Writing & Reading Support (for Undergraduates)
Program Staff
Writing & Reading Tutoring Schedule
Summer 2023
In-Person Sessions
(June 26 - September 15)
Appointments | ||
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Monday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM | |
Tuesday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM | |
Wednesday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM | |
Thursday | 10:00 PM - 4:00 PM | |
Friday | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM |
Online (Zoom) Sessions
(June 26 - September 15)
Appointments | ||
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Monday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM | |
Tuesday |
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
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Wednesday | 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM | |
Thursday | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | |
Friday | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM |
WSP Appointment Activities
Spring 2023 Writing/Reading support Activities
Click on this link to see a list of Writing Support activities.
*This list includes the activity title as they appear in Accudemia, the ARC's scheduling system.
The ARC will be closed Thursday 9/7. We are adding extra online Writing & Reading Support hours on Friday 9/8 from 1:00 to 4:00.
See our Summer 2023 Workshops and Discussions below!
The Writing & Reading Support (WRS) serves UCR undergraduate students through 1 to 1 consultations and workshops. Our writing & reading tutors are undergraduate students from multiple majors across the UCR campus. We can provide you writing and reading assistance in any academic discipline during any stage of your writing process, pre-writing, to finalizing drafts. Writing tutors are a complement to in-class instruction and instructor office hours. How To Prepare for Your Appointment
To schedule an appointment for writing and/or reading support, please click on the blue Accudemia Login button at the left side of the screen to access our digital appointment system or call the ARC at (951) 827-3721. Only currently enrolled UCR undergraduate students may meet with ARC tutors.
**Please note that students may only make two appointments per week for writing/reading assistance, not including workshops.**
Registering for Workshops
Summer '23 workshops will be "in-person" = here at the ARC or marked "Online" = held via Zoom. To sign up for a workshop, please complete the following steps:
(These steps work similarly for 1 to 1 tutoring sessions.)
- Click on the blue Accudemia logo the left side of your screen.
- Log on to Accudemia. (First time logging in? Use your SID as both the User ID and the password.)
- Click on "Schedule Appointment" at the bottom of the page, or use the "Quick" dropdown menu at the top of the page and select "New Appointment."
- For Service, choose "Writing Support - Remote" or "Writing Support - In-Person."
- For Activity, search for "WSP Workshop" and choose the activity/workshop subject (ex. Grammar, Writing, Reading, or Formatting) and the date you want to attend. (See WSP workshop schedule below.)
- NOTE: If you have trouble, you can also search by date or tutor name.
- You will have to use the "Prev" and "Next" buttons or the calendar icon to select the date.
- Click on the the green box with the available time you want.
- Click "Confirm" in the green box when you are ready to finalize the appointment.
For online/remote workshops (and 1 to 1 sessions), you will automatically receive a link to the workshop in your UCR email.
Click the titles below to see the list of workshop topics and dates.
Writing and Reading Workshops
Workshops are open to all UCR undergraduates. Summer 2023 workshops will be hosted via "in-person" or online/Zoom. Please check each date for one of the two formats. Register through Accudemia to receive the Zoom meeting link.
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Writing Workshops
Writing
TL;DR: Essay Structure
This 30 minute workshop/presentation will address the typical parts of an essay, what the parts do, and how to anticipate your audience's reading expectations. NOTE: We will be offering separate workshops focused on introductions, thesis statements, and conclusions. Feel free to bring essay prompts if you have additional questions.
Date Offered:
Wednesday, August 2, from 3:00 to 3:30 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
Wednesday, August 9, from 11:00 to 11:30 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
from 3:00 to 3:30 (Online/Zoom)
Wednesday, August 30, from 3:00 to 3:30 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
Using Sources
During this 30-40 minute workshop/discussion, we will address what plagiarism is, why it is a serious matter, and how you can avoid it. The session will begin with some informal discussion with attendees about their experience and understanding of plagiarism. We will then discuss the significance of reading, understanding, and citing sources. We will also briefly address incorporating the source (quote, paraphrase, and or summary) and what interpreting a source can look like. NOTE: It is appropriate for attendees to bring in specific examples and/or general questions about citing sources.
Dates Offered:
Thursday, August 24, from 11:00 to 11:40 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
from 2:00 to 2:40 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
Wednesday, September 6, from 2:00 to 2:40 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
Outlining Your Essay
This 30 - 40 minute workshop will address outlining strategies for approaching drafts of essays and papers. Attendees will practice developing main ideas, identifying evidence, analyzing the significance of the evidence, and connecting the analysis back to the thesis. Attendees are encouraged to come with questions or a writing assignment that they would like to develop an outline for. (NOTE: Ask the tutors about reverse outlining.)
Dates Offered:
Thursday, August 3, from 11:00 to 11:40 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
from 2:00 to 2:40 (Onine/Zoom)
TL;DR: Introductions & Thesis Statements
This 30 to 40 minute workshop will focus on the purpose, or function, of introductions. We will look at such elements of an introduction as: hooking the audience, establishing the range and relevance of the topic, establishing the purpose of the text, and writing a thesis statement. NOTE: Attendees should feel free to bring specific questions and/or drafts to the workshop.
Date Offered:
Thursday, August 10, from 11:00 to 11:40 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
from 2:00 to 2:40 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
TL;DR Body Paragraphs
This 30 to 40 minute workshop will focus on the purpose, or function, body paragraphs. We will look at “topic sentences,” supporting evidence, and explaining the connection between the evidence, topic sentence, and thesis statement. Attendees should feel free to bring specific questions to the workshop.
Date Offered:
Tuesday, August 15, from 11:00 to 11:40 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
Tuesday, August 22, from 3:00 to 3:40 (In-Person at the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
TL;DR: Writing Conclusions
This 30-40 minute workshop will focus on how to write well-rounded conclusion paragraphs. We will take a look at the four steps "typically" required of a conclusion paragraph – summary, synthesis, “So what?” and zoom out – and describe how to tackle each step, as well as what each step entails. Those in attendance should feel free to bring any questions or drafts they may have.
Dates Offered:
Thursday, August 17, from 2:00 - 2:40 (In-Person at the ARC Skye Hall Room 156)
Reading & Writing for In-Class Essays
This 30 minute workshop will focus on reading and annotating writing in-class writing prompts. We will address language that (1) contextualizes/situates the assignment, (2) directive verbs, and (3) how to clarify expectations for the assignment based on the prompt and writing situation. We will also be looking at outlining essay drafts (thesis statements, topic/controlling idea sentences, and evidence) to organize ideas you want to communicate. You should feel free to come with questions as there will be time at the end of the workshop to discuss specific concerns.
Dates Offered:
Tuesday, September 5, from 11:00 to 11:30 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
AND from 2:00 to 2:30 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
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Grammar Workshops
Grammar Topics
Sentence Structure
This 30 to 40 minute workshop will present four common sentence types: 1) the simple sentence, 2) the compound sentence, 3) the complex sentence, and 4) the compound-complex sentence. Additionally, we address sentence chunks, such as independent clauses and dependent clauses. The goal is to increase awareness of sentence control and clarity. NOTE: Please feel free to bring drafts with you if you have specific questions.
Dates Offered:
Wednesday, August 16, from 11:00 to 11:40 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall 156)
AND from 3:00 to 3:40 (Online, Zoom)
Tuesday, August 29, from 3:00 to 3:40 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall 156)
Using Commas
This 30 minute workshop will review basic grammar like: parts of speech (ex. nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs), BUT we will primarily be focused on comma usage and identifying comma errors.
Date Offered:
See Tutor for 1 to 1 sessions (In-Person/online)
Basic Grammar
This 40 minute workshop will review basic grammar including: verb tenses, prepositions (ex. in, on, at) and punctuation (ex. commas, periods, and semicolons). The goal of this workshop is to review some basic grammar terms and concepts that are essential to communicating ideas clearly.
Date Offered:
Fall 2023 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall 156)
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Reading Workshops
Reading
Student Conversation Circle
This 30 to 45 minute session is an informal conversation about a short article or a current issue. The focus will be on a topic related to student life, for most meetings. The goal of this session is to develop comfort talking about a readings and issues. Feel free to ask questions, share opinions, or simply listen to the surrounding conversation. We will address conversation strategies as needed. (Walk-ins welcomed!)
Dates Offered:
Fall 2023 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
Reading for Meaning
This 30-40 minute workshop will focus on reading and responding to texts (ex. essays, articles, books, etc.). While reading a text, we might highlight ideas and words that stand out to us. When these highlighting marks and underlines begin to lose focus--yet look colorful--we need to be able to annotate the text with questions, phrases and words that help us make connections to the text, topic, author, and/or class situation we are reading it for. This workshop will include strategies for annotating (assigned) readings and making relevant connections.
Dates Offered:
Tuesday, August 8, from 11:00 to 11:40 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
AND from 3:00 to 3:40 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
Wednesday, August 23, from 11:00 to 11:40(In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
AND from 3:00 to 3:40(In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156)
Understanding STEM Articles
This 40 minute workshop will address the common organization of "original research articles" and "review articles." We will be looking at pre selected STEM and behavioral science articles. Feel free to bring your own article as we will be looking at the purpose of specific sections. We will also be looking at the difference between an "original research article" and a "review article."
Dates Offered:
Fall 2023 (In-Person @ the ARC, Skye Hall, Room 156
Sample Articles below:
Two sample research articles (Samples will be analyzed during the workshop.)
Two sample literature review articles (Samples will be analyzed during the workshop.)
Sample science article for general audience
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Formatting Workshops
Formatting
MLA Citation Style
In this 30 minute workshop, we will address MLA "in-text" citations and the "Works Cited" page. Some attention will be given to paper format. However, the goal will be to highlight the format MLA prescribes and the function of the format.
Dates Offered:
Monday, August 7, from 3:00 to 3:30 (Online via Zoom)
Monday, August 21, from 3:00 to 3:30 (Online via Zoom)
APA Citation Style
In this 30 minute workshop, we will address APA "in-text" citations and the "References" page. Some attention will be given to paper format. However, the goal will be to highlight the format APA prescribes and the function of the format.
Dates Offered:
Monday, August 14, from 3:00 to 3:30 (Online via Zoom)
Writing Resources
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Citations and Formatting
Formatting Styles
- APA Citation Guide (6th Edition)
- APA Formatting Guidelines (6th Edition)
- 7th Edition Coming Soon
- Chicago Manual of Style Guide (17th Edition)
- MLA Citation and Formatting Guidelines (9th Edition)
In-text Citations
- How to Cite Quotes and Paraphrases in MLA and APA
- Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing
- Formatting Long/Block Quotes
- Grammar & Syntax
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Writing Strategies
Understanding the Writing Assignment
Introductory Paragraphs
Concluding Paragraphs
- Writing Conclusions
- Conclusions Video (8 min.)
Body Paragraphs
- Introduction to Body Paragraphs Overview Video (4 min.)
- Writing Topic Sentences Video (8 min.)
- Outlining Body Paragraphs Video (>5 min.)
Using Evidence
- Using Quotes and Paraphrases Video (>5 min.)
- Also, see "Citations and Formatting" tab above.
- Writing Conclusions
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Types of Research Writing
Academic Papers
- Writing a Literature Review: http://guides.lib.ucr.edu/c.php?g=171030&p=1126747
- Abstracts: Using and writing abstracts (14 min.)
- "Who's Afraid of Peer Review?" by John Bohannon from Science.org
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Reading Support
or let us say; "reading," is more than recognizing and saying the words on a page or screen. What we do when we read is complex; we apply knowledge of sounds, letters, grammar, content, written communication, and much more. College readers also consider who texts are written for, when the texts were written, and the purpose of specific texts. The goal for reading support is to highlight college reading practices essential to reading for understanding. We aim to assist students as they develop their college reading skills and apply their comprehension and insights to their "writing and communication."
Reading for Understanding
- This handout will provide a quick review of "parts of speech" with definitions and examples. https://arc.ucr.edu/document/parts-speech-quick-review
- Click on this link for "Methods for Close Reading" handout.
- This essay provides strategies for reading and understanding writing assignments.
- Metacognitive Reading Phrases: Reading to connect with texts
Artices About Reading
- Reading like a writer
- Reading and understanding writing assignments
- The passive voice in scientific writing: This 2014 article addresses the usage/practice of writing in the passive voice for scientific communications.
Program Information
These information cards will help you use the Writing and Reading Support services.