Policy on Proofreading
The ARC writing tutors do not proofread papers.  Instead, they ask questions about your paper and offer suggestions for improvement.  If you come to the ARC expecting the tutors to mark all your errors, you will be disappointed.  Their goal is to help students become better writers, and this is accomplished through collaboration.  The students and the tutors work together to brainstorm ideas, organize points, develop a thesis statement, etc. The ARC writing tutors work with you, but not for you.  Your instructor expects to evaluate your work, so the tutor will not do any writing.

Do not wait until a day or two before your writing assignment is due to make an appointment.  Make the appointment early.  If you wait, you may not be able to get an appointment.  In addition, becoming a better writer takes time and practice.  You may need more than one appointment to see any real improvement in your writing or your paper.

Students coming to the ARC should do the following:

• Be on time.
• Be prepared for the session.
• Bring assignment sheets, texts, etc.
• Let the tutor know about any writing (or subject) concerns or problems.
• Take an active role during the tutoring session.

Policy on Long Papers
In order for the ARC writing tutors to have enough time to read and discuss writing assignments, all papers that are six (6) double-spaced pages or longer MUST be given to the ARC receptionist at least 24 hours before the scheduled appointment.

Policy on Documenting Sources
Students who come to the ARC can receive help with APA, MLA, or Chicago documentation, but the writing tutors will not edit an entire reference page, works cited page, or bibliography.  Instead, the tutor will check two or three references with the student to learn whether the writer is doing them correctly.  Then, the student is expected to check the remainder of his/her references.  If the class instructor expects the student to write the paper in a specific editorial style, the student (not the ARC tutor) is responsible for that information.  For example, certain disciplines (e.g., nursing) require both APA documentation and APA editorial style.  Writing tutors will only help with APA documentation and will read the paper for general writing style.

Policy on “Standing” Appointments
All WJU students should have equal access to ARC tutors.  If you wish to meet with a tutor on a weekly basis for a particular subject, please schedule your next appointment after you attend your current appointment.

Policy Regarding Tutor Requests from Non-WJU Students
The ARC can neither provide nor recommend academic peer tutors to anyone not currently enrolled in courses at Wheeling Jesuit University.  Moreover, ARC tutors cannot be responsible for tutoring content for courses taken at other institutions, even if the student is enrolled in other WJU classes.  The ARC tutors are hired with the recommendation of a WJU instructor to tutor for a specific WJU course for students enrolled in that class.  Non-WJU students who require a tutor will need to seek out the available tutoring resources in the community.