours.
Option 2. Face to Face Tutoring by appointment with a designated graduate mentor
Appointments with graduate tutors are available by calling the Writing Center, 989.964.6061. You will be given an appointment within 3 days of your call, and you will be asked to email your phone number, a copy of the paper, and the assignment to writingcenter@svsu.edu at least 48 hours before the appointment.
Bring a printed copy of your paper to the appointment. The mentor will have reviewed your paper prior to the appointment, so the session can focus on discussing your paper.
Sessions will be limited to 4 sessions per project and will last no longer than 60 minutes. Appointments can only be held for ten minutes past the scheduled time. The student should contact the WC and/or tutor if he/she expects to be late or is no longer able to make the appointment. If a mentor is unable to make an appointment, the mentor or WC will contact the graduate student.
Option 3: Online Tutoring with a designated graduate mentor
Prior to using the Graduate OWC for the first time, please stop by or call the Writing Center (989.964.6061) to schedule an initial face to face appointment (or a phone conversation) with a grad mentor.
During this initial appointment, the grad mentor will ask for information about your assignment and walk you through procedures for accessing the Graduate OWC for the first time. After this initial appointment, you may submit your paper to the Graduate OWC following the procedures below.
To access the Graduate OWC for the first time:
1. Log in to Vspace at http://www.svsu.edu using your SVSU user name and password
2. In the My Workspace menu bar on the left, click "Membership"
3. In the grey bar above, click "joinable sites"
4. In the search bar on the right, enter "Graduate OWC" and click "Search"
5. When the "Graduate OWC" site appears, click "join" (ignore any error message)
6. You are now enrolled in the "Graduate OWC" VSpace site; you may enter this
site through your My Workspace homepage; it will be listed in the blue bar under
"Project."
Note: Do not join and attempt to use the Online Writing Center found on VSpace; this site is for undergraduates only.
Previously Enrolled Users:
1. Log in to VSpace
2. In My Workspace, click on "Project" in the blue bar, then click on "Graduate OWC"
3. Follow the instructions listed on the site to post your paper.
You will receive the mentor's response to your writing assignment on the site (under "Post a Paper"/"Online Feedback"). Please allow a minimum of three days (up to one week for long papers) to receive the mentor's response. The mentor may also choose to give feedback via phone.
Questions? Please call the Writing Center or contact the WC Coordinator, Helen Raica-Klotz, klotz@svsu.edu.