Faculty Resources
Our goal is to provide support for all writers--from students to faculty and staff--in the CSU Global community. We strive to foster academic excellence and creativity by providing resources and support that meet the needs of graduate and undergraduate students. The Writing Center offers both one-on-one writing consultations and online essay support, in addition to resources designed to strengthen students' academic reading, writing, critical thinking, and research skills.
About The Writing Center
The CSU Global Writing Center is here to help students become better writers. While students might work with consultants on a specific piece of writing, our goal is to teach students the skills that will help them strengthen their writing abilities and become more confident and capable writers. In a session at the Writing Center, Writing Consultants can assist students at any stage of the writing process.
- Writing Center sessions are 50 minutes long.
- Sessions start on the hour (5:00pm, 6:00pm, etc.).
- We offer appointments 7 days a week during morning, afternoon, and evening hours.
- Professional Writing Consultants are CSU-Global faculty and receive professional development in writing instruction.
- All sessions are by appointment:
- Students can schedule up to two appointments per week.
- Appointments can be scheduled up to 3 hours in advance for Drop Box appointments.
- Appointments can be scheduled as soon as the next day. For example, up until 11:59pm MT on Monday, you can schedule an appointment for any available time on Thursday.
- If students need to reschedule, they must cancel their appointments up until the start of the appointment for Drop Box and up to 3 hours before the start time of the Live Writing Consultation appointment.
- If a student is more than 5 minutes late to an appointment, the student will be considered a no-show.
- After three (3) no-shows, students’ accounts are disabled. Students must email the Academic Resources Manager to reinstate their accounts.
- Writing consultants will not conduct online consultations with students using tablets or mobile devices. Students must use a desktop computer or laptop in order to utilize the full functionality of WCOnline.
- Writing consultants who are teaching courses cannot work with students who are presently enrolled in their courses.
- Writing consultants cannot work with students to complete PLA or CBE requirements.
What Students Can Expect From Sessions
- Writing Consultants can help both undergraduate and graduate students with any piece of writing from any class in any discipline.
- Writing Consultants can assist students at any stage of the writing process. Here are some of the things we can help your students with:
- Generating, organizing, and developing ideas
- Argument, analysis, and synthesis
- Summary, paraphrase, and citation
- Understanding error patterns
- Research strategies and source usage
- Establishing effective proofreading skills
- Consultants help students become better writers by teaching strategies to draft, revise, edit, proofread, and cite. With that in mind, we cannot “fix” errors, copy edit a draft, define the focus of an essay, or tell the student what to write.
- Consultants typically focus on larger organizational concerns first: addressing the assignment, organization, argument, etc. We do, however, also assist with sentence-level issues: grammar, mechanics, punctuation and proofreading strategies.
How Students Can Prepare for Sessions
- Complete the appointment intake form with specific information pertaining to their assignment and draft.
- Provide the assignment prompt for their consultants.
- Come to their appointments with specific questions about their drafts or their writing in general.
- Bring a draft of the paper, thesis statement, outline, or anything else they want to work on in the session.
- Log into the online consultation 5-10 minutes prior to the appointment start time to test the audio/video and troubleshoot any connection issues.
Instructions for Scheduling Appointments
- Visit WCOnline to register your account and make appointments with CSU Global Writing Consultants.
- After you’ve logged into the scheduler, make sure that you are viewing the correct week and day/date. You can navigate to other days/weeks by using either the overhead calendars or the Next Week/Prev Week buttons.
- If you prefer a specific consultant, find the consultant’s name on the left-hand side and click a white box that corresponds with both the consultant and your desired appointment time. If you have no consultant preference, simply click a white box under your desired appointment time.
Suggestions for Referring Students to the Writing Center
- Encourage students to set up appointments in advance.
- Provide specific suggestions on what students should visit the Writing Center for.
- Encourage students to bring feedback you’ve given them on drafts and previous assignments.
- Remind students to review the guidelines and recommendations on our website before making an appointment so they know what to expect.
- Point students to our tutorials and online resources if they don’t have time to make an appointment.
