What to Expect at an Appointment

During your session a peer consultant will ask you to describe your concerns and will then take a look at your writing.

Student peer consultation
Student peer consultation

If you are just getting started, the consultant will help you strategize. If you have a draft, the consultant can discuss your paper’s focus or argument, help you develop and organize supporting ideas, or assist you with citing sources. Consultants can also talk with you about the clarity and style of your writing and help you with grammar and punctuation. Although the center will never merely "fix" a paper for you, we will help you identify problems and avoid recurring patterns of error.

We can…

  1. Help you understand a writing assignment.
  2. Offer strategies for battling "writer’s block."
  3. Discuss your ideas for a paper or project.
  4. Assist you with the development, organization, style, or clarity of a draft.
  5. Coach you in editing and proofreading skills.
  6. Assist you with quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and responding to sources.
  7. Help you with citation systems such as MLA or APA.
  8. Consult with you as you revise.

We can’t…

  1. Write any portion of your paper.
  2. Correct every error for you, although we will help you identify and avoid errors.
  3. Evaluate a professor’s assignment or comment on the grade a paper should receive.
  4. Help you with course content.

Our mission is to help you edit your own essays, not to edit them for you.