Writing Partners are Yale College or graduate school students selected for both their writing skills and their ability to talk about writing. They have a student’s-eye view of the challenges you’ll face in writing papers.
Hours and Locations
During drop-in hours, Writing Partners are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the second floor of the Poorvu Center. Throughout the day, students are encouraged to use the Mezzanine space as a place to write, study, and relax. During drop-in hours, complimentary snacks are available to help fuel your work!
To reach the Poorvu Mezzanine: enter via the 301 York St. entrance and then take the stairs or elevator to the second floor. To access the elevator: after passing the security desk, enter the Poorvu Center to your right. Then, continue to your right and the elevator is to the left of the sitting area.
| Sunday-Thursday | 3:00-6:00 pm and 7:00-10:00 pm |
| Friday | 10:00 am-noon and 3:00-5:00 pm |
| Saturday | 3:00-5:00 pm |
Meet the Writing Partners Online
Writing Partners offer online support by appointment and via drop-in. To make an appointment or find the Zoom link, register and then login at yaleuniversity.mywconline.com.
| Sunday | 7:00-10:00 pm |
| Tuesday and Thursday | 10:00 am-noon and 7:00-10:00 pm |
| Saturday | 3:00-5:00 pm |
If you have questions or need to request accomodations, please email paula.rawlins@yale.edu.
Eligibility
Writing Partners work with Yale College Undergraduates. See Graduate Writing Consultations if you are a graduate student needing assistance.
Preparing for Your Session
- If possible, we highly recommend working with hard copies of your work during a session. Working with your writing in a different medium than the one you composed in helps you to see your work differently. Even if you think you’d prefer to work via screen, unless you have accessibility needs, please give it a try and print two copies your paper; a printer is available in the Writing Center for students with a BluePrint account.
- If you find you are unable to work via hard copies or prefer to work via the screen, please be prepared to share your work with the Writing Partner via a Google Doc or email. Some Writing Partners will not have laptops or iPads, so they may need to look at your screen alongside you.
- Bring the assignment or prompt that the professor gave you
- Even if you haven’t started writing, we can help brainstorm and outline
What to Expect
Since drop-in Writing Partners do not read papers before the session, you’ll spend time at the beginning explaining the assignment. Then, the Writing Partner will read your draft for 10-15 minutes and ask you to do some work using the second copy of your essay.
Sometimes 10-15 minutes is not enough to read the entire paper, but it is almost always enough to give you substantial help. The Writing Partner will ask questions to help you clarify your meaning, as well as give you advice about effective strategies for structure, analysis, and developing a thesis.
We won’t tell you exactly what to do to improve your essay, but we will help you figure out strategies for revision and prompt you to take notes on the suggestions that arise. Writing Partners can also help you with grammar and style, although not by proofreading your whole essay; instead, the two of you might edit a paragraph together, looking for suggestions that you can then incorporate into the rest of your paper.
Please note that Writing Partners cannot help with take-home exams.
Directions
The Writing Center is on the second level of the Center for Teaching and Learning in Sterling Library. Take the stairwell near the York St. entrance to the mezzanine. The tutoring offices are at the top of the stairs. For elevator access, enter the Poorvu Center and head to the right. You’ll find the elevator on your left.
