LOCATION The writing center is SAC Club Room A (Room 13) in the basement of the South Hovses (buildings 57-60 on the map). You will need a combo to get into the Student Activities Center (SAC). This combo is listed in the Little t and the Technique.

The ability to communicate ideas in words is an essential part of a college education, and the Hixon Writing Center is a vital resource for effective writing and oral presentation at Caltech. The Center's writing consultants offer conferences at any stage of the writing process: brainstorming and organizing ideas, drafting, or revising and editing. The Center also teaches writing courses, holds workshops, consults to faculty, conducts research, and offers a library of reference materials in hard copy and on line.

Based in Caltech's Division of Humanities & Social Sciences, the Center was established in fall 2001 with a generous grant from Alexander and Adelaide Hixon.

What is the Writing Consultant Service?

The Writing Center's Consultant Service offers free and confidential writing conferences with an English instructor or peer writing tutor. Consultants provide supportive, informed feedback at any stage of the writing process from brainstorming and drafting to editing and revising. They can also help with writer's block or second-language issues. Consultants do not merely proofread papers or provide remedial grammar instruction, but help writers develop methods for improving their own work. A writing consultation can benefit writers at all levels of ability.

How should I prepare for a writing conference?

Writing conferences are most effective if you bring along a copy of the assignment, relevant books, articles and data, and any preliminary writing you may have done (e.g., preliminary notes, outlines, or rough drafts related to this assignment). Also consider bringing any previous assignments with that instructor's comments that might point out some writing issues for attention. The Center has a computer available; consider bringing a draft on a floppy disk or CD/RW, so that you can compose and revise as part of the conference.

To prepare for a visit to the Center, you might also consider this link.

Peer Tutor Consultant Schedule

The writing center is by appointment only over the summer. Please contact us.