Writing Center Announcements March 20, 2023 The Writing Center is open for in-person appointments. You can log into our scheduling system using the links below to view our current appointment availability. The Writing Center Is Hiring! Feb. 20, 2023 Do you enjoy talking with others about their writing? Would you like to join a community built around supporting others in their writing process? A job as a Writing Center Fellow may be just the thing for you! Every writer needs a reader, and the Writing Center has a reader for every writer! Trained to respond to assignments in any discipline, Writing Center Fellows offer free, one-on-one conferences about writing at any stage in the process. Located in New South, the Writing Center welcomes undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty working on any kind of writing project. We regularly see: undergraduate students working on essays for classes juniors and seniors working on independent research projects graduate students working on seminar papers, research or grant proposals, articles, or dissertations international students making the transition to American academic writing students writing essays for fellowships or for graduate school or job applications students crafting oral presentations Writing Center Fellows can help with any part of the writing process: brainstorming ideas, developing a thesis, structuring an argument, or revising a draft. The goal of each conference is to develop strategies that will encourage students to become astute readers and critics of their own work. Although the Writing Center is not an editing or proofreading service, Fellows can help students learn techniques for improving sentences and checking mechanics. Writing Center Fellows are there to listen, strategize, suggest, diagnose, and offer advice. They serve as sounding boards, careful readers, and helpful critics, and are able to help draw out ideas and possibilities that are implicit in a student's own thinking and writing. Writing Center conferences complement, but do not replace, the relationships students have with their teachers and advisors. Writing Center Appointments To meet with a Writing Center Fellow, make an appointment using one of the links below. Come with whatever you've got—an assignment, ideas, rough notes, or a partial or full draft. 50-Minute Appointments Open to all undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty working on writing of any kind and at any stage in the process. Bring a prompt to brainstorm, a full draft, the beginnings of a cover letter, grant proposal, personal statement, creative piece, or oral presentation! Make a 50-minute Appointment 80-Minute Appointments These appointments are reserved for: Undergraduate juniors and seniors working on independent work. Bring ideas for a junior paper, a thesis funding proposal, or selections from a thesis! Graduate students, postdocs, and faculty working on research-based writing. Bring ideas for a seminar paper or conference presentation, a full draft of an article, or selections from a dissertation! Writing Center Fellows can provide long-term help with planning for extended writing projects as well as one-off feedback sessions. To view these Fellows, use the drop-down menu in our scheduling system to sort by focus; you can choose to display all Fellows who offer 80-minute conferences or sort by the Fellow's academic discipline. You can adjust the length of your conference when booking your appointment. Make an 80-minute Appointment Questions? Have a question or not sure how to proceed? Contact [email protected]. Anatomy of a Writing Center Conference Expand all items Orienting (5 minutes) The Writing Center Fellow will likely ask you some orienting questions to get things started. Some of these might include: What’s the assignment? What feedback have you received about your writing in the past? How much time can you devote to revision? Is there something in particular you’re struggling with? What about your writing project excites you? Negotiating an agenda (5 minutes) In collaboration with the Writing Center Fellow, you’ll narrow the scope of what you’ll focus on to two or three main concerns. In preparation for reading your text together, the Fellow will ask what you want them to pay attention to as they read, where you want them to start, and how much you want them to read. The initial agenda you set together can be renegotiated as the conference continues! Reading your text (5-15 minutes) As you and the Fellow read together, you’ll be involved in the process. The Fellow might ask you to highlight areas you have questions about, or perhaps you’ll create a reverse outline, distilling each paragraph into one main idea. The Fellow will honor your preliminary agenda. That said, they may also identify additional areas for discussion as they read. When the two of you have finished reading, you’ll begin discussing together, starting with the previously identified issue(s). You may also renegotiate your agenda at this stage. Working together on the text (20-25 minutes) In 25 minutes, you and the Writing Center Fellow may only be able to work on two or three kinds of problems in an essay—motive and thesis, sources and evidence, orienting and structure, etc. This section of the conference will be interactive! The Fellow will help identify areas of concern in your writing, but it will be up to you to imagine solutions. Your writing is your own! It may be productive for you to do some additional freewriting at this stage. Feel free to ask for time to do this if it would be helpful! Planning next steps (5-10 minutes) Planning for revision is an essential component of a successful conference. All writers need more revision than is possible during a single conference! Together, you and the Writing Center Fellow will make a list of your next steps for revision and takeaways for future writing projects. This may include advice about longer-term issues that you can work on in your writing moving forward. Where Is the Writing Center? While classes are in session, Writing Center conferences take place at the Writing Center in New South. Take the elevator or the stairs to the second floor and enter the door labeled "The Writing Center." Take a seat in our reception area and a Writing Center Fellow will come find you at the start time of your appointment. Policies & Frequently Asked Questions Writing Center Conferences Can you match me with a Writing Center Fellow who knows about my topic? Rather than offer the discipline-based help you can get from your advisors, professors, or preceptors, Writing Center Fellows help you learn to articulate your ideas to a non-specialist reader. In general, the Writing Center does not match you with a Fellow according to your paper topic; no matter what the subject matter, our Fellows serve as sounding boards, careful readers, and helpful critics. However, if you're a junior, senior, or graduate student working on a research project, you may sign up for extended appointments with a Writing Center Fellow in your field or neighboring discipline. Can I meet with a specific Writing Center Fellow? Our scheduling system will display the names of all Writing Center Fellows who are working on a given day, so you will know the name of the Fellow you will be working with in advance. Please note, however, that we reserve the right to swap your appointment with a different Fellow working at the same time if the need arises. We encourage you to make appointments with a variety of Fellows so you can benefit from different perspectives on your writing! Can I contact Writing Center Fellows directly regarding Writing Center appointments? Please do not write directly to individual Fellows regarding Writing Center appointments. Our Fellows are students too, and it's important to us that we protect their time. Our policy is that all appointments must be scheduled through our scheduling system. Changes to appointments must be made through our scheduling system or by a Writing Center administrative staff member. Please direct any questions about Writing Center appointments, including appointment availability and changes to your appointments, to [email protected]. How should I prepare for a Writing Center conference? Please bring your assignment prompt and two hard copies of the notes, outline, or draft you would like to work on. It would also be helpful to bring any feedback you’ve received on the project from your professor, preceptor, or advisor, and any key sources that you’re working with. These materials can help a Writing Center Fellow contextualize your project, and may be useful to refer back to during the conference. The best beginning to a conference is when you, the writer, have reflected on what kind of help you would like. Be sure to read your draft closely before you arrive, and perhaps jot down some notes indicating what you would like to focus on. Can the Writing Center Fellow read my paper before the conference? Writing Center Fellows do not read papers in advance of your conference. We believe that you will become a better reader and reviser of your own work through the experience of articulating your writing concerns at the beginning of the conference. Your Writing Center Fellow can combine an understanding of those concerns with the perspective of a reader coming fresh to your paper, and then use both to help you think about possibilities for revision. Furthermore, the Writing Center is a popular resource for writers of all levels of experience at Princeton. If Fellows read papers in advance, we wouldn't be able to serve as many people. What should I expect when I come in for a Writing Center conference? The Writing Center Fellow will ask what you would like to work on during the session. The Fellow will also ask to see the assignment prompt and to hear about any feedback you have received on your writing from your professor, preceptor, or advisor. You and the Fellow will then spend 5-15 minutes together reading the parts of the draft that you have both agreed to focus on. The Writing Center Fellow will discuss your writing with you, which will frequently involve asking you questions about your ideas and getting you to talk through problems arising in the draft. If you haven't yet written anything, the Fellow will help you brainstorm and organize ideas. You can expect to take plenty of notes! You will spend the last part of the session developing a plan for further writing and revision. If you'd like to learn more about how a Writing Center conference is typically structured, take a look at this page: Anatomy of a Writing Center Conference How often can I come to the Writing Center? Our online scheduling system will normally allow you to book a maximum of two conferences each week. During our busiest times, we may temporarily limit you to scheduling one conference per week through our scheduling system. This is to ensure that we are able to meet demand and ensure equitable access to appointments during our busiest periods. If you wish to make a second appointment during one of these times, please email [email protected] with your availability and we will be happy to consider your request if demand allows. How far in advance can I book a Writing Center appointment? Our online scheduling system will allow you to book appointments up to two weeks ahead of time. Will you tell my instructor that I visited the Writing Center? Writing Center Fellows will not discuss your conference with your instructor or share that you came to the Writing Center. What are the Writing Center's cancellation policies? If you find you no longer need a conference that you've booked, we ask that you cancel at least 5 hours in advance via our scheduling system to allow others the chance to book a conference at the time you had been holding. Cancellations with less than 5 hours' notice are considered late cancellations; conferences cannot be canceled less than 1 hour before their start time. If you do not cancel in advance and do not attend your conference, this is considered a no-show. After three late cancellations or two no-shows, your account in our scheduling system is deactivated and you must write to [email protected] if you wish to continue scheduling appointments. The Writing Center is a popular resource, and these policies are in place to help ensure that conferences are available for students who need them. Can I conference with a Writing Center Fellow about a take-home exam? If you wish to consult with a Writing Center Fellow about a take-home exam, you must bring written permission from your instructor to the conference. Can I book a virtual appointment at the Writing Center? During the academic year, when classes are in session, Writing Center conferences take place in person in New South. Virtual appointments cannot be booked through our online scheduling system when classes are in session and requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. To request a virtual appointment, please write to [email protected] at least 24 hours prior to your desired appointment time. When requesting a virtual appointment, please provide a list of dates and times when you would be available to meet. Please note that we are unable to accommodate requests to change an in-person appointment that you have already booked to a virtual appointment. Does the Writing Center have a masking policy? While masks are not required for Writing Center conferences, we ask that you please be considerate and respond to the requests of Writing Center Fellows who prefer to wear masks during conferences. If you prefer to wear masks, Writing Center Fellows will respect your preferences as well. Masks will be available at the Writing Center upon request. Can I record my Writing Center conference? While we encourage the practice of taking dictation and recording your own voice as a useful tool for reflection and note-taking, Writing Center conferences may not be recorded. Our Scheduling System How do I create or update my profile? You'll be prompted to set up your profile the first time you log on to the system. This information helps us to better serve you and contact you if we have any questions prior to your appointment. You will be prompted periodically to verify that the information in your profile is up to date. You may update your profile at any time by going to the Welcome menu, then select Profile & Communication Options. You can also manage your email options, system preferences, and register for text message notifications from this screen. How do I book an appointment? Log on to our scheduling system. Search for an appointment using Preferred Appointment Date and Preferred Appointment Time, then click Find Appointments. Perfect matches for your search will be listed if they are available, otherwise you'll see a list of the closest matches. Click Reserve for the appointment you would like to book. Please note that at least one full hour must be available in order to book an appointment. Verify this using the dropdown for the end time of your appointment. Be sure to tell us about the assignment or project you're working on, then click Create Appointment to book your appointment. Your appointment will be confirmed by email shortly after booking. Be sure to make a note of your appointment in your personal calendar! How do I book an 80-minute appointment? Log on to our scheduling system. Search for an appointment using Preferred Appointment Date and Preferred Appointment Time. Use Limit to to narrow down your search by all 80-minute conferences or Fellows in a specific discipline, then click Find Appointments. Perfect matches for your search will be listed if they are available, otherwise you'll see a list of the closest matches. Click Reserve for the appointment you would like to book. Please note that at least one and a half hours must be available in order to book an 80-minute appointment. Verify this using the dropdown for the end time of your appointment. Be sure to tell us about the assignment or project you're working on, then click Create Appointment to book your appointment. Your appointment will be confirmed by email shortly after booking. Be sure to make a note of your appointment in your personal calendar! How do I cancel an appointment? Log on to our scheduling system. Go to the My Appointments menu and choose the appointment you would like to cancel. Select Cancel Appointment. How do I sign up for the waiting list? Log on to our scheduling system. Search for an appointment using Preferred Appointment Date and Preferred Appointment Time, then click Find Appointments. If you're unable to find an appointment that fits your schedule on this day, select the Waiting List button. Select Join Waiting List to be notified of any openings for that day. You may also limit the notification based on your desired appointment time. If an appointment becomes available, you'll be alerted by email or text message depending on your notification preferences. Appointments that open are available on a first come, first served basis, so be sure to act quickly to book your appointment.
