What
To Expect
When working with a writing
professional at the
A writing consultant (either a graduate or advanced
undergraduate student) starts by asking you a series of questions about your
assignment, what you want to accomplish, the work you have done on it so far,
the due date, and your concerns and questions. (By the way, it’s a good idea
to bring a copy of the assignment sheet if your professor gave you one and/or
any notes you took in class about it.) Answering these questions often helps you
to clarify your own goals and intentions for the paper, and helps us to know
what to look for as we read the paper with you.
- If
you have not written your paper yet –
you and the writing consultant will work together to understand the
assignment prompt and determine what is expected of you, perform research (if
applicable) to find appropriate academic resources for your paper, brainstorm to
determine what direction you might want to take with your paper, and/or outline
to help you discover the most effective way to shape and organize your ideas.
- If
you bring a paper draft to your session –
then you or the consultant will read your paper (or whatever part of it you
have brought in) aloud or silently. You may be surprised at how much it helps to have a writing consultant go over your work with you. You’ll both be listening, reading, and/or looking for ways of improving the
paper—ways to make it say what you want it to say as clearly and effectively
as possible—and you’ll stop along the way to discuss possible changes.
Ultimately, the goal of each session is to make you
feel ready and able to tackle the next step in writing or revising your paper,
whatever that may be. Sometimes there may just be a little polishing and
proofreading left to be done; if so, we’ll try to make sure you know how to do
that. But sometimes a paper needs significant re-focusing or re-organizing;
sometimes an argument needs to be reconsidered, or bolstered with more evidence,
or stated more clearly; sometimes sources need to be identified more accurately,
or individual sentences or paragraphs need to be written more clearly. The truth
is that sometimes a paper needs attention to all of the above! Together, you and
your consultant will sort out what you should work on first and whether or not
you should come back to deal with other issues. That’s why we
strongly recommend that you allow plenty of time between your first writing
center visit and the paper’s due date.
One other thing: a OWRC consultant is not a
stand-in for your professor. He or she is not in a position to anticipate or
explain your instructor’s response to your writing, or to judge either the
accuracy or the quality of your paper’s content. The consultant may suggest
that you bring some of your questions about a paper to the instructor who
assigned and will be grading it. But it’s still worth coming to the OWRC to
clear up what you can before turning in a paper. Think of your visit as a
rehearsal – a way to work out a few bugs and gain confidence before the real
audience sees your work!
We look forward to seeing you!