PPCC WRITING CENTER

 

The PPCC Writing Center is ready and eager to assist with your reading and composition studies by offering the services of our ONLINE WRITING TUTOR through Instant Messaging and through email at owl@ppcc.edu . We know that many student writers will find the online tutor to be a helpful and satisfactory alternative to working face-to-face with one of our many trained writing center tutors.

 

Here is the quick guide that will help you to understand how ONLINE TUTORING might work for you, a few simple instructions to help you get started.

Email exchanges between the writer and the Online Writing Lab (OWL) Tutor

 

 

In the email “Subject Line,” indicate your course and section #, and your name, for example--ENG 060-021: Smithorjones. This notation in your email subject line will help your tutor keep your messages separate from the many others who use this email account.

 

Your Full Name                                              Janeorjim Smithorjones

Your Course                                                   ENG 060-021

Instructor’s Name                                           Jonesorsmith

Assignment Title                                            Essay #1, Rough Draft

Paper title                                                     Why Computers Freak People Out

 

Also in the email text window, please write specifically what you want the tutor to do. Include questions you have yourself, special instructions that your instructor gave you, and generally, any information that will help the tutor understand

A) the assignment,

B) your deadline, and

C) the assistance that you think you want.

 

Please send attachments saved in the Rich Text Format! You may also attach any drafts or work you have begun related to an assignment. With so many different word processing programs in use today (MSWord 2007, WordPerfect, or MSWorks for example), and because our OWL tutors are accessing email from many different computers and locations please send attachments saved as *.rtf files (Rich Text Format).  Please do not send drafts or assignments cut and pasted directly into your email text.

What is RTF (*.rtf)? RTF—Rich Text Format is a file format that any of us can read regardless of the word processing application that we are using (with some exceptions). PLEASE save your work in the RTF format before attaching it in an email to owl@ppcc.edu. To do this,

For many pre-2007 applications,

* Click on “File/Save as”;

*Click the down arrow to the right of the “Save as type” field and

* Select Rich Text Format (rtf). 

 

For Office 2007,

* Click on Office icon (red, blue, green & yellow flower) upper left of screen

* click on “Save as”;

*Click the down arrow to the right of the “Save as type” field and

* Select Rich Text Format (rtf).

If we cannot read your paper, we cannot respond to your request.

 

Now, if some of this makes no sense to you, just email the tutor (owl@ppcc.edu ) to ask for help getting started. Your online tutor can assist, via email, with mailing attachments and all other questions that you may have about online tutoring. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT EMAIL TUTORING TAKES TIME, PATIENCE AND CLEAR COMMUNICATION.

 

The Online Writing Tutor will check for mail frequently throughout the week, and we pledge to reply to your emails as quickly as possible. However, you may not receive an immediate reply. Please allow up to 48 hours for turn around so that we have time to pick up your email and so that you have time to work on your paper once your tutor has commented and responded to your requests. Please do not expect that a draft sent on Friday afternoon will be returned to you in time for your 9:00 Saturday class.

 

In order to view the OWL Tutor's comments, you may need to set your word processing preferences to display them. 

For many pre-2007 applications,  

·         Left Click on View

·         Left Click on Print Layout

·         Left Click on Markup (or show markup or show comments)

·         Run your cursor over the note marker, and the note will display onscreen.

For Office 2007,

·         Left Click on Review

·         Left Click on Print Layout

·         Left Click on Show Markup, and check Comments

·         Left Click on View

·         Left Click on Print Layout

 

If this does not work, search your Help menu for comments, reviewing, and/or markup, or ask a PPCC Lab Assistant for help.

 

We are looking forward to working with you, and we are confident that working together online can help you have a more positive composition class experience.