How we can help
Just a few of the things we can help with:
- Understanding your assignments
- Effective reading strategies
- Brainstorming ideas
- Finding or narrowing a topic
- Organizing and outlining your ideas
- Understanding the expectations of your audience
- Communicating effectively in many different forms: essays, letters, artist statements, proposals and more
- Working with sources to support your arguments and ideas
- Improving your English language skills in both spoken and written English
- Improving your vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation
What To Expect
At a Writing Centre appoinment, you can expect to:
- meet a highly trained peer tutor who is welcoming, sympathetic, and respectful;
- participate actively in the session: we will ask you many questions as we read through your writing together;
- learn how the choices you make in writing affect your reader, and learn about different choices you might make to change or improve that reader’s experience;
- leave knowing the most important steps you need to take to improve your writing, on this assignment and for future ones;
- over time, build a better understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies to help you improve both!
In Person Appointments
Meet with a tutor in the Writing Centre on campus (we are located on the 2nd floor within the ECU Library) for help with written and studio assignments. You can bring your studio assignment to the office or images of it.
Book an appointment using our booking site: use your ECU services login information
The first time you visit, you will be asked to register for the system by filling in a form. You will only need to do this once.
You can book appointments that are 30 or 60 minutes long, and book up to 90 minutes of appointments per week. Appointments are available 10 days in advance.
If you can’t find an appointment, use the waiting list: 75% of people who use the waiting list get appointments when they need them! Visit the FAQ section for more information.
Online Chat + Written Feedback Appointments
We offer two types of online appointments:
1. Online Chat appointments are not that different from our traditional face-to-face appointments, except that, well, you don’t have to physically be in the same room. You still book an appointment for a set time and show up for that appointment, but you show up in our online consultation space and use webcam and/or audio to communicate. These appointments are great for brainstorming, asking questions about your written or studio assignments, or feedback at any stage of the process through conversation and collaboration.
2. Written Feedback appointments (only recommended for 2nd year and up and for written work) are great for those who are unable to find time to meet with a tutor due to timezone differences. You simply upload your writing and receive your feedback by end of the appointment! These appointments are great when you have a lot of writing already done and have a clear understanding of the assignment. They are not good for brainstorming appointments. Please note, the feedback will be in the form of comments and questions – tutors will not do detailed editing for grammar.
Click here for information on how to book and use Written Feedback appointments.
Here is how to use Writing Centre’s Online Chat appointments in 5 easy steps:
1) Log into our booking site with your ECU login credentials.
2. Find a writing consultant who offers Online Chat appointments. Click on a white square, which indicates an available appointment slot (you can book 30-60 minutes a day, up to 90 minutes a week)
3) Select the appropriate appointment type (Online Chat, in this case):
4) Fill out the rest of the pop-up window form. When it’s time for your appointment, log back into the system, click on your appointment and then click the “START ONLINE CHAT APPOINTMENT” link.
5) Once you click that link, a new window will open showing three panels: a video consultation panel on the left (if camera and mic are turned on), a whiteboard space in the middle where you can upload or paste your text, and a text chat panel on the right:
Most people seem to prefer the text chat option, in which case just turn off your video and start typing in the lower right hand corner.
And that’s all there is to it! Just another easy way to work with the Writing Centre.
Need to cancel or make changes to your appointment?
You have up until 60 minutes prior to the start of the appointment to make any changes. You can simply log back in and click on your appointment to cancel or edit it. If it is past the 60 minute limit, you must e-mail us at writingcentre@ecuad.ca. If you are concerned that you do not have enough writing for your appointment, please consider meeting your tutor anyway for a brainstorming session!
Drop-in Appointments
Just have a quick question?
Terrified of committing to a set appointment time?
DROP-IN anytime and see if a tutor is available!
At the moment, we do not have a set general drop-in time block but there is often an available tutor to chat. Please feel free to drop by the office to check what the availability is like!
When we offer dedicated drop-in slots, the timing will show on our schedule site (they are unbookable, but you can see when these blocks run.)
ABORIGINAL GATHERING PLACE DROP-INS
Mondays, 11:30 – 12:30 (FALL 2025)
For AGP students, please visit Ayanna on campus in the AGP during lunch hours with any writing or reading questions, or for studio assignment feedback!
Join our team
The next hiring call for peer tutors will be in Spring 2026.
The Writing Centre at ECUAD hires undergraduate and graduate students as peer tutors for the academic year. These positions are part-time from September – April for approximately 8 hours per week, usually scheduled in multiple shifts. Additional hours are sometimes available.
We look for tutors who represent a range of student identities and encourage applications from members of equity-seeking communities including, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions. Both domestic and international students are welcome to apply.
Come work with our fun and friendly team!
Experience using the Writing Centre is a strong asset.