Student FAQs

Students who want to improve their writing skills. We can work with you during any and all phases of the writing process, whether it be brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, documenting sources and avoiding plagiarism, etc.

To do well in college and in your chosen career, you must write well. At the Writing Center, consultants help students learn the rhetorical strategies successful writers use. By providing a collaborative atmosphere that encourages students to think critically and independently, the Writing Center staff helps University students of any level and from any discipline to become better writers.

Consultants in the Writing Center include undergraduate students from diverse majors as well as adjunct faculty from the English Department.

The sooner, the better. Early in the writing process you can schedule an appointment or stop by the center to go over the assignment, brainstorm ideas, consider audience and purpose, and so on.

Later in the writing process, once you have a rough draft, we can focus on higher level concerns like focus and organization, development of ideas, and so on. Some students may actually stop by more than once during the revision process.

Still later, you might stop by to discuss or work with a consultant on improving your proofreading and editing skills.

Too many students wait until the day before a paper is due to visit the Writing Center, which doesn’t allow adequate time for anything other than superficial revisions and puts undue pressure on you and your consultant. To improve your writing skills, do what successful writers do. Seek out readers’ feedback early and often.

When you arrive, be prepared by bringing your assignment, any notes you have taken, and a draft of whatever writing you have begun. Also, be ready to talk! You and your consultant will engage in conversation about your topic. Often, we ask students to read their papers or portions of it aloud. Reading aloud helps writers to pick up different errors and to discover places where they should clarify for their readers. It also enables the consultant to have a free hand to make note of comments or suggestions for later discussion. Conferences will run no longer than fifty minutes, but often, sessions are shorter.

Sessions can be short, say 10-15 minutes; they generally last about 30 minutes, but will last no longer than 50 minutes.

Usually, no. Appointments are ENCOURAGED but not necessary throughout the semester. Appointments are A MUST during Midterms, Dead Week, and Finals Week. You can schedule an appointment by calling 941-6147 during our regular hours, by stopping by at STT 588 D, or by filling out the request form available online at www.scranton.edu/ctle. Click on the Student Services tab, then click Writing Center Services and follow instructions.

Bring any assignment sheets, notes, drafts, outlines, sources, etc. you have regarding your assignment, question, or concern. However, you need not have a completed paper. We can help you with understanding the assignment, generating ideas, and so on.

No. Consultants at the Writing Center are here to help you develop as a writer and will work with you as you develop more effective proofreading and editing skills. We will not do the work for you.

Yes. Although we may not have a consultant who shares your major, we are all versed in different aspects of writing requirements for different disciplines. Also, we have a wealth of information available to us in the Writing Center to help us in these situations.

While the Writing Center may not be able to match you with a consultant from your major, we will match you with someone who can provide a sounding board for your ideas. A consultant from one discipline can help a client from another for several reasons:

• We have been trained to collaborate with students from various disciplines.
• We have a wealth of information available to help you and your consultant choose your best revision options.
• Even though we may not be familiar with what all of the numbers mean in a particular Lab Report, we can still work with you on other aspects of it, for example, analyzing audience & purpose, revising for clarity and conciseness, using parallel headings, addressing grammatical concerns.

Although we discourage bringing more than one paper, if your papers are short (3 pages or less), you may bring two. However, two is the absolute maximum.

Of course. If you have a preference, you can make an appointment with that particular consultant by calling or setting up an appointment online. We will do our best to honor your request.

Unfortunately no. Our consultants meet only with University of Scranton students.