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Instructor resources (Writing Centre)

Writing Centre resources specifically designed for RRU instructors

Learning English for academic purposes (LEAP; 30-minute appointment)

Learning English for Academic Purposes (LEAP) appointments are intended for English language learners. Students can book 30-minute LEAP appointments to receive assistance with their English writing skills. During the appointment, we’ll use up to 25 minutes to talk with the student about English grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary, so they can identify, understand, and avoid common English errors in their writing. The last five minutes are set aside for us to send the student an email with resources that will help them build skills in the area(s) we discussed.

LEAP appointments are an opportunity for students to:

  • ask questions about English grammar, sentence structure, or vocabulary (e.g. choosing prepositions or verb tenses; using commas or semicolons);
  • feel more confident about expressing their ideas clearly in written English; and
  • learn about specific resources to help them continue to strengthen and improve their writing.

In alignment with the Writing Centre’s booking policies, students can schedule a maximum of one appointment per day and a maximum of two appointments per week.

What to expect from a LEAP appointment

We encourage students to come prepared with one or two questions about English grammar, sentence structure, and/or vocabulary that they’d like to discuss. The student will always maintain the authorship of their text, which means we won’t review the document before the appointment in order to provide feedback or suggestions on the text, nor will we edit or otherwise make changes to the document during the appointment. Instead, we’ll provide information and examples during our conversation that will assist the student to make their own changes. At all times, the student will be responsible for the content in their document and for their own successes.

Bookings and cancellations

  • Scheduled appointments are limited to one appointment per day and two appointments per week; appointments may occur face-to-face/online/by phone.
  • Students may only book appointments for themselves.
  • Appointments will be cancelled if students are more than 10 minutes late.
  • Students are encouraged to cancel appointments as soon as possible, and ideally 24 hours before their appointment, to allow other students to book appointments.
  • Repeated failures to cancel appointments and/or repeated failures to appear for scheduled appointments may result in a students being restricted to drop-in meetings.

Students can schedule these meetings by visiting Book an Appointment. If you have any questions about this type of appointment, please contact the Writing Centre so we can assist you.