Information for Students
A Typical UAWC Consultation:
- Begins with a greeting. We’ll say hello, you’ll sign in, and we’ll get to work as quickly as possible.
- Is characterized by questions. We will need some information from you in order to do our jobs. To that end, we might ask questions about your assignment, the state of your paper, your usual writing style, or what particular issues brought you to the UAWC. Your answers will help shape our approach to your particular consultation.
- Takes time for careful reading and reflection. Consultants need to read your work before they can comment upon it. While we read, we might ask you to reflect on your writing process by making notes, rereading your assignment, or writing down a few things you’d definitely like to address once we’re ready to talk again. We’ll take notes too, but usually not on your paper. Generally speaking, the UAWC is a pens-off group; your paper is yours, and yours alone. We’re here to help you be the best writer you can be, not to write or correct your work ourselves.
- Doesn’t (always) sweat the small stuff. We know students are generally concerned with grammar, mechanics, and punctuation, and we’re glad to give you strategies for improving your skills in those areas. However, the UAWC recognizes higher order concerns–including thesis or purpose, focus, organization, audience, and development–as the aspects of writing which carry the most weight. Even if you come in looking for help with grammar, a lower order concern, we’ll likely want to discuss higher order concerns first. Don’t be alarmed! We’re just doing what we can to help you become the best writer possible.
- Doesn’t have to end when you leave the center. Once our time is through, we’ll recap the consultation with you and send you off with a session summary. These documents include a brief outline of what we discussed as well as advice we hope you’ll implement in the next steps of your writing process. We might also encourage you to visit us again for another session. If you come back to work on the same assignment, you might want to bring your summary with you. It will refresh your memory and help your next tutorial begin efficiently. The UAWC helps you with particular assignments, it’s true, but we also have a longer outlook. You’ll become a better writer, with more tools in your arsenal, with each and every visit.
Don’t Expect:
- A quick fix-it visit. Our consulting sessions are set on hour intervals. If you make an appointment, you should plan to spend almost the entire hour working on your essay. (If you are a walk-in client, we’ll spend half an hour with you.) Then, you should plan to spend some time on your own working on your assignment and considering the issues we’ve discussed. If your paper is due at 10 a.m., 9 a.m.. on the same day is not the best time for a session.
- A lecture. We want to talk with you about your writing, not at you. We’ll engage in dialogue rather than lessons, team-work rather than assignments. On the same hand, we’re not an editorial service–so don’t expect that we’ll do all the work ourselves. Expect to play a part in your own success.
- A guaranteed good grade. Though the UAWC is a good resource for writers, we are not in the business of giving, estimating, or guaranteeing grades. Your consultant may have different ideas about writing than your instructor does!
Here’s How it Works:
- Go to http://ua.mywconline.com and make an appointment. Appointments should be made at least one week in advance. No more than one session (appointment or walk-in) per day, per person.
- Drop by the 322 Lloyd Hall, the Ferg Starbucks, or Java City/Gorgas Library as a walk-in. Walk-in consulting is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Have a hard or electronic copy of your paper and/or your assignment ready, and be prepared to discuss your work.
