Writing and English as an Additional Language
Writing support is available to undergraduate and graduate students at any stage of the writing process through same-day consultations, one-on-one appointments and workshops.
One-on-one Appointments
Learn more - One-on-one AppointmentsIndividual writing appointments
Individual 45-minute appointments with Writing Specialists and Peer Writing Tutors may be booked up to two weeks in advance.
Individual academic writing support is available both in-person and online.
Same-day writing appointments
Individual 30-minute same-day appointments with Writing Specialists or Peer Tutors are booked starting at 6 a.m. on the same day.
Same-day academic writing support is available both in person and online.
View the writing, ESL/EAL, graduate, group, and same-day calendar.
For more information, please contact studentlearning@ontariotechu.ca.
"The Student Learning Centre has been an invaluable resource during my time in university. The guidance I have received has allowed me to develop my writing skills and learn how to express myself more accurately.” - Kiwi S.
"The exceptional guidance and dedicated support I received from the committed staff at the Student Learning Centre not only enhanced my writing and academic capabilities but also bolstered my confidence to new heights. As a result, I exceeded my expectations and achieved academic success beyond what I had imagined possible.” - Rashida A.
Writing Workshops
Learn more - Writing WorkshopsWriting Specialists offer a broad range of academic writing workshops throughout the year. Writing workshops are designed to provide guidance about academic writing expectations in university.
Writing workshops are interactive, focus on specific topics and can be booked online.
The Student Learning Centre offers both in-person and online workshops focusing on specific aspects of writing.
Cover letter and email writing workshop
Learn to write professional emails and cover letters with authority, and craft expert workplace communication in your writing. By attending, we'll provide essentials skills for professional communication in the workplace and tips on what employers looks for in cover letters.
Check back soon for additional workshop dates!
ChatGPT workshop
- Format: Hybrid
- Length: 60 minutes
This workshop will explore the use of generative Artifical Intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT in academic writing. You will learn about practical applications of using AI to help your writing process (without plagiarism), some limitations of generative AI and discuss some key university guidelines and information on usage.
Check back soon for additional workshop dates!
Cite with might: APA references and beyond
- Format: Hybrid
- Length: 50 minutes
This workshop will go over the basics of in-text citations, reference lists and formatting. It will also discuss strategies for responsible digital-tool usage, such as Zotero/Mendeley citation management software. It will primarily focus on APA 7 as a reference point, but will also provide an overview of some other reference and citation systems.
Check back soon for additional workshop dates!
Revise and be wise: Self-editing and proofing strategies
- Format: Hybrid
- Length: 50 minutes
Winter semester dates:
Check back soon for additional workshop dates!
This workshop will focus on tips, strategies and suggestions for you to become better at revising and reviewing your own work, and utilizing current technological tools. The primary focus is to encourage you to proactively revise and edit your work as part of the overall writing process.
You’ll practice with a small section of writing to revise, utilizing the strategies and tips outlined in the session.
Synthesize and summarize: Writing for undergraduare research assingments
- Format: Hybrid
- Length: 50 minutes
This workshop will focus on the basics of writing undergraduate literature reviews, annotated bibliographies and similar research-based assignments. We'll discuss undergraduate synthesis techniques in writing, as well as summarizing skills/tips and writing annotations for an annotated bibliography. The workshop will additionally discuss the Ontario Tech library resources that can assist you further in research.
Professors may arrange in-class writing workshops or class visits upon request by emailing studentlearning@ontariotechu.ca.
Check back soon for additional workshop dates!
Conversation Café
Learn more - Conversation CaféGraduate Writing Boot Camp
Learn More - Graduate Writing Boot CampThe aim of writing support sessions is to help students develop writing skills, as opposed to only proofreading completed papers. Writing and ESL Specialists can help student writers in the following areas:
- Getting ideas
- Grammar and sentence structure
- Organizing ideas
- Paraphrasing and summarizing
- Proof reading techniques
- Punctuation
- Referencing and citations (APA, IEEE, MLA, etc.)
- Revising and editing skills
- Spelling
- The writing process
- Other topics as needed
We do not:
- Compose or re-write assignments
- Edit or proofread your papers
- Provide assessments or challenge grades on your behalf
- Review take-home midterms or final exams
Instead, we hope to teach you the necessary skills you need for brainstorming ideas, following the writing process, discussing genre and otherwise act as consultants for your work. Our goal is to make better writers, not better papers (North, 1984).
Graduate students are seen by writing specialists not tutors.
