The Graduate Writing & Tutoring Center

Our Mission

The Graduate Writing & Tutoring Center seeks to empower graduate students at MIIS by providing with useful, immediate takeaways from our tutoring sessions while supporting students with tools and suggestions to independently improve their own academic and professional skills. We assist students of all disciplines and of all language backgrounds in strengthening their communication skills. 

Hours

• We are open during fall and spring semesters (with some availability during J-term)
• Evening and weekend appointments are available.

Tutoring Sessions

• We have both on-site (in Monterey) and online (by Zoom) tutoring sessions available.  When you make your appointment, let your tutor know which you prefer and tell them what you’d like to focus on during your appointment.
• During a tutoring session, you will have 50 minutes with your tutor to discuss your topic/assignment. Our tutors will ask you questions about your session goals and concerns and guide you through the process.
• You can ask for help from our tutors on a variety of scholarly and professional genres. These might range from your academic course work (e.g., research papers, analytical essays, policy memos, presentations) to more professional products such as conference abstracts and presentations, op-eds, grant proposals, journal articles, blog posts, etc.
• The tutors can help you with any stage of the process: brainstorming ideas, composing outlines, structuring your presentation or paper, and adhering to stylistic conventions of your field (e.g., MLA, APA, or Chicago).
• Your session focuses on you and your needs. The tutors are committed to helping you express yourself more clearly, and this means that they are not going to “fix” your work, but will help give you the tools to do so.

Appointments 

• The GWC runs on appointments and does not have drop-in hours available. Book an appointment below using your MIIS/Middlebury e-mail address for your one-on-one session.
• We have both on-site (in Monterey) and online (by Zoom) appointments available.  When you book your appointment, let us know which you prefer.
• Please let your tutor know what you would like to talk to them about when you make your appointment, so they can prepare in advance.
• If you would like your tutor to review a draft/assignment with you, please e-mail your product to your tutor at least 24 hours before your appointment so that they have time to read your paper. Don’t worry if a draft is not “perfect” or “finished.” Send it along anyway!
• Once an appointment is made through the system, you will receive a confirmation email about your appointment. Our tutors will also get in touch with you to request your paper and make the necessary arrangements if your appointment will be held on Zoom. 
• Please make only ONE appointment at a time, in order to leave appointment availability for other students.  After you meet with your tutor, you can make a follow-up appointment if needed.
• If you think you won’t be able to make it to your appointment, please make sure you cancel it within no less than 24-hours’ notice to avoid a late cancellation/no-show penalty. You can cancel your appointment by following the instructions on the appointment confirmation e-mail.

Workshops

The GWC will offer workshops throughout the semester.  We try to offer them during the Community Hour timeslot on Tuesdays (12-2 PST).  Please check MiCommunity for announcements of details and times!

Fall 2023 Workshops

Tuesday, Sept 26   Time Management (hosted by Student Services)

Tuesday, Oct 3       Using ChatGPT  [Video of workshop] [Slides]

Thursday, Oct 5     Graduate Study Skills (hosted by Student Services)

Tuesday, Oct 10     Data Visualization [Slides] 

Previous Workshops

Watch the Academic Integrity Workshop here. (Passcode: w+7Y6RRr)

Watch the Zotero Workshop here. 

Watch the Academic Presentations Workshop here.

Writing Resources

Here are some links to good writing resources that may be helpful:

Purdue Online Writing Lab: Resources for subject-specific writing, preparing job materials, and style guides (APA, MLA, Chicago)

The Writing Center at UNC, Chapel Hill: Resources for different genres of writing, as well as for various aspects of the writing process (e.g., procrastination, reorganizing, flow)

Contact Us

If you have any questions, please contact us at writingcenter@middlebury.edu.

Meet Our English Language Tutors

Syed Ali Zia Jaffery

Ali is a student at the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program. He is also Deputy Director of the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, University of Lahore, and Associate Editor of Pakistan Politico Ali was a Visiting Fellow at the Stimson Center, Washington, D.C. Ali regularly writes on strategic issues for national and international publications, to include Routledge, South Asian Voices , The National Interest, The Atlantic Council, CSIS, Daily Times, and The News, among others. Ali is an alumnus of Woodrow Wilson Center’s Nuclear Proliferation History Project Nuclear History Boot Camp. His research interests lie in the fields of nuclear deterrence, strategic stability, and geopolitics. He taught undergraduate level courses on foreign policy, national security, arms control& disarmament, and non-proliferation for 5 years.

Meet our Language Tutors

Spanish

Maria Alejandra Rios Avetisova Sadarriaga

Maria Alejandra Avetisova is in the second year of the Translation and Interpretation Spanish program at MIIS. She graduated with a major in Political Science from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Medellín. She also has two years toward a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages with Concentrations in French and Spanish at Universidad de Antioquia. She has experience in Political Science publications and currently is a member of Research Group EALE in collaboration with the Universidad de Antioquia and Université de Grenoble Alpes working on the project “Building a culture of piece in Colombia: discursive perspectives and actions educational.” Assistant at MIIS. She loves learning and currently has a A2 German proficiency.

Chinese

TBA

Japanese

Aloha Komatsu

Aloha is a student in the Translation and Interpretation program. Currently, she works as a TA for the Japanese Program. Aloha was born in Japan and grew up there until she was in third grade. She then moved to Los Angeles, California, and lived there until her senior year of high school. She went back to Japan to attend International Christian University in Tokyo where she majored in Media Communication Culture with a focus on translation and interpretation. While attending university, she worked as a student interpreter at on-campus symposiums and conferences. After graduation, she took a gap term to work as a freelance translator and interpreter. Spending nearly the same amount of time in the U.S. and Japan, Aloha not only acquired language skills but also gained a deep understanding of both cultures. She plans to utilize this knowledge to become a translator and interpreter who can connect the two worlds.