Video Conferences

About Video Conferences

Video conferencing is very similar to an in-person session in that you'll have up to 50 minutes to work with your tutor one-on-one; the main difference is that the session is conducted online through the online scheduler or Zoom rather than in-person in the writing center. In a video conference, the writer and the tutor communicate online in real-time. Both parties are able to view the writer's work on screen and communicate through audio, video, and/or text chat. Tutors in video conferences can assist with any writing assignment, at any stage of the writing process. Sometimes writers have a draft to review; other times, writers and consultants discuss ideas, approaches, or the assignment prompt. We ask you to turn your video on if possible, but you may also choose to only use audio or the chat feature if that is more comfortable or convenient for you.

During video conferencing appointments, some writers pull up the piece of writing they want to review on their computer and then share their computer screen with their tutor. You can also upload your work to your appointment slot on our online scheduler so it is accessible to both you and your tutor during your session. Video conferencing session structures can be adapted to suit other needs you may have as well. Like an in-person session, you can bring any stage of your writing to a virtual session, and this session mode can especially helpful for brainstorming, understanding assignment expectations, getting specific feedback, and/or interpreting instructor feedback.

Remember, our goal is to help teach you to identify and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your writing, help you find answers, and help you learn how to research, write, revise, and proofread on your own. We want you to become a better writer by learning how to improve the quality of your writing overall, not just to improve the quality of one specific paper.

A few notes:

• Any student, faculty, or staff member is welcome to schedule an appointment. 
• For information on how to schedule your online appointment, visit our Schedule an Appointment page.
• For directions on how to upload a document into the online scheduler, visit the Written Feedback page.