Writing Mentors

Overview

Whether English is your first, second, or even third language, effective writing can be a challenge. As an SFU Beedie undergraduate student, you have the opportunity to receive free, one-on-one mentorship from a trained writing expert. We can help you overcome short- and long-term issues and provide you with practical resources to develop strong critical writing skills.

The SFU Beedie Writing Mentors are specifically trained to help you improve your writing in a manner that respects the academic honesty policies established by both the university and the Beedie School of Business.

We are available for personalized 60-minute sessions which you can book online once per week. Alternately you can see us for 30-minute drop-in sessions. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis, but you can see us multiple times in a week.

Before coming in for a visit, please ensure you read the Mentoring Policy below.

Mentoring Policy

Mentoring Agreement

• Mentees agree to prepare for each mentoring session. Being prepared means:
  • doing as much work on an assignment as possible before seeing the mentor
  • bringing specific questions or requests based on the assignment or on the mentee’s writing skills
• Mentors provide advice and guidance but do not supply answers, ideas, or wording for academic assignments. As per SFU’s Code of Academic Integrity and Good Conduct, “copying all or part of an essay or other assignment from an author or other person, including a tutor or student mentor, and presenting the material as the student’s original work” constitutes plagiarism.
• Mentees agree to arrive on time for mentoring appointments. An appointment will be given away if a student is more than 10 minutes late.
• Students will not be able to reschedule an appointment for two weeks if an appointment is missed without giving advanced cancellation notice (see Cancellation Policy below).
• A mentor will cancel a session if the mentee arrives unprepared or if the mentee refuses to work within the guidelines set out in this mentoring agreement.
• Mentors will not keep, copy, or otherwise record any examples of the mentee’s work.
• At the end of a mentee’s first session, the mentor will provide a Student Mentoring Record sheet with a checklist of topics covered in that session. Personal information will not appear anywhere on this sheet. Mentees should bring this sheet to all subsequent mentoring sessions.

Picture ID Policy

Mentees must show picture ID (SFU student card or driver’s license) at the beginning of each drop–in or booked session.

Cancellation Policy

If you cannot attend an appointment that you have booked, you must cancel the appointment at least two hours before your scheduled session time through Beedie Community. If you do not cancel your appointment following this procedure, you will not be permitted to sign up for another mentoring session for a period of two weeks.

Are you a confident writer, and interested in volunteer work that makes a meaningful difference in your/your fellow students’ lives and careers?

SFU Beedie School of Business is recruiting new volunteers to serve as Writing Mentors to undergraduate students taking business courses.

Your Role

Mentors guide undergraduate writers in many areas of business (and academic) writing. Drawing on your strong writing skills, you will tutor your fellow students to improve their writing.

Your Commitment

Mentors will receive 12 hours of specialized training and the opportunity to "shadow" experienced mentors prior to mentoring alone. After successfully completing the training, mentors will volunteer approximately two hours each week over the course of two semesters (or more, when willing and available).

Your Qualifications

Necessary qualifications include:

• strong written communication skills
• sound knowledge of the English language and rules of grammar and punctuation
• patience; enjoy helping people; good communicator
• minimum “B” grade in BUS 360W
• tutoring experience in any subject (preferred)

For more information, contact Christian Venhuizen at cva8@sfu.ca

This opportunity is recognized on the Co-Curricular Record (CCR), an official University document that tracks students’ co-curricular involvement at SFU. Learn more about the Co-Curricular Record at: https://www.sfu.ca/students/get-involved/recognition/co-curricular-record.html