A new cohort of W-CATs are currently preparing to support next fall’s incoming first year students. Stay tuned for more!

Writing Course Attached Tutors, or W-CATs (formerly known as PWSAs and TWAs) are writing tutors assigned to a specific course. There are W-CATs attached to every First Year Seminar, which serves as your W1 (GenEd requirement), and sometimes there are W-CATs in W2 courses, which are part of Bates’ Writing-Attentive Curriculum. W-CATs provide class-specific support, including but not limited to written and oral assignments and assessments.

W-CATs have typically demonstrated perseverance in writing in the subject, have nurtured a relationship with the course professor, and/or have previously taken the course or a course in the major or minor. Most W-CATs have also taken at least the first course in our tutor education sequence, EXDS 201: Writing Process, Tutoring Practice (.5 credits, offered every Winter semester) before they being working. W-CATs will introduce themselves to the class they support at the beginning of the semester, but you can also ask your course instructor or come into the Student Writing & Language Center to find out your W-CATs contact information and when they are in the SWLC to support you.

If you are enrolled in a course with a W-CAT attached to it, you may schedule a meeting with the W-CAT through Penji by searching the name of your W-CAT, your course, or your professor. These tutors possess the tools and training to help you reach your goals as a writer in the course. Think of W-CATs as a subset of general writing tutors–their sole responsibility is supporting you in becoming an independent and confident writer and communicator in your course–and beyond!

If you are interested in becoming a Writing Course Attached Tutor and working for SWLC, please visit this page for information about hiring, training, and employment.

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