Write Site
  • Athabasca University
  • Write Site
  • Staff and contact info
  • Write Site - Home
  • Staff and contact info
  • Coaching
    • Writing coach submission drop box
    • RealTime writing coaching
  • Writing forum
  • Webinar schedule
  • Lessons and videos
  • English Grammar Handbook
    • Basic grammar
      • Basic grammar: parts of speech
      • Word forms
      • Words often confused and misused
    • Sentences and grammar
      • Recognition of sentence parts
      • Verbs
      • Transitional devices
      • Common sentence faults
    • Mechanics
      • Terminal punctuation
      • Internal punctuation
      • Word punctuation
    • Style
    • Vocabulary and spelling
    • Concise ESL Support
      • Introduction
      • Articles
      • Conditional and hypothetical constructions
      • Direct and indirect speech
      • Idioms
      • Infinitives and gerunds
      • Irregular verbs
      • Modals and related expressions
      • Passive verb tenses
      • Phrasal verbs
      • Prepositions
      • Pronouns
      • Pronunciation
      • Verb tenses
      • Word forms
    • Glossary
    • Supplementary resources
    • Credits
  • Academic writing resources
    • The writing process
    • Critical thinking, reading and writing
    • Research writing
    • Writing in the disciplines
    • Writing genres and samples
      • Genres common to academic writing
      • Argumentative essay
      • Argumentation structure
      • Expository writing
      • Analytical film review process
      • Conducting and writing up interviews
  • Documentation and plagiarism
    • Overview
    • Citation Styles
      • Resources
      • Documentation Basics
        • Quiz
        • Answers
      • APA
        • Quiz
        • Answers
      • Chicago
        • Example of Chicago Style format
        • Examples of footnotes and/or endnotes
    • Plagiarism
    • Library basics
  • Studying writing at AU
    • Studying writing at AU
    • Writing resources
    • Writing courses
    • Assess your writing and language skills
    • Marking guide for writing assignments

Staff and contact info

Coordinator/Writing Coach

Sarah-Jean Watt

Email: swatt@athabascau.ca
Phone: 1-855-796-0139 (toll free)
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Mountain Time
Book an appointment with Sarah-Jean

Bio ImageSarah-Jean Watt joined the Write Site team as its coordinator in Fall 2020. She holds a BA 1st Class Honours in English from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and an MA in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Sarah-Jean has provided writing support to students since 2002. Across a number of institutions in Alberta, she has valued her close work with diverse groups of students, including students with disabilities and newcomers to Canada. Sarah-Jean is committed to helping Write Site contribute to Athabasca University's dedication to the removal of barriers that restrict access to and success in university-level study.


Assistant Coordinator/Writing Coach

Tunde Tuzes

Email: tundet@athabascau.ca

Bio ImageTunde Tuzes has been the Assistant Write Site Coordinator since 2007. She holds an M. Ed. in English Education from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Tunde has been working at Athabasca University since 1998, first teaching several writing courses and then working as a Writing Coach for the Write Site. Before joining Athabasca University, she taught various ESL and college courses for 8 years, focusing mostly on academic and business writing.


Writing Coaches

Laura Monerris Oliveras

Bio ImageLaura is originally from the beautiful small town of Girona (100 Km north of Barcelona). Her mother tongue is Catalan, but she is also knowledgeable in Spanish, English, and French. She holds an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Her teaching career started around 2004, and she has since provided support to diverse student populations in her hometown, France, and Canada in post-secondary institutions and not-for-profit educational organizations. Laura is strongly committed to students’ success and has worked extensively one-on-one with students to help them overcome learning barriers and knowledge gaps and become more confident and independent writers.




Cara Violini

Bio ImageCara Violini joined the Write Site as a Writing Coach in 2021. She holds undergraduate degrees in English Literature and Education, an MAIS in Literary Studies, and an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC. Her doctoral studies explore disruptive pedagogies for marginalized student writers. Since 2016, Cara taught undergraduate English and composition courses for AU while also teaching in the University of Calgary’s professional and creative writing certificate programs. For ten years prior, Cara taught English and academic writing to adult learners in a variety of contexts. Cara’s coaching philosophy aligns with AU’s inclusive value of removing barriers to increase accessibility and educational opportunity for its learners.


Michael Volek

Email: mvolek@athabascau.ca

After working for a number of years as an English instructor at Tsuyama National College of Technology, Michael returned to Canada to pursue a Ph.D. in English. In 2014, he completed his doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia with a dissertation that examined the propagation of language theory in academic communities of practice. His research interests include pragmatics, stylistics, discourse analysis, and rhetorical genre theory. Michael is also the Academic Coordinator for English Language and Effective Writing Skills at AU.

Updated September 06, 2022 by Digital & Web Operations, University Relations (web_services@athabascau.ca)

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