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Frequently asked questions

What鈥檚 the best way for students to use the CAC?

The best way for students to use the CAC is to come with specific questions in mind. So, if you’re recommending a student come to the CAC, you may want to direct them to address specific issues in her writing. Please note, however, that we focus on global issues like self-editing, focusing the argument, clearly expressing data and evidence, and appropriately incorporating the research and ideas of others in a student’s piece of writing. Students can best learn grammatical and punctuation rules through websites like OWL at Purdue.

Does the CAC edit students鈥� writing?

We don’t fix students’ writing because we are not an editing service. An editor fixes a piece of writing, while a tutor coaches the student to fix it himself or herself. Yes, this is the slow way of creating a better piece of writing, but it fosters the skills the student will need throughout her or his education and career. If you would like your students to have their work edited either professionally or by a friend or family member, you may want to check with your departmental guidelines.

Who goes to the CAC?

Undergraduate and graduate students use the CAC on a regular basis. We provide about 4500 appointments to 1300 students each year. We work with students who have English as a first and as an additional language. Here’s a breakdown of our 2015-2016 appointments:
    

Level of study Percentage of appointments
First year 34%
Second year 19%
Third year 16%
Fourth year 8%
Graduate studies 21%

Does the CAC become fully booked?

Only on rare occasions do we turn students away. We have the Express Lane, which is for drop-in appointments only. Usually, students can book an appointment for the same day by dropping by the CAC and checking the appointments board. As well, we have an online tutoring service for all of the academic communication skills with a turnaround of two business days.

Why would my student say that the tutor wasn鈥檛 helpful?

While all the tutors at the CAC are highly trained and very experienced, occasionally a student may feel that he didn’t get what he wanted from a tutorial. Generally speaking, there are three reasons for this:

  • The student wanted more help than the CAC is mandated to provide.
  • The student has seen different tutors for the same piece of work, and the advice has differed; this makes sense because writing is so subjective. Students are able to see who is working when and book appointments with the same tutor to ensure consistency in advice.
  • The student is unclear about her own goals for the appointment. The tutor tries to work with the student to identify one or two areas that she would like to improve and focus the tutorial on those points. However, occasionally students come to the CAC as if attendance were enough. This is particularly true for appointments held shortly before the paper’s due date.

How can I teach my students how to avoid plagiarism and other breaches of academic integrity?

The rules regarding plagiarism vary in different academic contexts around the world. You can help your students learn about what is acceptable in Canadian institutions by clearly explaining what is, and what isn’t, plagiarism by using examples. Here are some beliefs about academic integrity that may lead to interesting class discussion."

  • "By making small changes to a sentence, you are paraphrasing and don’t need quotation marks"
  • "It’s okay to cut and paste an entire paragraph into your essay and change bits of it (this is called )"
  • "My friend edits all of my writing, including shaping the content"
  • "It’s not plagiarizing to quote a famous person on text that everyone knows. Why would you use quotation marks if everyone knows who said it?"