2. Our Goal To enhance your oral and written communication skills
Provide to: undergrad and grad students of Texas A&M
How do we do this? – Mainly through face-to-face consultations, but online submissions are possible as well. We also have great resources on our website for those who prefer to fly solo.
IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, SHOW THE FIRST PAGE OF THE WEB SITE and the HOW TO SECTION NOW.
We also help faculty who teach writing and speaking by providing them with teaching advice and tips. By helping them, we hope we also help you!

3. Locations Evans Library Room 214 West Campus Library Room 205
We have two locations. Our main location is on the second floor of Evans Library (room 214). We also have a satellite location in West Campus Library (Room 205).
West Campus Library
Room 205

4. About Our Consultants Most of us are students, just like you!
Our staff is made up of both undergrad and grad students who excel in writing and public speaking. Most of us aren’t just born that way. We’ve worked on our skills and we practice a lot. And in our jobs, working almost every day helping others improve their skills, we get plenty of opportunity to practice our own.
We are nationally certified by the College Reading and Learning Association.
Some of us have taught or edited writing, or worked as professional writers; some of us have done public speaking for a living , and a lot of us have presented at conferences.
We’re here to help you in any way we can.
Need us to serve as a second pair of eyes? Cool.
Want us to help you rework your thesis? Can do.
Looking for someone to give you some honest feedback? That’s why we’re here!

5. Help with Every Type of Writing
Academic Writing
Scientific Writing
Business Writing
Creative Writing
Writing for non-native
English speakers
Academic/Scientific Writing – Analyses, essays, rhetorical criticisms, history papers, research papers, lab reports, etc.
Business Writing – Abstracts, resumes, cover letters, formal memos, personal statements, proposals, etc.
Creative Writing – Short stories, poems, biographies, memoirs, etc. Scientific Writing – Lab reports, posters, articles, research proposals
We can help international students with learning to write (and to have conversations!) in English
If you can write it (or present it), we can help with it.

6. Help with Oral Communication
Speeches
Poster/Slide Presentations
Conversational English
Interviews
Podcasts
Videos
Remember that we can help you with written AND ORAL communication.
So this means if you have a powerpoint you want us to check out… awesome.
Making your own video or podcast? We can help you with that!
Simply need to practice your speech in front of someone? We’ve got you covered.

7. Help with Research Finding Sources Using Library Resources
Since we’re located in both the Evans and West Campus libraries, we can also help you get started with your research.
The library has a lot of resources to help you with your papers.
We can help point you in the right direction: searching for sources, using the “Ask Us” service, and contacting the subject specialist for your field.

8. Help at Every Stage Understanding the assignment Brainstorming
Organizing
Writing
Reviewing and editing
Understanding the assignment – This is one of the most important parts of the writing process; if you don’t know what your professor is asking of you, then you don’t know where to begin!
Brainstorming ideas – Writer’s block? We understand. It’s helpful, but not necessary, for you to come in with something you’ve already written. If you need help but haven’t written anything yet, don’t panic - we can help you get started from square one as well.
Organizing ideas and creating an outline – once you have a clear idea of what you’re gong to be writing about and how you’re going to execute your plan, the assignment often becomes much easier to complete
Writing the paper – we’re here to give you support and feedback throughout your writing process
Reviewing rough drafts and developing editing skills – we help you help yourself!
Even if you have nothing at all, we can help you get started!

9. Myths
I can go into the Writing Center, and they’ll edit my paper for me!
The people at the Writing Center will tell me what grade they think my teacher will give me.
The consultants are going to judge me based on the quality of my work.
I’m already an awesome writer, so I have no need for the Writing Center.
We don’t edit your paper, we help YOU learn to edit your own paper.
We have no way of knowing what grade the teacher may give you, and we are not allowed to discuss teacher grading policies anyway.
We don’t care if you’re Shakespeare or if you’ve never written a paper before in your life; our goal is to help you grow and develop as a writer, no matter what stage of writing you’re at
We have so many amazing resources and can help you with so many various aspects of communication. We bet if you give us a chance, we can help you grow in some way or another, even if you’re already an “awesome writer!” Besides, even Hemingway had an editor.
***What we WILL do at the Writing Center is help YOU correct your own errors. We can help you identify the mistake, understand why it is a mistake or why it is less correct than another option, and then help you come up with techniques for recognizing and correcting these errors on your own!

10. For an Appointment Go to writingcenter.tamu.edu
Click the icon for either in-person or online appointments (per the arrows).
Once you’ve arrived at the appointment page, click the “make appointments online” link
This will take you to our online appointment system – it’s pretty self explanatory from there.
We book up quickly, so you’ll want to plan ahead.

11. About Consultations
In-person Consultations Consultations Web Consultations
We offer three options for regular appointments.
For in-person consultations, you’ll come to the UWC (either West Campus or Evans) and work face-to-face with a writing consultant.
consultations involve you sending your work to us through our scheduling system, booking an appointment, and then a consultant will read your work and ask questions and make suggestions to help you improve your writing.
We also have web sessions – this is basically like Skype. You book an appointment, and at the assigned time you’ll be able to videoconference with a consultant. You can share documents so both of you can look at the same paper.

12. About Consultations
Sessions begin on the hour or half-hour and can last up to either 25 or 45 minutes. Consultations are limited to one per day. Walk-ins are welcome when space is available. Appointments can be booked through the end of the current semester. We can provide you with a record of your visit, if you want one.
We tend to book up quickly, so if you know you’ll need an appointment, it’s best to book it ahead of time.
If you’re going to be more than 5 minutes late, please call us and let us know so we don’t forfeit your appointment to someone else
Also, if you need to change or cancel your appointment you can do so online or by calling the Writing Center’s main desk
Don’t neglect to cancel if you can’t make an appointment! A no shows means someone who needs an appointment can’t get one.
We have two different lengths available for appointments: 25- or 45-minute appointments. We will go more into detail on that later.
If you make an online appointment, you get the next available appointment, just as if you were coming in for a face-to-face appointment—the only difference is in how we interact. So, if you send a paper in online, the consultant will use the time to review it whenever it is scheduled. Your consultant will use Microsoft Word’s ‘Review’ function to offer suggestions and ask questions, and you can retrieve the reviewed document from your appointment page on our Cleopatra scheduling system.
We also have web conferencing! If you’re out of town, or you don’t feel like changing out of your pajamas, you can book a web conference with one of our consultants. You’ll be able to see and hear one another (like Skype), and share a document so each of you can make comments on it.
If you book the appointment online (using your NetID), you can schedule a consultation any day through the end of the semester. This can be helpful if you know you have a paper due, for example, a month from now, and you want to make sure you can have a consultation before you hand it in. Some students use this as extra motivation to get their paper done in time!
If you want a record of your visit to the UWC, we keep notes for each consultation. If you ask your consultant, he or she can send the notes to the you registered with. You’ll receive an a copy of the session notes for your records.

13. Appropriate Session Length
25-minute
45-minute vs
A few specific issues or sections
Resumes or cover letters
Personal statements
Brainstorming
Citations or formatting
Multiple (or unknown) concerns issues
Research papers
Analysis essays
Group projects
Presentation practice
As mentioned, we offer two different appointment lengths: 25- or 45-minute. Sometimes, it can be tricky to determine which appointment length is best suited for what you want to work on. Here are a few examples of what we have found to work best for each respective appointment length. Remember, this list is not exhaustive!
Basically, our 25-minute appointments are meant for discussing a few specific issues or sections.
(Examples: Memos, short response documents (maybe even “about me” papers), resumes, cover letters, personal statements; if you want to focus on specifics, like brainstorming, citations/formatting, or a few specific sections.) [Ask the class/instructor about some documents they
Our longer appointments work best for when you have multiple concerns… or you are unsure of what issues you have!
(Examples: Research papers, analysis essays, group projects, presentation practice; if you have a lot of concerns, don’t know what you want to focus on, or want a really in-depth look at the paper.)
Every writer and every appointment is different, so ultimately which appointment length you think would work best is your choice!
If it’s your first time and you’re unsure what length to book, call us and ask! We’ll be more than happy to guide you through the appointment-booking process! You’ll get the hang of it.

14. Hours Fall & Spring Semester Hours Evans Library West Campus Library
*Appointments and walk-ins (if someone is available)
Sunday: 3-10 p.m.
Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Saturday: Closed
West Campus Library
*Walk-ins only
Sunday-Thursday: 5:30-9 p.m.
Here are our fall and spring semester hours. Summer and interim hours are shorter.
*Summer & Interim hours can be found on the UWC website!

15. For the Most Productive Session. . .
Do you know what you want to talk about?
What are your main concerns?
Do you have the rubric/guidelines for the assignment?
Do you know what citation style you’re using? Do you have a list of your sources?
To get the most out of one of our sessions, think about what you want to ask and what kind of help you want before you come in.
Since you only have 25 or 45 minutes in a session, be sure to prioritize your concerns. (Ex: First, I want to look at the organization and content. If there’s time, let’s go through the paper for grammar revisions.)
If you’re hoping to check that you cited something properly, try to bring in whatever source you are trying to cite (if possible).

16. More Help Quick question? Stop by the front desk or visit our website!
writingcenter.tamu.edu
Helpful handouts
Informative Write Right podcasts
Workshops and events
If you just have a five minute question, you don’t need to make an appointment. Just stop by our front desk.
Also, check out our website for handouts, podcasts, workshops, events, and contests. You can search

17. Hello consultant!
This slide can be used (by you) to pimp UWC events. We always have contests/workshops/stuff going on. Ask staff about things!
You can add info, then unhide the slide.