This document provides information about the services offered by the Texas A&M University Writing Center, which includes help with writing, oral communication, and research skills for students at all stages of the writing process. Consultants are available both in-person and online, and appointments can be made through the website for 45-minute sessions to work on assignments, presentations, and other academic work. A variety of resources and tips are offered to help students make the most of their appointments.
3. Visit the Writing Center!
Evans Library
Second Floor, Room 214
Business Library &
Collaboration Commons
Second Floor, Room 205
4. Summer & Interim hours can
be found on the UWC website!
Business Library &
Collaboration Commons
Sun-Thurs 5:30 – 9:00 pm
*Drop-ins only
Wait,
What Time Again?
Fall & Spring Semester Hours
Evans Library
Sun 3PM – 9 PM
Mon-Thurs 9AM – 9PM
Fri 9AM – 4PM
Sat Closed
*Appointments only
(and walk-ins if a consultant is available)
6. Help with Every
Type of Writing
• Academic Writing
• Scientific Writing
• Business Writing
• Creative Writing
• Writing for non-native English speakers
10. You Don’t Even
Have to Show Up
(Seriously.)
Web Conference
Online
In person
Video Upload
11. About Consultations
• Sessions begin on the hour and can last
up to 45 minutes.
• Consultations are limited to one per
day.
• Drop-ins are welcome if 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 like.
12. Get the Most Out of Your Appointment
• Know your main concerns and
what you want to talk about
• Bring the assignment
sheet/rubric
• Take an active role in your
session: ask questions, make
notes, take a photo
14. Booking an Appointment
• Book appointments ASAP!
• We may have cancellations; if you can’t find your desired
time, try booking later.
• We occasionally have walk-in appointments available—
stop by if you’re in the area or call us at (979) 458-1455.
• We offer walk-ins from 5:30-9 p.m., Sunday through
Thursday, at BLCC on West Campus.
15. Additional Online Resources
A repository of helpful writing
and speaking guides available at
writingcenter.tamu.edu!
Editor's Notes
We work with Aggies to help them strengthen a skill that will be vital to them—both in college and beyond.
We do this in a variety of ways including (but not only!) through face-to-face consultations.
Also: while our name says “writing” we help with oral communication, too. Basically, if you’re using words, we can help.
And words are hard, which is why everyone can benefit from getting help at the UWC.
[If you have access to the internet, you can show the first page of the website and the How to . . . Section NOW. ]
We have two locations. Our main location is on the second floor of Evans Library, but we also have a satellite location over on West Campus in what is now known as the BLCC.
Here are our fall and spring semester hours. Summer and interim hours are shorter and West Campus is closed during the summer and interim sessions.
West Campus will be closed for the first couple weeks of the semester while we get everything in order.
Most of our consultants are students just like you.
We hire students who excel at writing and speaking but who also have a strong desire to help people. Then we give them lots of training and they earn certification from the College Reading and Learning Association.
How can our consultants help you?
We can help you narrow your topic.
We can serve as a second pair of eyes to catch problems
We can serve as a sounding board--someone for you to bounce ideas off of.
We can give you a fresh perspective when you’ve been looking at your work for way too long!
And yes, are consultants are real people: if you’re submitting work online, it’s not being read by some bot! There’s a real person, reacting to your work as a real audience/ reader will .
Academic writing– analyses, essays, rhetorical criticism, history paper, research papers, lab reports
Scientific writing – lab reports, conference posters, articles, research proposals
Business writing – resumes, cover letters, formal memos, personal statements, proposals, etc.
Creative writing –short stories, poems, biographies, memoirs
We can help with writing for REAL LIFE things like complaining to your landlord.
We also work with lots of English language learners
We don’t JUST help with writing. We can also help with any kind of speaking project.
We can help with any kind of public speaking, conference prep, etc.
We can also work with groups working on something like a group paper or a capstone presentation.
We even have conversation appointments for students who want to practice their English with us.
You can get help from us at any stage of your process. We can even just sit and brainstorm ideas with you.
We’re located in the libraries and will be happy to help direct you toward the best resources for you, whether that’s the ASK US desk or maybe the subject librarian in your field.
We offer four 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. This is great if you want to interact with someone face-to-face and want the chance to ask questions. You can also come in and practice a presentation or have a group appointment.
Email 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. This is great if you prefer to have time to read over and reflect on feedback.
Our newest kind of appointment allows you to upload a video link for us. This is great for someone who wants to practice a presentation but can’t come in to one of our locations. You can just record yourself on your phone, send us a link to the video and we’ll make comments on whatever concerns you have.
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. This lets you discuss things in real time and ask questions, without coming to the UWC.
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-show means someone who needs an appointment can’t get one.
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!
What happens in a session is really up to YOU! We’ll ask you what your concerns are and help you set goals for the session. So it works best if you have an idea of what you want to focus on.
But the session is really only successful if you’re able to act on what we discuss. So in order to help you remember, we encourage you to take notes, ask questions, and whatever else you need to do to be sure you can follow through on what we discuss.
Go to writingcenter.tamu.edu and click on the words “Make an Appointment” and from there you’ll be able to see what kind of appointment you want.
Put our number in your phone!
Our website also offers a wide array of resources, including both handouts and videos on writing & speaking topics. You can also access our social media accounts, including our YouTube channel with lot so instructional videos.
Take a picture of this or put our number in your phone!
