Writing Center

Overview

Writing Center tutors are available in person and online to help students achieve their writing goals at any stage of their writing process. All currently enrolled degree-seeking students are welcome, and they can work on essays, artist statements, application materials, presentation texts, theses, proposals, creative writing, or social media posts. Our tutors are kind, encouraging, and interested!

Though drop-ins are welcome, the best way to guarantee an appointment is to schedule one in Navigate. Once you create an appointment, you will be emailed instructions with directions for working with your tutor online or in person.

If you have any questions, or need help making an appointment, stop by the Writing Center on the 10th floor of Lakeview, call us at 312-499-4138, or email wcenter@saic.edu. A front desk assistant will be happy to assist you during our open hours.

Make an Appointment

Making Appointments
You are able to make one appointment per day and no more than two appointments per week.

Cancelling Appointments in Advance
If you can't make your appointment, please cancel your appointment as soon as possible. Do so by logging into Navigate, selecting your appointment, and then deleting it.

No-Shows
A "no-show" is when you do not cancel your appointment in advance and miss it. If you miss two appointments in any given term, you will be blocked from making additional appointments for the rest of that term.

Last-Minute Cancellations
A last-minute cancellation is when you cancel your appointment within twelve hours of your appointment. It will be counted as half of a no-show. Two last-minute cancellations count as one no-show.

Late Arrivals
If you are ten or more minutes late for your appointment, it will be offered to another student and counted as a no-show.
The Writing Center is now using Navigate to schedule appointments with tutors.
Visit saic.navigate.eab.com.
Click "Login with your school account."
Enter the credentials you use to access your SAIC Gmail account.
Click "Schedule an Appointment."
Select "Writing Center" as the department.
Select "Online Appointment" as the appointment type.
Pick a date to see time slots in a 30-day range from that date.
Click "Find Available Time."
Use the arrows to switch between days and look for a time that works for you.
Click a time slot to schedule an appointment!
For more help with scheduling an appointment through Navigate, please watch the appointment scheduling tutorial.
For more information about Navigate and additional tutorials, please visit SAIC's Navigate webpage.

The Writing Center serves all currently enrolled degree-seeking students.

All Writing Center Tutors are equipped to work with students on many different forms of writing, and everyone can help you with your writing goals! Take a look at the bios of our Writing Center Tutors & Staff, and if you would like to schedule an appointment with a specific tutor, email wcenter@saic.edu.

Writing Tutorials

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers free, fifty-minute writing tutorials through the Writing Center. Tutors are available to assist all currently enrolled students with any stage of the writing process.

Students may work with tutors on the following:

Interpreting writing prompts, essay questions, & application leads
Brainstorming & getting started
Creating artist statements
Making claims & arguments
Developing ideas
Strengthening organization
Improving writing style
Clarifying language
Addressing Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), American Psychological Association (APA) style, & Modern Language Association (MLA) style questions
Citing references
Correcting basic grammar, spelling, & punctuation

Mission Statement

At the Writing Center, our work is individualized, while our scope is global. Everyone is welcome.

We use close observation, careful listening, and honest response while we encourage impassioned engagement, deliberate language, and thoughtful action. Students' ideas hold sway.

We embrace works in progress and what they demand from us: that we must allow false starts, address our biases, research facts, bring evidence to light, and hear alternate arguments before we make claims. Messiness is essential.

We encourage striving beyond safe conclusions, and we accept that discomfort is necessary to reach meaningful understanding. Openness is key.

We believe that relationships—between individuals listening to and asking hard questions of each other—form the basis of personal transformations and meaningful social change. Learning happens together.

Staff

Amritha Selvarajaguru

Tutor
(she/her)

I am a second-year MFAW student studying Poetry at SAIC, with aspirations of someday becoming a Creative Writing teacher. I am deeply inspired by my time student teaching, tutoring, and working with children and professors alike. I deeply admire the works of writers such as Kaveh Akbar, Paige Lewis, Ada Limón, and Ocean Vuong, am terrified of cockroaches, and always eat M&Ms in rainbow order from red to brown.

Jack Morillo

Tutor
(any pronouns)

I'm an MFA Writing first-year from Houston, Texas, with a background practicing poetry, visual arts, curation, and arts administration.

My interests have included studies of time (how it is measured, administered, and experienced), space (how it is appropriated and mis-used), homoerotics, collective practices, disidentification or refusal, Catholicism, and being in tension between the lyrical and mundane.

After studying Art History and Creative Writing at the University of Houston, I've worked in and with various museums as an artist, writer, and administrator. I've published in some magazines and organized some exhibitions.

I start-and-stop various attempts at developing other habits and interests, like meditation, seasonal cooking, and Muay Thai. I'm more reliably into slow cinema, bossa nova, Americana music, biking, animals, weightlifting, and Zen Buddhism.

Specialties: Artist statements, curatorial statements, exhibition writing, and other art/artist writing, and poetry

De'Lana Sanders

FDA
(she/her)

I am an undergraduate transfer student getting my BFA in Studio with a thesis in Visual and Critical Studies. I am primarily a collage artist with a focus on narrative and the Black American experience. In addition, I have a passion for research and academia that I work to apply towards my practice. In my free time, you can be sure to find me at Al's #1 Italian Beef or talking loudly at inopportune times!

Lianne Short

Tutor
(she/her)

I am a Master of Architecture student at SAIC, originally from Montreal, Canada. Holding both a BA and MA in Art History, I weave my background in art history and museology into my design work. Prior to attending SAIC, I spent four years as a professional skater with internationally touring ice shows. Some of my favorite things include museums, figure skating, and a perfectly steeped cup of Earl Grey tea.

Specialties: Research essays, thesis development, visual analysis, art history, anthropology

Conner Wood

FDA
(he/him)

Hello! My name is Conner. I'm originally from New Providence, NJ, and have just entered my first year in the BFAW. I write prose fiction, both long and short. Outside of writing, I enjoy singing and hiking, and am passionate about mental health. I'm excited to extend the Writing Center's community and practices to students of all levels of experience!

Ashton Williams

Tutor
(he/him)

I am a Chicago-born artist and writer currently continuing my graduate studies in Printmedia. My practice explores critical gaps in the appreciation of African American art and culture through a blend of art criticism, print-making, self-publishing, and music. I am a lifelong Chicagoan and music fan, so if you ever want to hear more about Chicago's incredible music scene, please reach out!!

Specialties: Academic essays and research papers, art criticism, and creative writing

Vivien Larkin

Tutor
(she/her)

I am a first-year in the MA Visual and Critical Studies program, and my main research focus at the moment is photography theory. I am also a painter, poet, essayist, and memoirist, interested in how image and language mediate our memories and our understandings of ourselves and each other. I am originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, and have been living in Chicago and loving it for six years now. I'm into industrial music, noise music, and trip hop. I've also been known to do some accounting.

SunAh Shim

FDA
(she/they)

I am a first-year art therapy and counseling graduate student, originally from South Korea. I have been cross-trained in Fine Arts and Performing Arts, and I have worked as an educator and a language interpreter. I am passionate about multicultural and international student wellness and advocacy; it matters to me that you feel safe and welcomed here at the Writing Center!

Portrait of Juan Pablo, an adult with short dark hair and a medium-fair skin tone, seated at a table.

Juan Pablo Giraldo Godoy

FDA
(he/him)

Hi everyone! My name is Juan Pablo, and y'all can call me Juan. I am from Bogota, Colombia, and I earned my Bachelor's of Architecture there. I am here doing my Master's in Architecture and a Historic Preservation Certificate. I was on my uni's varsity chess team, so if you ever want to have a go at chess, I'm your guy!

Zach Robinson

Tutor & FDA
(he/him)

Zach is a writer originally from Tampa, Florida, whose plays have been developed at Chicago Dramatists, Columbia College, Naked Angels Chicago, and the Jewish Plays Project. He holds a BA in Playwriting from Columbia College, and is currently a first-year MFA candidate in the Writing program.

Specialities: Creative writing, artist statements, literary analysis

Tim Wiggins

Tutor
(he/him)

I am a first-year student in the MFA Writing program, and I come from the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Writing has been my passion for years. I began writing horror stories and comedy skits when I was younger, and during my undergrad I discovered I have a knack for writing formal, academic papers as well. I also love big dogs, heavy metal, and playing in rivers that weave through the mountains.

Specialties: Creative prose, academic essays, scripts, and screenplays.

Eva Shapiro

Tutor
(she/her)

Eva is a first-year MFA writing student who is here to write short stories and read everything. Before coming to SAIC, she worked as a paralegal providing legal services to immigrant children in Chicago. Eva and all of her favorite sports teams are from Washington, DC.

Specialties: Essays, research papers, creative writing

Emma Draga

Tutor & FDA
(she/her)

Emma Draga is a graduate student in the Writing program whose main practice is poetry. Her work attempts to explore themes such as girlhood, memory, and place through imagery and collage. As an undergrad, she studied both philosophy and sociology, granting her a wide array of experience with different kinds of writing, including creative writing, persuasive essays, and research papers. Outside of writing, she has a passion for all things DIY, experimental, and independent music.

Specialities: Research essays, philosophy essays, poetry, creative writing, literary/art analysis, art history