Frequently Asked Questions


How do I schedule a consultation with a writing consultant?

First, drop by our front desk inside the Academic Achievement Center, and one of our writing consultants will be there to greet you. Then, you can either request an appointment for a future date or ask if any consultants are available at that moment to work with you. You can also call the Writing Studio at 508-531-2053 and schedule an appointment over the phone.

Do I need to make an appointment, or can I just walk in at any time?

You don't need to make an appointment to meet with a writing consultant, and we can often work with walk-in clients. However, when the Writing Studio is busy, which it often is, we don't always have the resources to accommodate walk-in students. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you make an appointment in advance to guarantee yourself a consultation with one of our consultants, as students with appointments always have precedence over students who drop by without one.

Can I e-mail or drop off my paper to be corrected?

Because the Writing Studio is a place where students work collaboratively with consultants, we don't allow papers to be dropped off or to be submitted through e-mail; both the writer and the consultant are equally important to the consultation. Additionally, writing consultants are neither professors nor editors, so they can't correct papers.

Can I work with one consultant whom I especially like?

Yes! Our weekly consultant schedule is located on our front desk, and if you enjoy working with a particular consultant, feel free to make your appointment during one of his/her shifts. For example, if you enjoy working with John, check our schedule to see the days and times on which John works; open our appointment book; and write your name in a time slot that occurs during one of his shifts. When writing your name, write "with John" beside it. Also, note that there are times when consultants are unable to come to work due to illness, so you may not always be able to work with the consultant whom you request.

What can I expect from a Writing Studio consultation?

When you come in for a writing consultation, you'll be working one-on-one with one of our peer consultants. The consultant will sign you in and gather some basic information from you. If your professor gave you any criteria or a rubric to follow, please bring it with you. The consultant will first ask you what, in particular, you'd like feedback on. Then, he/she will read through your paper together with you, taking notes as you both read. Consultants may read your paper silently, out loud, or ask you to read it out loud. When you both finish reading, the consultant will identify the more prominent patterns and issues he/she discovered in your paper. Patterns can range from recurrent errors in grammar, to consistent lack of textual evidence or support, to organizational concerns, and beyond. Next, the consultant will go over both his/her concerns and your own, providing you with feedback that prompts you to make your own revisions. Note that our writing consultants won't write on your paper or direct you through every area of concern; rather, we ask questions and make suggestions in order to guide students to make their own changes.

How long is the typical consultation?

The average consultation lasts around thirty to forty minutes. Depending on the amount of feedback, however, consultations can last anywhere from ten minutes to a full hour or more. We recommend that you allow yourself at least thirty minutes when you plan on visiting.

Will writing consultants provide feedback on every aspect of my paper?

While consultants will answer many of your questions and will provide thorough feedback, they won't cover all issues in a single session. Instead, they identify what they feel are the most important areas to be considered for revision, prioritizing some topics over others. For example, if a consultant notices that a paper's thesis lacks consistent support, he/she might address that concern before going over commas. To get the most out of your Writing Studio consultation, it's best to visit us on multiple occasions. The more you visit for a particular paper, the more feedback you'll receive!

Will the consultant fix my grammar?

Writing consultants are knowledgeable about grammar and will happily work with students on any grammatical topics; however, it's against our mission to write on papers and to correct students' errors in grammar for them. Instead, we provide direction that allows students to locate patterns in their own writing. If you're unfamiliar with certain grammatical conventions, such as comma splices, comma usage, noun/pronoun agreement, and so on, our consultants will go over these conventions and will provide examples before asking you to make the adjustments.

Do I need to have a complete paper to meet with a writing consultant?

Absolutely not! We will be happy give you feedback on any stage of the writing process, whether you're working on your introduction, thesis, works cited page, conclusion, topic choice, or even an outline. You can also visit us to brainstorm ideas with a consultant, which students often do.

Can I visit the Writing Studio with a long paper (10+ pages, for example)?

We don't set an explicit page limit at the Writing Studio. With that said, if you have a paper over ten pages--or multiple papers totaling more than ten pages--we request that you schedule several appointments to get feedback on the paper(s) in sections. If you have a thirty-page paper, for instance, it would be most convenient if you visited us daily or every other day over the course of a week, rather than trying to squeeze the entire paper into a single consultation.

If I'm not an undergraduate student, can I still visit the Writing Studio?

Absolutely! The Writing Studio welcomes writers of all levels, whether you're an undergraduate student, graduate student, international student, or even staff or faculty.

Will I get an A on my paper if I visit the Writing Studio?

Consultants are undergraduate peer tutors, not professors, and cannot guarantee grades or evaluate papers. Instead, consultants at the Writing Studio focus on providing constructive feedback to writers of any skill level on their writing. Rather than helping students write perfect papers, our consultants aim to give feedback that promotes the overall development of students' writing.

Last Modified: October 18, 2012