Frequently Asked Questions
What can the UWC do for me?
We offer 50-minute one-on-one and group consultations to anyone in the Baylor community who wants a reader for their writing, feedback on their ideas, or help brainstorming. We consult with undergraduate and graduate students—both in person and online—as well as faculty and staff. Our goal is to help writers become better readers and reviewers of their own work and to apply what they learn to future writing projects. We provide help to writers at all stages of the writing process, including brainstorming, research, drafting, revising, and editing. Writers are allowed one consultation session per day, and two sessions per week.
How do I make appointments?
To make an appointment, visit the https://baylor.mywconline.com/, call the UWC at (254)710-4849, or stop by in person in Moody Library (2nd floor).
How long are consultations?
Each consultation lasts 50 minutes. This gives us enough time to go over your writing in detail and discuss strategies for improvement.
Do I need to schedule a consulting session in advance?
We recommend that you schedule a session in advance to guarantee that you can be seen. During busy times like midterms and finals, appointment slots fill up quickly, so the earlier you book, the more likely that you will be guaranteed a session.
Do you accept walk-in clients?
Yes, we do accept walk-in clients any time. If a consultant is available when you drop in, you can be seen right then. Please note that during busy times, walk-in appointments are harder to secure and not guaranteed. At certain busy points during the semester, we also offer designated walk-in hours. Check our website for these dates.
Is there a limit to how many times I can visit the UWC?
You are limited to one session per day and two sessions per week so that we can best accommodate all of our clients.
What happens during a writing consultation?
During a consultation, you will meet with a trained writing consultant who will review your writing and discuss your concerns or areas on which you’d like to focus. Together, you'll work on strategies to strengthen your writing, such as improving thesis, clarity, organization, argumentation, or grammar
Who are the writing consultants at the UWC?
Our writing consultants are graduate and undergraduate students from different disciplines. Consultants receive extensive training to provide writers with tools not only to succeed on one paper, assignment, or document, but to become better writers in general and to apply what they learn to future writing projects.
What should a writer bring with them to a session?
You can come to us at any stage of the writing process, whether it’s for brainstorming, creating an outline, or getting feedback on a draft. If the writing is for a course, please upload a copy of the assignment and the paper or text (if written). Bringing these materials helps the consultants understand the audience and purpose for your writing and provides them with more background for responding to your work.
Can I bring a draft for feedback even if it's not finished?
Yes! You can bring a partial draft, notes, an outline, or just an idea. We don’t need a complete draft to help. We can even help you with the brainstorming process!
Can I have more than one consultation on the same paper?
Yes, you're welcome to schedule follow-up appointments to continue working on a draft or project. Many students find it helpful to meet with a consultant at multiple stages of the writing process.
What genres of writing do you offer help with?
We offer help on almost all genres of writing. This includes alphabetic, print-based texts, such as essays, research papers, reading responses, personal statements, resumes, and theses. We also offer help on visual, digital, and multimodal compositions, such as audio and video essays, digital stories, posters, brochures, flyers, and websites.
For faculty, we offer help with scholarly articles, book projects, and promotion materials.
Can I bring non-academic writing to the UWC?
Yes! We help with any type of writing, including personal statements, resumes, cover letters, creative writing, and even professional emails. We can assist you with any writing project you may have, academic or otherwise.
How much does it cost to use the University Writing Center?
Nothing! The UWC services are free to all Baylor students, faculty, and staff.
Do you offer online appointments?
Yes, we offer video conference (synchronous) and written feedback (asynchronous) online appointments. You can sign up for an online appointment by visiting our online scheduler.
https://baylor.mywconline.com/
Do I need to be an English major to go to the University Writing Center?
No. Students from all majors and disciplines are welcome and encouraged to visit. All writers need readers, and we are here to help you whatever your background or status. Our consultants are trained as generalist tutors who focus on the writing process, rhetorical concerns, active listening and questioning, and genre, thereby equipped to assist with writing from any discipline or subject area.
How do I join a waiting list?
If the schedule is full and you would like to join a waiting list, click on the waiting list link beneath the specific day(s) you are interested in and then adjust time and consultant preferences as desired. If there is a cancellation, you will be notified. Keep in mind that the cancellation notification goes out to everyone on the waiting list at once, so those appointments are first come, first served.
What if I need to cancel or reschedule my appointment?
If you need to cancel or reschedule, please do so as early as possible through our online scheduling system or by calling us. We ask for at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to cancel.
Will you proofread or edit my paper?
No, but we will teach you to self-edit or self-proofread. One of the questions we get most often is why we don’t proofread at the UWC. The simple answer is that the UWC is a teaching unit, not a proofreading service. We will not go through your paper (i.e., text, document) and make specific changes regarding grammar, punctuation, or style on the draft itself. Our emphasis is on learning, growth, and developing writing skills. If we proofread or edit your text for you, you might end up with a grammatically-correct, error-free, and more polished paper, but you wouldn’t understand what we had done to make it better. You would have to come back to the UWC every time you wanted to improve future papers because you wouldn’t know how to do so yourself. On the other hand, when we teach you to self-edit/self-proofread, you learn how to examine your own writing with a critical eye and are able to improve current as well as future writing projects.
Ultimately, our goal is to help you become better writers—to give you the tools to be able to edit, proofread, and revise your own writing. While we hope the one paper you bring to the consultation improves, our goal is to help you improve your overall writing skills. For these reasons, we focus on teaching you self-revising and self-editing/proofreading skills. We will answer questions about specific problems, identify patterns of repeated grammar issues, and model a correction. We will then invite you to find other similar problems in your own writing. We believe this approach is more beneficial to you in the long-run.
Does the UWC provide copyediting services?
No, we do not copyedit in the UWC. However, we do keep a list of consultants who are willing to copyedit outside of their writing center work. In this case, a consultant would work with you individually to set up the pay rate, determine the workload, and see if this partnership is a good fit. If you would like to be put in touch with a consultant willing to provide this service, send us an email at UWC@baylor.edu and we will put you in touch with one.
Will my professor be notified that I visited the UWC?
After your appointment, your consultant will email you a session note that summarizes your appointment and provides suggestions for next steps. This note also will be sent to your professor, unless you direct them otherwise. To ensure your professor is notified, please include their email address when you are setting up the appointment. If you would not like your professor notified, you can opt out by leaving your professor’s email address off of your appointment form or by communicating this to your consultant during the session.
Can the UWC help with writing in languages other than English?
Yes. We may be able to assist with writing in languages other than English. While most of our consultants specialize in English writing, some come from diverse linguistic backgrounds and may offer limited help with specific projects in other languages. If you have particular language needs, we recommend contacting us in advance to discuss available support.
I want to meet weekly with the same consultant. Can I schedule a recurring appointment?
Yes! You can schedule a weekly recurring appointment to work on a long-term project, like a thesis, research paper, or dissertation, or to work on improving your writing and rhetoric skills generally. With recurring appointments, you meet regularly with the same consultant to track your progress, build on previous work, and receive ongoing feedback. Recurring sessions can provide structured guidance and support throughout your writing process. Many students find that this consistency helps them stay on track and make steady improvements in their writing.If you would like to schedule recurring appointments, please let your consultant or one of our office assistants know, and they can set those up for you.
What kind of feedback can I expect on creative writing?
We are happy to provide feedback on creative writing, including short stories, poems, and scripts. We can help with narrative structure, character development, theme, and style, among other elements of creative work.
Is the UWC available for group projects?
Yes. We provide consultations for group writing projects. We recommend that all group members attend the session if possible, so everyone can be part of the conversation.
Can faculty or staff use the UWC?
Absolutely! The UWC is open to all members of the Baylor community, including faculty and staff who need feedback on writing projects like articles, grant proposals, book chapters, syllabi, or assignment prompts.