The Odegaard Writing & Research Center is open to current UW faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students.
The OWRC strives to be a safe place to ask questions about writing and collaborate with a friendly, responsive peer tutor who will make suggestions or help explore answers to your questions. Most writers bring in papers they are writing for courses, but we also help with personal writing such as cover letters, oral speeches, group papers, personal statements, resumes, and articles for publication. The only exception to our “open-door policy” is that, unfortunately, we cannot help students who are writing papers in languages other than English.
Please note that we are not a proof-reading service. Our policy is to provide support and reader feedback through conversation, negotiation of instructor and generic expectations, and attention to students’ intentional language choices, so that the writer may gradually come to develop a critical awareness of their own language choices. We help build writing skills that will help individuals become self-sufficient and confident in their writing ability. We’re happy to assist with “supervised proofreading” — that is, to help you recognize and learn how to correct persistent errors — but we can’t do all the work for you!
When working with a writing professional at the Odegaard Writing & Research Center, a typical session may go like this:
Our tutors will start 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. It’s a good idea to bring the assignment description 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 a tutor 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 and the consultant will read what you have brought aloud. You may be surprised at how much it helps to hear what you’ve written. You’ll both be listening 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 other times 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. Sometimes a paper needs attention to all of the above! Together, you and your tutor 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 appointment and the paper’s due date.
Please note that a OWRC tutor is not a stand-in for your professor. Your tutor is not in a position to anticipate or explain your instructor’s response to your writing, or to judge either the accuracy or 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 appointment as an opportunity to clarify your ideas, goals, and rhetorical choices before submitting your final product.
However, this is just how one session can go! Depending on the tutor and what you’re looking for, we may go about consulting your writing in ways that are most relevant to your work.
The OWRC is located on the first floor of the Odegaard Undergraduate Library (campus map) in room 121. We are open during the following hours (except for select campus holidays):
Autumn, Winter, Spring Hours: Sunday 3:30 to 7:30 pm, Monday–Thursday 9:30 am to 7:30 pm, Friday 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Signing up for an appointment is highly recommended. If you do so, you’re guaranteed to see a tutor of your choosing at a specific day/time. There is no hassle, no wait time, and no worries.
We also take drop-in appointments, but sometimes writers have to wait until a tutor becomes available. We also give away a reserved spot if the writer doesn’t show up within the first 15 minutes of the appointment. For more information about our drop-in policies, please visit this page.
Making an online appointment
When you first log into WC Online, you will be prompted to select either the In-Person or Virtual appointment schedule. To make an online appointment, click “Virtual,” then select an available appointment slot that works with your schedule.
Starting your online appointment
Five to ten minutes before your appointment is scheduled to start, find the appointment you made in WC Online, click on it, and then click “Start or Join Online Consultation.” You may need to grant the site permission to use your camera and microphone.
Once you join the virtual appointment, you will see a document in the middle of the screen. You can paste your writing here so your tutor can see it. You will also see your camera window in the top left. Make sure your camera is turned on so your tutor can see you! It is very difficult to have a productive tutoring session when the tutor and writer cannot see each other.
Online appointment tips
Unlike in other applications, in WC Online your tutor cannot see what you highlight. If you want your tutor to look at something specific in your writing, use text formatting like bold or underline.
In the camera window, there is also a button to share your screen. You can use this to show your tutor other documents, including the assignment prompt, your course Canvas page, or anything else that may be helpful.
Once you are done with your appointment, you can copy and paste your writing from the appointment screen into a different document, or you can export the content as a new file by clicking the ⇆ icon in the top right.
Troubleshooting
Having an issue in WC Online? See below for some common issues and solutions!
Why won’t my shared screen, video, or audio show up in my browser or on my computer?
Browsers and computers handle permissions for the camera and microphone differently. They may require that you allow screen-sharing separately or group screen-sharing with screen recording and frequently update for security and privacy.
- On a Mac: One of Apple’s privacy options requires that you allow screen recording in order for screen-sharing to work–even though you are not recording your screen. This means that your screen-sharing might not be fully enabled (which could be because you have not yet used a given browser with video or screen-sharing before, or because you previously opened the browser and denied or ignored a video or screen-sharing option). To allow screen recording on your Mac, go to “System Preferences,” and then “Security & Privacy.” Choose “Privacy,” choose “Screen Recording,” click to make changes if needed, and choose the browser or browsers you would like to use with screen sharing.
- In Firefox: On any type of computer, Firefox might require additional permissions, even after you have allowed sharing of the camera/microphone within an online meeting. While the exact steps might depend on your version of Firefox, try going into “Preferences,” then “Privacy & Security,” and then “Permissions,” and then clicking on “Settings” for “Camera” and “Microphone” to allow them to be shared.
- Any other browser: Each browser offers an option to allow or share your camera and microphone (together or separately) or to share your screen application, window, or tab. Depending on your browser and computer settings, combined with any options you might have selected before, you might have a browser set to disallow sharing and not offer the option each time you open a meeting. Check both the browser’s preferences or settings, and the computer’s preferences or settings, and choose to allow the camera, microphone, and or screen-sharing in that browser.
Why can’t my tutor see/hear me even if my video and audio are enabled?
If a participant in an online session doesn’t see the video or audio options or can’t see the other participant, then that most likely means that the individual’s camera isn’t available to their web browser or isn’t broadcasting. Most likely, this is because you said “no” or hit “escape” when the browser asked for permission to access the camera when first joining a session. It’s also possible that you have disabled access to the camera for the entire browser or have set the browser to only allow such access for specific websites.
In any case, we recommend moving forward by:
- Clicking on the video icon (in your camera window in the top left) to reopen the option to allow use of your camera and microphone.
- Closing the browser entirely and then trying to access the session in another browser.
- Checking browser and operating system “video,” “audio,” “privacy,” and “broadcast” settings to ensure that the camera and microphone haven’t been disabled for specific websites, browsers, or tools.
- Ensuring that there aren’t other heavy bandwidth applications running on the same internet connection that might impact the bandwidth available to the module.
- Ensure that no other application currently open is accessing the video camera. WC Online requires that it has sole access to the camera.
- Continuing the session without audio and video and using the other tools such as the text chat, whiteboard, and drawing tools to communicate in the session.
What are the technical requirements to use WC Online?
WC Online can be used with any type of device with a modern web browser (Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Edge). You will need a stable internet connection. For audio and video to work, you will also need a webcam.
Appointments are 45 minutes. You may come in as often as you like. We limit students to 3 appointment(s) a week (subject to change). For more information, please see our policies.
If no appointment slots open later, please sign up for the waitlist or try visiting one of the other writing centers on campus! Many departments have their own centers dedicated to course-specific writing. A list of them can be found here.
We have graduate tutors and resources specifically for graduate students, including our annual Dissertation Writing Intensive.
Of course! Our peer tutors provide a friendly, non-judgmental, supportive environment for English Language Learners, International Students, and Multilingual Writers. OWRC tutors are not language teachers or grammar experts, and therefore cannot edit or proofread papers for students. However, they can help writers with:
- Identifying, tracking, and self-correcting their own language errors
- Becoming more comfortable speaking English in semi-formal environments
- Trying out and using different vocabulary
- Understanding different prompts, assignments, and genres
- Learning about U.S. academic cultures
See our staff profiles for information about individual tutors. We’re proud to have a diverse range of talented writing and research tutors and librarians on our team. When booking an appointment, you can choose particular staff members as long as they are not already booked. OWRC Staff can also make suggestions for pairing you with a tutor.
Bring as much information as you can about your assignment; bring your work-in-progress at any stage, bring your questions, and bring an open mind! We can help you at any stage of the writing process.
No. We don’t “fix” or work on your paper in your absence. The OWRC is all about conversation. Both you and your consultant will be asking and answering questions—reading your paper together and engaging in a dialogue.
No, unless they are only focusing on their own part of the paper. If different group members have written different parts of the paper, they all need to be here to ask and answer questions about their parts. This includes late-stage revisions and technical corrections; if there are errors to be found, the person who made them has to be here to correct them!
It depends. If you have kept track of all the necessary publication information and know which system of documentation you want to use (MLA, APA, CBE, and CSE to name a few), we will help look-up answers to citation-related questions. You can also find a lot of information about citing sources (including sample papers formatted in different citation styles!) in the Writing Resources section of our web site.
No. The OWRC does not provide evidence to instructors that students have visited the OWRC for required visits or extra credit opportunities. Thank you for your understanding.
Yes. Our tutors are happy to read documents over any digital device. For in-person appointments, you are welcome to bring your own laptop or make use of an OWRC laptop or desktop computer by emailing the document to yourself in advance then opening it with a tutor once you begin your session. For online appointments, screen sharing or uploading a file via chat in WC Online will allow our tutors to view your written work as well. We strongly recommend making any writing revisions outside of WC Online to avoid unsaved work.
We are always on the lookout for supportive tutors. We hire every Spring for the following academic year and welcome applicants from all disciplines. Please visit here for more information.
OWRC would love to hear from you. Please send your e-mail to owrc@uw.edu.