In-person (RC 105)
Monday through Thursday: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Virtual
Monday through Thursday: 9 a.m.–7 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Starfishnew window is the scheduling system for MC learning centers, where you can make tutoring appointments, meet with a tutor in-person or online, or receive written feedback.
Got questions about Starfish? Check out the top questions students ask about Starfishnew window.
Welcome to the Writing, Reading, and Language Center (WRLC). The WRLC serves as a resource for students, faculty, and staff and provides academic support services to students in all classes that require reading, writing, speech, American English pronunciation, and world languages.
We are proud to offer both virtual and on-campus support in the forms of one-to-one tutoring, specialized workshops, study spaces, and computer lab access.
Schedule a Tutoring Appointment
Don’t have an appointment? Drop-in tutoring is available in RC-105:
- Monday through Thursday between 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Friday 1–4 p.m.
Need tutoring when the WRLC is closed? Try Brainfusenew window.
Services
The center offers a wide array of services for the College community and resources to support students on their academic journey. Our services include:
Tutoring
Tutoring at MC is designed to support your academic success, whether you prefer face-to-face interaction, virtual meetings via Zoom, or written feedback on your assignments. Our experienced tutors provide personalized help across a variety of subjects. With flexible options to fit your schedule and learning style, tutoring is a free and valuable resource available to all students.
WRLC tutors assist students with:
- Writing, including grammar, organization and revision
- Speaking, including pronunciation, speech, and public speaking
- Reading, including reading strategies and comprehension
- All stages of writing and reading assignments, from brainstorming to final revisions
- Assignments from any course that requires writing
- Application essays, cover letters, and resumes
- If you are running late or are unable to attend your session, please notify our front desk staff at wrlc.tpss.general@montgomerycollege.edu or call 240-567-1556.
- We encourage you to have at least three hours between appointments (i.e., no back-to-back appointments to discuss the same assignment). Students are expected to make progress on their drafts between appointments for the same assignment.
Your tutoring session is about your writing and reading, not a review of your paper or a proofreading session. Discussing your assignment and skills with a tutor will help you understand what your professor expects you to achieve and will help you focus on how to fulfill those requirements.
We recommend the following to make the best out of your sessions with your tutor:
- Be on time to your Zoom and in-person appointments.
- Communicate with your tutor, such as by asking questions or for clarification.
- Bring your professor’s instructions and/or feedback, if available.
- Plan ahead. Try to see a tutor at least two days before your assignment is due.
Types of Tutoring and Appointments
All Montgomery College Learning Centers use Starfishnew window for tutoring appointments. You can sign in using your MC credentials and 2-Factor Authentication.
Appointments are available on an hourly basis and last up to 45 minutes. If you have any questions or problems scheduling an appointment, our front desk staff can assist you:
- 240-567-1556
- wrlc.tpss.general@montgomerycollege.edu
- Resource Center 105, RC below Library (map)
Meet with a tutor on campus to review your assignment in person.
Location: RC 105
What to bring to your appointment:
- Assignment instructions
- Copy of your draft (if available)
- Your professor’s feedback (if available)
- Paper and pen or pencil
- Laptop (optional)
Arrive 5-10 minutes before your appointment to check in at the front desk.
Tutoring appointments are scheduled on an hourly basis and last up to 45 minutes.
If you are going to be late to your appointment, contact the front desk at 240-567-1556 or wrlc.tpss.general@montgomerycollege.edu.
If you are more than 15 minutes late without notification, your appointment will be considered missed.
If you are experiencing any cold, COVID, or flu-like symptoms, please do not visit the WRLC. Instead, contact the front desk to either change your in-person appointment to a virtual one or reschedule it for a later time.
Meet with a tutor over Zoom to review your assignment online.
Location: Zoom
During these sessions, the student speaks directly to a tutor and the tutor provides feedback in real time.
- To connect with your tutor online, click on the Zoom link in the email sent by Starfish when you made your tutoring appointment. If you have any technical issues, please email wrlc.tpss.general@montgomerycollege.edu or call 240-567-1556.
- Be prepared to share your screen (your draft assignment, your professor's written assignment instructions, and/or any prior feedback from your professor) during your session.
- We recommend joining your session five minutes before the start of your appointment to troubleshoot any technical difficulties.
For these appointments, you do not have to be present for your appointment and do
not speak directly to your tutor.
Location: None
IMPORTANT! At least one hour before your appointment start time, email the following items to wrlc.tpss.general@montgomerycollege.edu.
- Assignment instructions
- Copy of your assignment draft
- Your professor’s feedback (if available)
- A note to your to tutor about what you want them to focus on in their feedback to you (recommended)
Once the appointment starts, the tutor will review your paper and email you their written feedback by 9 p.m. the same day.
- No appointments are required to use the computer lab; just sign in at the front desk.
- Bring your own headsets to listen to audio.
- Your MyMC credentials are needed to log in to a computer.
- Free black and white printing is available from any computer once you are logged in.
- The computer lab is open during the same hours as the WRLC.
- attend Zoom classes
- hold group study sessions
- study and do homework in a quiet setting
Study spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
Every semester, we offer workshops on writing, reading, research, and study skills,
as well as on content-specific topics, such as Spanish and psychology. View the TPSS
workshop schedule below. Register herenew window for workshops. Use this Zoom linknew window to connect to your workshop. See a complete list of workshops (PDF, 
) .
All of our workshops will be presented via Zoom.
| October | ||
| Wednesday, 10/1 | 4 – 5 p.m. | Rhetorical Analysis |
| Thursday, 10/2 | 3 – 4 p.m. | The Compare and Contrast Essay |
| Wednesday, 10/8 | 2 – 3 p.m. | Transfer and Scholarship Essays |
| Wednesday, 10/22 | 4 – 5 p.m. | Sentence Structure |
| Wednesday, 10/28 | 2 – 3 p.m. | Punch Up Your Proofreading Power |
| November | ||
| Wednesday, 11/5 | 3 – 4 p.m. | To Be or Not To Be: Ser or Estar? |
| Tuesday, 11/18 | 2 – 3 p.m. | Integrating Sources: MLA |
| Tuesday, 11/19 | 1 – 2 p.m. | Integrating Sources: APA |
| December | ||
| Wednesday, 12/3 | 2 – 3 p.m. | Ace the In-class Essay |
Workshops are made possible by Writing, Reading, & Language Centers; Academic Success Center; Digital Learning Center; Learning Support Services; and MC Library. If you have any questions or need an accommodation to participate in these workshops, please email LearningCenters@montgomerycollege.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
We offer tutoring support for all classes that require reading, writing, speech, American English pronunciation, as well as ASL and world languages. We can also help you with writing assignments not related to a course, such as scholarship and transfer essays and cover letters.
Select from the list of WRLC schedules herenew window. If you’d like a tutor for a specific campus, click on the link for that campus. If you are interested only in virtual tutoring (Zoom or Written Feedback), select the “Virtual Writing, Reading, and Language Centernew window” option.
Follow the prompts and click “Confirm” when finished. You will receive a confirmation of your scheduled appointment (with the Zoom link, if applicable) in your MC email.
- Log in to Starfishnew window using your MyMC credentials.
- Click on the main menu option (the three horizontal lines at the top left of your Starfish page).
- Select “Upcoming.”
- Click on the appointment you wish to modify.
If you need any help canceling or rescheduling your appointment, please call our Front Desk at 240-567-1556.
- Log in to Starfishnew window using your MyMC credentials.
- Click on the main menu option (the three horizontal lines at the top left of your Starfish page).
- Select “Upcoming.”
- Click on the appointment you wish to modify.
- Select your preferred modality from the drop-down menu under “Location.”
If you need any help modifying your appointment, please call our Front Desk at 240-567-1556.
You can schedule a “Written Feedback” appointment. Written Feedback appointments are asynchronous, which means you don’t meet with your tutor. Instead, your tutor will review your assignment during your appointment time and email you their feedback by 9pm the same day.
NOTE: Be sure to send your assignment, the assignment instructions, and/or your professor’s comments to wrlc.tpss.general@montgomerycollege.edu BEFORE your appointment time. Word or PDF attachments are preferred, but links are also fine (remember to enable access). If your tutor does not receive your documents by the appointment time, they will not be able to provide feedback.
Yes! We have virtual tutoring - Zoom or Written Feedback - available on Saturday (9am-3pm) and Sunday (10am-4pm). You can view available times on the “Virtual Writing, Reading, and Language Centernew window” schedule.
If you allow the record of your appointment to be shared with your Starfish Success Network, your professor will be able to look up your Meetings history on Starfish.
NOTE: If you need proof of having met with a tutor, you can request for your tutor to send you a copy of their session notes, which will document what you covered during your session.
The WRLC-TP/SS is located in the Resource Center (RC) Room 105 below the MC Library. See the campus maps or click here for the location pinnew window.
All of our Reading/Writing tutors have degrees in English, TESOL, Rhetoric/Composition, or another writing intensive field. Our tutors must have the necessary qualifications to be hired as MC Faculty as well as training in tutoring and Writing Center pedagogy.
Tutors provide skills-based instruction, and their goal is to make students stronger readers and writers, not to proofread for them or find and fix all of their errors. A typical session begins with a conversation about the skill the student wants to improve. Then, tutors will usually review the concept, make sure the student understands, and answer any questions they have. If time permits, the tutor will ask them to practice the skill by applying it to their own work. At the end of each session, the tutor will help the student determine next steps.
No. We do not provide editing or proofreading services, and students may not drop off a paper and pick it up later with corrections. We can, however, teach students to edit and proofread their own work more effectively.
Absolutely! While our focus is on tutoring academic work, tutors are always happy to work on self-driven writing, including professional and creative writing.
Yes! A student does not need to have a specific assignment to be able to work with a tutor. Students can request practice or review on topics ranging from specific grammar points and essay structure to reading strategies and speaking skills.
- Log in to Starfishnew window using your MyMC credentials.
- Search for your student on the search bar located at the top-right of the screen.
- Click on the student’s name to view their record.
- From the menu options on the left, click on “Meetings.”
If the student has allowed for a record of their tutoring appointments to be shared with their Success Network, you will be able to view a list of those meetings here. To view details for a specific meeting, click on the “+” sign to the left of that meeting.
Yes! You can upload this document (PDF, ) which lists our services, contact information, hours, and the links to our Starfish
scheduling pages for students to make a tutoring appointment. We also have a flyer (PDF, ) for posting in your classrooms.
Send an email to wrlc.tpss.general@montgomerycollege.edu with “Lab Space Request” in the subject line and the following information in the body:
- date(s) and time(s) that you’d like to reserve lab space
- course name
- number of students
Our computer lab is located in RC Room 106C and can accommodate up to 25 students. A laptop and smart screen with audio are available for instructor use.
Lab space is first come, first served, so we encourage you to submit your reservation request as early as possible.
If you would like a WRLC representative to come to your class and speak to your students about our services, please complete the following request form:
https://forms.office.com/r/CaxN1L4h1Qnew window.
During orientations, we cover WRLC policies and procedures, tutoring signup through Starfish, and MyEnglishLab (if applicable). If you have specific requests, we can tailor orientations to best fit the needs of your class. If you have any issues submitting the request form, please contact us at WRLC.TPSS.reservation@montgomerycollege.edu or (240) 567-1556.
Contact Us
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Shaline Kirkland |
Learning Center Manager |
240-567-1406 |
|
|
Margaret (Peg) LaRocca |
Administrative Aide |
|
|
|
Ellen Ayres |
Instructional Associate |
|
|
|
Michelle Chan |
Instructional Associate |
|
|
|
Jeremy Lignelli |
Instructional Associate |
|
|
|
Mary Mowen |
Instructional Associate |
|
Our Social Justice Promise
Montgomery College learning centers are committed to equity and anti-racism in policy and practice. We strive to be welcoming and affirming spaces. We believe Black lives matter and stand with our DACA and Dreamer students. We seek to ensure equal access for students with disabilities and provide a brave space for the LGBTQ+ community. We promote a growth mindset and commit to meeting students where they are.