Faculty FAQ

How can I encourage students to use the Writing Center?

Please share our URL with your students verbally or by putting it on your syllabus or course web page. You might also want to mention the Writing Center service on your writing assignments. Something like the following works well: “If you would like some help organizing ideas for your paper or some constructive criticism of a draft, make an appointment to see a Writing Center consultant.” Please encourage students to come early in the process of writing a paper.

How can the Writing Center help my students improve their writing?

To help your students become better writers, the consultants will help them discover and clarify their ideas, as well as assess the effectiveness of their own writing. Consultants take a hands-off approach, using guiding questions and comments to ensure that the changes in a paper are the writer’s own.

Can I refer a student to the Writing Center?

We hope that you encourage all students to visit the Writing Center! If you do require a student to seek writing support, please encourage them to consider us a writing resource rather than a remedial lab. Students who feel as though they’re being sent to the CWC because they’re “bad” writers who need to “fix” their problems often come to us unwillingly and make our goal of helping students become more effective, confident writers difficult to achieve.

If you need to know that a student has visited the Writing Center, ask the student bring you a completed Record of Consultation form from their session.

Can a writing consultant visit my classroom?

Consultants can visit your classroom to provide a brief overview of the Writing Center and its resources. Contact us early in the semester to arrange for a visit as consultant availability is limited. Send your request to the Writing Center director, Kristen Schmidt.

If I send a student to the Writing Center, will I see immediate improvement in his/her paper?

The Writing Center mantra is Better Writers Not Better Papers. We hope to help students become more effective, confident writers rather than help them create a one-time “perfect” paper. Becoming a strong writer is something that occurs with practice over time.

Do Writing Center consultants correct or edit student writing?

Definitely not. Instead, they assist students to find and fix error patterns on their own. In order to assist students develop or clarify their writing, we ask questions and give guidance so that changes belong to the student.

Does receiving writing assistance amount to collusion?

A tutoring session is collaborative, with consultants and students exchanging ideas about basic usage, form, and style as well as the assignment’s content. Writing Center policy, however, is to ensure that student writing remains the work of the student. Consultants do not do any writing for them.