by Dr. Becca Cassady, Graduate Writing Center Director
Ask almost any graduate student—almost anyone in higher ed, really—and we’ve been there: So deep in a dissertation chapter that we can’t write our way out. Stumped by cryptic “revise and resubmit” feedback. Unable to please a grant committee comprised of academics outside of our discipline. Intimidated by a blank Word document at the beginning of a project. Even when we’re pretty pleased with a document, sometimes we still hesitate to hit “send.”
Writing can be hard. Especially if you feel like you’re in it alone.
Enter the Graduate Writing Center (GWC). The GWC is a Graduate School service designed to aid students with their various writing projects—from class assignments to dissertation chapters to job application materials. We help brainstorm, reorganize complex arguments, reword ambiguous or unclear sentences, and more. All of our consultants are advanced stage doctoral students with extensive writing training and experience. We offer writing groups that you can opt into each semester, occasional workshops, and one-on-one consultations.
I’ve had students ask me, “Isn’t this mainly for people in humanities?”Absolutely not! Our consultants are from humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields; our coordinator, Anna Beaudry, does her best to pair students with a consultant within their discipline or a closely related one.
When they’re not experts in your subject matter, consultants act as “expert outsiders”: experts in writingwho can offer a fresh perspective, ensuring that you’re communicating clearly to an outside audience.* They are trained in what questions to ask and what concerns to look for.
“That’s great and all, but what if I’m a remote or online student?” Technology is a beautiful thing! We offer remote consultations through platforms like Zoom. Phone appointments are also an option. We want to cater to as many graduate students as possible!
Our approaches to Consultations
When we meet with you one-on-one, we aim to create meaningful writing experiences by using a variety of best practices. I’ve listed a few of our priorities below. (And just so you don’t have to take my word for it, I’ve included real student evaluations from our feedback surveys.)
We dedicate ample time to written and verbal feedback. We know that graduate level writing is complex and often long. (Those dissertation chapters are no joke!) Our consultants spend one to two hours with your project before your appointment to compile thoughtful written comments. This makes your one-hour in person (or online) meetings far more focused and productive.
“[My consultant] was wonderful, from communication before the meeting to the meeting itself. She also made such detailed comments on my paper that I felt I could even have sufficiently made changes without meeting to talk about it. That’s really important to me, as sometimes it’s easy to forget what is said in meetings.” (December 2021)
“[The consultant] provided feedback in a professional manner that did not make me feel dumb or incompetent. She helped walk me through the process so that I can apply what I learned to future assignments.” (December 2021)
We listen. Our goal is to help you say what you need and want to say.
“[My consultant] really ensured that she understood what I needed from her and what my assignment was so that she could help me to the best of her abilities. She continued to follow up with me to make sure I didn’t have anymore questions or concerns. [She] made me feel like I mattered and I am so grateful for her patience and knowledge.” (April 2022)
“I appreciated how unbiased the consultant was; even though he personally disagreed with my argument, was still helpful and thoughtful. As someone who is terrible at objectivity, I appreciated that.” (December 2018)
“It was so helpful and encouraging to work with [my consultant]. With English not being my native tongue, [the consultant] was able to provide me with cues that will help make my writing flow better, and further, she gave me meaningful feedback for my papers as well as general writing feedback that I will continue to use as I proceed through my program.” (April 2022)
We help students develop long-term writing strategies while working with assignments. Much of our time is aimed at improving individual assignments sent our way: we discuss argument, content, sentence flow, wording, and more. However, we also use those as opportunities to teach clients strategies and tools to help them in future writing projects.
“[My consultant] is amazing! She takes the time to teach me writing skills…[S]he doesn’t just help me correct mistakes. I have learned so much from her this year.” (May 2019)
We see our student colleagues first and foremost as people, not assignments.Sometimes what you need in graduate school is encouragement. Our consultants speak not only from a place of expertise but also from a place of understanding. We have been and currently are experiencing the demands of academia right alongside you. You can be sure we’re rooting for you.
“Encouraging and constructive feedback that was sufficiently detailed without feeling overwhelming.” (December 2018)
In using these approaches, it’s my hope that you walk away with a stronger paper and clarity about recommended revisions and future projects.
Finally, I want to correct two common misconceptions about the Graduate Writing Center:
- “GWC consultants are proofreaders.” We believe our most helpful resource is our consultants’ position as writing experts or “expert outsiders.” We want your time with the consultant to be spent talking through what we call “higher order concerns” – things like argument, structure, flow, and clarity—rather than punctuation or formatting. We are not proofreaders and therefore we do not dedicate appointments to merely editing papers or checking formatting. We will never correct a paper and send it back without a meeting. Almost anyone can double-check the use of italics or commas, but we value our consultants’ writing and content expertise and hope you will, too!
- “GWC consultants will perfect my paper.”We can’t guarantee perfection. (Wouldn’t that be grand if we could?!) From applications to class assignments, there are many factors that go into a project’s evaluation that are beyond our control. However, our consultants aim to get to know the project’s audience and context before providing feedback to help you craft a document that is clearer, more readable, better organized, etc.
I hope you’ll give us the opportunity to work with you on your upcoming projects. Submit an appointment request form here, and you’ll have taken your first step towards what I hope will be an encouraging and helpful consultation!
*Adler-Kassner, Linda and Elizabeth Wardle, eds. Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing. UP of Colorado, 2016.
This article originally appeared on Baylor’s BearTracks Graduate Blog and can be read here. It has been modified and updated for republication.