What to Expect from your Face-to-Face Appointment

Getting Started

Your writing consultant should greet you pleasantly and ask you to choose where you would like to sit. The consultant will ask you a couple of questions to get started, so that you and the consultant are on the same page, so to speak. She or he will ask you things like what the assignment is, when it is due, and what you want to work on. It is up to you to bring your assignment sheets and textbook along; having those helps a great deal. If you aren't sure what you want to work on, the consultant will offer a couple of suggestions after you read the paper together. Remember that you can come to the Writing Center at any stage of the writing process--bring a full draft if you have it, but you can also come to get help with brainstorming, organizing, research, and more.

Working through the Session

Appointments are either 30 or 60 minutes long, depending on what you signed up for. You'll spend the majority of the time reading through the paper together and talking. The consultant will ask you more questions to help you figure out what the best revisions are, depending on what stage your paper is at. He or she might write down the words you say, so that you can get your ideas out and still have a record of what it was you said. If you are at the editing stage, at the end of the writing process working on things like punctuation and grammar, the consultant will identify any patterns of error and suggest which patterns to work on. She or he will point out specific types of error, ask you about what you already know about them, explain them, model the right answer, and work with you as you find the next errors and learn to correct them. The consultants aren't going to edit the paper for you; instead, they help you learn to proofread and edit.

Wrapping It Up

At the end of the session, the consultants will ask you to summarize what you worked on together and what your plans are next for your paper. It always helps to say those things aloud; then you know what is left to you to finish after you leave. The consultant will ask you to fill out a quick 3 question evaluation of the session while the consultant puts notes about the session into the computer. Remind the consultant if you would like a copy of the session notes sent to your instructor, an adviser or coach, or to yourself.

If You Are Late or Can't Come

Please come to the Writing Center at the start of your appointment time. We will wait for you for up to 10 minutes, but after ten minutes we mark you as a no-show in the scheduler and start working with anyone else who is waiting for help. If you know you can't make your scheduled time, please log into the scheduler and delete your appointment before it starts.