MPC's Reading and Writing Center empowers students by offering a welcoming environment for developing communication skills. Services include free in-person and online tutoring in writing, research, ESL conversation, and computer assistance. Students can improve reading, writing, vocabulary, and study skills through self-paced sessions.
RWC Mission Statement
Welcome to MPC’s Reading & Writing Center. We are a community of professional reading and writing tutors who believe that when students cultivate critical thinking and communication skills, they also cultivate opportunities to become the people they want to be, do the work they want to do, and create the change they want to see. That's why we honor the unique perspectives, languages, and lived experiences of every student, drawing on the strengths and interests they already have to support them in their pursuit of academic, career, and personal success.
Individualized Appointments & Essay Drop-offs

First Time in the RWC?
We’d like to welcome you to register for ENGL 400, a free class that gives you access to all our services. We also encourage you to add the RWC Canvas Shell to your Canvas Dashboard.
RWC Offerings
- 1-1 Appointments: 25 or 50-minute sessions (shorter if necessary) for reading or writing help, available online or in person
- Essay Drop-Off: Submit essays for feedback within 24 hours (or Monday if submitted on Friday or the weekend)
- Free Assistance: Help in writing, research, ESL conversation, and computer use (ENGL 400)
- Self-Paced Sessions: Improving reading, writing, vocabulary, or study skills (ENGL 400)
- Technology Access: Microsoft Office, WEPA printer, and assistive software
- Skill Sessions & DLAs: Writing, study skills, and small group boosters
LIMITS: In an effort to serve as many as possible, the RWC limits students to one synchronous appointment per day (five 25-minute appointments or three 50-minute appointments per week) and up to three essay drop-offs per week.
Boosting Student Success!
Additional Resources to Build Skills
The Sentence
- Apostrophes
- Avoiding Fragments & Run-ons (Comma Splices & Fused Sentences)
- Clauses
- Commas
- Commas with Adjective Clauses & Appositives
- Commas with Coordinating Conjunctions & Adverb Clauses
- Conditionals
- Conjunctions: Adverbial (Conjunctive Adverbs)
- Conjunctions: Chart of Comparisons
- Conjunctions: Coordinating
- Conjunctions: Correlative
- Conjunctions: Subordinating
- Gerunds
- Identifying & Correcting Fragments
- Infinitives
- Modals (Helping Verbs)
- Nouns
- Parallel Structure
- Participial Phrases
- Prepositional Phrases
- Pronouns
- Quotation Marks
- Semicolons and Colons
- Subject/Verb Agreement
- Transitions
- Verb Tenses: Consistency of Use
- Verb Tenses: Simple Present vs. Present Progressive
- Verb Tenses: Talking about the Past
- Verbs/Verb Tenses
The Essay
- Adjective Clauses
- Articles, Lesson 1
- Articles, Lesson 2
- Connectors of Cause & Effect
- Connectors of Contrast
- Future Tenses
- Future Time Clauses
- Gerunds & Infinitives
- Non-Progressive Verbs
- Noun Clauses
- Noun Phrases - Appositives
- Participial Adjectives
- Parts of Speech
- Past Progressive & Simple Past
- Phrases Overview
- Prefixes & Suffixes
- Prepositional Phrases
- Prepositions - Six Places We Find Them
- Present Perfect
- Present Progressive
- Sentence Variety
- Tag Questions
- Topic Sentences
Reading Skill Sheets
- Active Reading Strategies
- Annotating
- Approaching New Words
- Context Clues
- Highlighting and Annotating
- Main Idea
- Mapping
- Paraphrasing
- Patterns of Organization
- Reading Your Textbook
- Summarizing
- Topic
- Topic vs. Main Idea
- Transition Words
- Word Parts: Prefixes, Root Word, and Suffixes
- Writing a Formal Summary
- Writing an Informal Summary
- Annotating and Highlighting
- Annotating and Highlighting
- Concept Mapping
- Context Clues: Introduction
- Context Clues: Definition, Restatement, and Example
- Context Clues: Contrast and General Knowledge
- Formal Summary
- Informal Summary
- Main Ideas
- Organizational Patterns: Time Order and Listing
- Organizational Patterns: Definition and Classification
- Organizational Patterns: Cause/Effect and Compare/Contrast
- Organizational Patterns: Primary and Combined
- Paraphrasing
- Reading Your Textbook
- Supporting Details
- Topic
- Understanding a Syllabus
- Analyzing Arguments (from Snap Language)
- Connotative vs Denotative Language (from YouTube)
- Fact vs Opinion (from YouTube)
- Implied Main Ideas (from Townsend Press)