Writing & language tutoring
FREE, FLEXIBLE, & FIVE DAYS A WEEK
ONLINE TUTORING
FOR WRITING AND LANGUAGE
The Student Learning Hub at UBC’s Okanagan campus provides free writing and language support for undergraduate students. Join us and develop your confidence, independence, and proficiency in academic communication.
Writing consultations
With online and flexible support from the Student Learning Hub’s peer writing tutors, you can sharpen your drafting, writing, and revising skills while learning strategies for navigating the confusing world of academic writing. Undergraduate students from every discipline, working on any type of written course assignment (or presentation), are welcome.
Access support for all stages of the writing process:
-
- developing a draft
- clarifying an argument
- organizing written materials
- understanding editing techniques and effective sentence structures
- building beneficial writing habits
Our tutors focus on you, the writer, not your paper, and thus don’t “edit” or “proofread.” Instead, they listen and read carefully, answer questions about how to approach different types of writing assignments, and provide feedback regarding how a reader experiences the writing. Better yet, they share strategies for doing it yourself, allowing you to explore your innate writing talents and discover a path to academic success that is uniquely yours! Don’t wait—successful learners access support early and often.
Citations
The Student Learning Hub tutors will not assist with citation questions or reference list formatting as our campus library already provides excellent citation and research support. If you need assistance with citations, contact the library through this form or find your subject librarian.
Have a quick citation question? Get support from AskAway a live chat service that connects you with librarians from across British Columbia.
If you are an undergraduate student working on a graduate school application, Honors thesis, or paper for publication, please contact learning.hub@ubc.ca.
Writeaway
Upload your undergraduate-level course-related writing assignments at any time of day during Winter and Summer Terms. No appointment is needed. Please allow a minimum of 48 hours (may be longer during peak times) for a tutor to provide feedback on your writing.
WRITING SUPPORT FOR Graduate StudentS
If you are a graduate student, post-doc or faculty member, please make an appointment with the Centre for Scholarly Communication.
See our faculty resources to learn more about how best to refer students for writing support.
French and Spanish tutoring
We offer support for all undergraduate students enrolled in French and Spanish classes at UBC Okanagan. The tutors will assist students in understanding how to:
- use reference tools effectively to access the grammatical concepts needed to resolve specific language issues
- understand language conventions for sentences, punctuation and spelling
- practice pronunciation
English language development
In recognition of the academic excellence and rich diversity that students with language backgrounds other than English bring to our campus, we have developed free English language acquisition supports for students.
We offer peer support to develop English speaking skills so students feel more confident presenting their work, participating in class and conversing with classmates and instructors. Our specially trained consultants provide you with a comfortable, informal environment for you to practice, ask questions, and get individualized support for your unique needs.
In addition to tutoring services at the Student Learning Hub, UBC also offers the Tandem Language Exchange program. The program provides you with an opportunity to teach a language you know and learn a language you want to develop. Meet people from different cultures, improve your language learning outside the classroom, gaining valuable assets for international travel, future employment, or open the door to another culture.
For the 2020/2021 Winter session, the Tandem Language Learning Program will be run virtually in collaboration with the UBC Vancouver campus. UBC Okanagan students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible! Registration is required. The deadline to register for the Tandem program is September 24, 2020 at 11:59 PM PST.
A community partnership between UBC Okanagan Library and Project Literacy Central Okanagan Society has enabled Project Literacy to bring their One to One Tutoring Program for English language acquisition to the UBC Okanagan campus.
Each Winter Term (September and January intakes), the Project Literacy Education Coordinator will organize up to 20 tutor/learner matches. The Coordinator will arrange to meet with each learner to help them determine their goals and objectives, as well as assess their baseline literacy skills.
Appointments are arranged between the tutor and the learner, so there is no need to book an appointment through the online booking system.
Connect with a tutor
We are committed to providing free, flexible, and accessible online writing and language support for UBC Okanagan students. During appointments, you can expect to be an active participant in the learning process. To make the most of your appointment time, upload assignment instructions or prior feedback to WConline. In your first appointment, your consultant will establish goals with you and create a schedule for ongoing support. Please take a moment to review our policies before you book an appointment.
To book a Virtual Meeting (synchronous) or eFeedback (asynchronous) appointment for support with writing, French, Spanish, or English language development:
- Login to WCOnline and select the “HUB: Writing and Language Tutoring” schedule
- Use the “Limit to” function to filter tutors by appointment type, focus, or subject
- Select a tutor and click on the appointment slot
- Fill out and submit appointment form based on instructions for that appointment type
Online appointments for 2020/21 are available Monday to Friday (times vary) during the following dates:
Winter Term 1: September 21 to December 4
Winter Term 2: January 18 to April 8
First time booking an appointment or attending a session?
To access our writing and language tutoring schedules you must register for a WCOnline account. Once registered, you can login to book an appointment.
Need Help? Contact learning.hub@ubc.ca. Student guide for online appointments coming soon!
How to prepare for your session
Our tutors are trained to help you at whatever level you are at and can help you pinpoint your areas of difficulty. However, it is important that you share some written work with your tutor so they can accurately assess and address your unique needs and goals.
Whether you are just getting started or in final revisions, prepare to share or provide your tutor with:
- The assignment description and/or rubrics (as provided by your instructor)
- Anything you’ve completed so far for the assignment (ex. a rough plan, a full draft, a brainstorm or mindmap, or even a sentence!)
- All questions and concerns you would like to address
Want to be a tutor?
We can’t do what we do without great student staff. If you want to work in the Hub you should be in the second, third, or fourth year of an undergraduate degree program. Interested applicants must demonstrate:
- A high level of academic achievement, combined with excellent writing and communication skills
- The ability to clearly and concisely explain concepts to their peers
- Excellent communication skills and a friendly and positive attitude
- A desire to provide guidance and help others learn
Tutoring is a supplement to teaching and provides expertise, experience, and encouragement, rather than simply providing answers. Although we generally recruit staff in February and early spring via the UBC Okanagan Job Board, you are welcome to connect with us about your interest at any time. Check the UBCO Job Board regularly to view any current postings.
Questions? Contact us at learning.hub@ubc.ca
Looking for private tutoring?
At this time, the Student Learning Hub does not offer any private tutoring services.
We encourage you to make use of the free support provided to you through the Student Learning Hub. For those wishing to engage in course material outside of the classroom we encourage you to check out our online resources.
For those looking for private tutors for hire, you can visit the UBCSUO tutor registry.
Please note that UBC, the UBCSUO, and the Student Learning Hub do not provide any screening or formal interview process for these tutors. It is strongly recommended to ask for sample work, and/or check references prior to working with the tutor.
We want to hear from you!
Did you have a great experience? Support not available when you need it?
Whatever the case, let us know! We welcome all feedback about our tutoring services. To share, please email learning.hub@ubc.ca or submit your feedback anonymously.
