Learning Center Experience

This week I went to the Penn State Learning Center to have my Critical Reading paper edited and revised.  I walked to the Boucke Building, it was my first time there, and I headed up to the second floor to meet my writing tutor.  When I walked in, I was greeted by a receptionist who introduced me to my tutor.  My tutor and I sat down at a table and introduced ourselves.

My writing tutor told me that normally students will read their papers out loud first.  She explained that by doing so, students often catch more mistakes such as grammatical errors and awkward wording.  I agreed to do so and started reading my paper.  It felt a bit strange reading my paper out loud at first, but after only a few sentences I began correcting errors.  At that point I completely understood why my tutor had me read my paper to begin, and by the end of reading it, I had already corrected many errors.

Once I had finished reading my paper, my tutor began giving me writing tips and making some suggestions.  She helped me organize my thought and ideas, and I was able to brainstorm with her too.  My tutor named lots of components of my essay that she liked, and only made a few small suggestions to improve the paper.

I concluded our appointment by asking my tutor some questions about APA style formatting.  I had never used APA formatting, and I am more familiar with MLA formatting.  My tutor happily answered my questions and showed me an APA formatting book.

Overall, my first experience at the Learning Center was a success!  I left feeling relieved and more confident in my essay.  The writing tutors in the Learning Center are extremely helpful and I am appreciative of their time.  I know that I will be making many trips to the Boucke Building over the next four years!