{"id":576,"date":"2021-04-22T15:19:40","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T14:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/?p=576"},"modified":"2022-07-18T09:59:53","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T08:59:53","slug":"our-writing-tutorial-experience-the-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2021\/04\/22\/our-writing-tutorial-experience-the-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Our writing tutorial experience: the benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this blog, two student ambassadors, Mackyla and Ciara, share their personal experiences of writing tutorials. <\/em><\/p>\n

A writing tutorial is a 50-minute session with a tutor from the Skills Centre, where you get one-to-one feedback and advice on a specific piece of writing. The piece of writing does not need to be fully complete, and you can book a writing tutorial at any stage in your university journey.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Mackyla\u00a0(Fourth-year<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Social Sciences student<\/span><\/b>)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

Wh<\/span><\/b>y I booked a writing tutorial<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

In the first year of university, I found the thought of writing a\u00a0<\/span>2,000-word<\/span>\u00a0essay very daunting.\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>\u2019ve<\/span>\u00a0always struggled with grammar, punctuation and spelling and need<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0a little help to transition from A-Level writing into degree<\/span>-<\/span>level writing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After completing the first piece of set coursework at university, I didn't quite get the result I wanted. I was quite disappointed and disheartened, so I decided to get some\u00a0<\/span>advice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Timing of the tutorials<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

I first booked a writing tutorial in my first year of university through the\u00a0<\/span>S<\/span>kills\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>entre. The session was broken down into sections focusing on different aspects of essay writing at degree level. This <\/span>significantly helped <\/span>me\u00a0<\/span>with\u00a0<\/span>my essay writing and was a push in the right direction.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, in<\/span>\u00a0my fourth year of university<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0after having a year out for my placement year, I\u00a0<\/span>needed\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0refresh my essay writing skills. This was especially the case as I was\u00a0in the midst of\u00a0writing my literature review for my dissertation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s often<\/span>\u00a0a misconception that booking a one<\/span>-<\/span>on<\/span>-<\/span>one tutorial is useless in\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>final year, however, having someone to read through your work and getting a second opinion is crucial!\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My development areas<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

During the session, the tutor looked over my work and spotted any spelling mistakes, grammar mishaps or use of slang (something I am aware I need to consider). We spoke through ideas of <\/span>how<\/span> to change these words\u00a0<\/span>and why this was important for this type of writing<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing I found particularly useful was that the tutor told me the most common mistakes I made, such as my sentences being too long and not using enough academic language.\u00a0<\/span>Throughout the rest of the\u00a0year\u00a0I<\/span>\u2019ve<\/span> picked up on these mistakes more easily and have achieved the highest marks I ever have out of my whole time at university. I<\/span>\u2019ve<\/span>\u00a0progressed from a 2:2 in first year to a 1st overall in final year.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I strongly recommend that if you\u00a0<\/span>want to develop your\u00a0<\/span>writing or just need a push to get a higher grade, book a writing\u00a0<\/span>tutorial<\/span>. It doesn't matter what subject you do or what year you<\/span>\u2019re<\/span>\u00a0in, the writing tutors will be able to help you achieve your goal.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ciara (Second-year Management\u00a0<\/span><\/b>s<\/span><\/b>tudent)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

Saving my grade<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

My first writing tutorial was in semester one of my first year after\u00a0I<\/span>\u2019d <\/span>just been given tonnes of coursework assignments to do. <\/span><\/p>\n

I had no clue where to start in writing a \u2018university<\/span>-<\/span>standard\u2019 essay. My department delivered a few sessions on essay writing, but I was<\/span>n\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0sure whether I<\/span>\u2019d<\/span>\u00a0followed their advice correctly. Coming from Sixth Form, I was used to get<\/span>ting<\/span>\u00a0feedback on my work before submitting it<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>w<\/span>hereas at university you do<\/span>n\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>always\u00a0<\/span>get the chance to do so.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To<\/span>\u00a0\u2018save\u2019 my grade, I booked a 50-minute writing tutorial. Like most people, when booking a tutorial, I was worried as it asks you to send your work before your appointment to give the tutor time to prepare beforehand.<\/span> The biggest advice I would give is just sending whatever version you have at that <\/span>time and<\/span>\u00a0bring the newest version with you. The reason why is if the tutor points out something you need to work on but already have, you have the copy with you to see if you\u2019ve done it correctly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Red pen alert!<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

When I say the page was filled with red, I<\/span>\u2019m<\/span>\u00a0not exaggerating<\/span>!<\/span>\u00a0I<\/span>\u2019d<\/span>\u00a0made so many mistakes in structure, grammar, punctuation and I realised I could have been far more concise.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The tutor sat with me and talked me through\u00a0<\/span>all<\/span>\u00a0her comments to make sure I understood what she meant. I was also able to work through a few sentences to act on her feedback and\u00a0<\/span>check my understanding<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was such a relief as<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>had I<\/span>\u00a0sent off that version<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0I would have lost so many marks<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>nstead, I was able to quickly fix my mistakes and ended up getting 63% on that assignment.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dealing with dyslexia<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

In my second year, I have<\/span>n\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0used any writing tutorials, as I felt I<\/span>\u2019d<\/span>\u00a0learned quite a bit from my previous\u00a0<\/span>session.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>t was<\/span>n\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0until this year<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0I realised\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m dyslexic<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>now<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0looking back<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0I realise that a lot of the challenges I faced in writing w<\/span>ere<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>due<\/span>\u00a0to dyslexia.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to what I got from the Skills Centre, I now have additional study skills support for my studies through the Disability Service in Student Support<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read\u00a0<\/span>more on the\u00a0<\/span>common myths\u00a0<\/span>about writing tutorials in this blog<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this blog, two student ambassadors, Mackyla and Ciara, share their personal experiences of writing tutorials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1423,"featured_media":580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90,14,103],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-writing","category-essay-writing","category-student-skills-ambassador","tag-writing-tutorial"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/one2one-support-1.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":561,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2021\/04\/22\/5-myths-about-writing-tutorials\/","url_meta":{"origin":576,"position":0},"title":"5 myths about writing tutorials","author":"Amber Snary","date":"April 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In this blog,\u00a0student ambassador\u00a0Amber\u00a0busts\u00a0five myths\u00a0about writing tutorials\u00a0from the Skills Centre.\u00a0 A writing tutorial is a\u00a050-minute\u00a0session, one to one, with a\u00a0Skills Centre\u00a0writing\u00a0tutor who will give you personalised and constructive feedback\u00a0about your writing.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0available\u00a0most of the\u00a0calendar\u00a0year\u00a0(not just near exams!)\u00a0for students at all levels and you can book up to three a year.\u00a0 In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Academic writing"","block_context":{"text":"Academic writing","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/academic-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pink background with graphics of stacked books, it states the title of the blog '5 Myths About Writing Tutorials'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/writing-tutorials.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/writing-tutorials.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/writing-tutorials.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/writing-tutorials.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2021\/04\/writing-tutorials.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1835,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2026\/05\/05\/writing-your-dissertation-tutorials-that-make-sense\/","url_meta":{"origin":576,"position":1},"title":"Writing your dissertation: Tutorials that make sense","author":"Kyra Ings","date":"May 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you writing a dissertation this summer? 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