Writing Center

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Anyone in the Molloy community is welcome. Students at any skill level or at any stage in their writing process can make an appointment. There is no charge for working with a writing consultant. Most students come to the Writing Center on their own, but a classroom instructor can refer a student for help with specific difficulties. As part of Molloy's Academic Services, we encourage students seeking guidance in personal, academic, or professional writing to schedule an appointment.

Writing Center consultants can guide you during the writing process, offering strategies for evaluating your writing and making the process of revision productive. Students' writing generally improves after quality feedback. The consultants' goals are to increase your confidence and self-sufficiency as a writer. However, you are responsible for determining that the final paper meets the professor's requirements.

After you inform the consultant about your perceived writing needs, you should be able to discuss the instructions for the assignment given by the professor. You will read your paper aloud to the consultant who can make suggestions about organizing, developing a main idea, paragraphing, sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, grammar, or research documentation--MLA or APA. Consultations are collaborative; the consultant will not rewrite the paper for you.

Bring two (2) printed copies of your typed, double-spaced paper, outline or brainstorming notes, or PowerPoint slides, which you have already reviewed for grammar, spelling, and organization, as well as your class instructor's assignment sheet. Students with online appointments should upload their paper(s) into WCOnline before the start of the session.

You can meet with a consultant to review a group project, but all members of the group must be present. If a student is not at the session, his/her section will not be reviewed. A member of the group can make an appointment with a consultant to cover an individual section.

An instructor can formally refer a student to the Writing Center by downloading and completing our referral form (PDF). A student should bring this form to the appointment, and the Writing Center will inform the instructor by e-mail after two weeks whether the student has complied.

Students who have an appointment with a consultant that day are free to use the computers to work on their assignments immediately before or after a session. Since there are a limited number of computers, we ask that students refrain from monopolizing them. Before working with a consultant, you must clear all personal items from the computer workspace. Students are required to bring two (2) copies of their paper, although printers are available for limited student use. You may only print out papers that will be reviewed by a consultant. You may not under any circumstances print out PowerPoint slides, articles to read for class, or personal documents.

The Molloy College Writing Center exists to support the development of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students as writers and researchers. Our guiding principle is that writing well is something we can each learn through disciplined practice, using clear guidelines. The Center is a place for productive discussion about writing. Our services generally include one-on-one sessions focused on any writing project in need of revision.

The Writing Center's mission is to improve student writing proficiency through a collaborative exploration of the writing process. In each session, we use the paper at hand as a springboard to engage a student to think critically and to examine a student's particular areas of need. We are more concerned with developing a student's abilities than creating a flawless, "A" paper: the Writing Center is not an editing or proofreading service. Instead, we suggest improvements and aid students in developing new techniques and approaches to writing.

Since becoming a better writer is a process that requires continued practice, students who want to improve their writing should come to the Center multiple times throughout the semester. During the course of a session, we may be able to address only one or two areas of concern, so the student is ultimately responsible for the quality of the paper and for making any corrections that a consultant suggests. We have a wealth of paper and online resources to aid students in the development of their writing.

Encourage students to take advantage of our free services by including Writing Center contact information in your syllabus and mentioning us when you give assignments. Share anecdotes from past students about how the Writing Center has helped them. You can also schedule a classroom visit for a consultant to deliver a brief overview of our services and procedures and hand out promotional materials.

Yes. All you need to do is fill out the Classroom Visit Request Form. We recommend scheduling this visit early on in the semester.

Yes. Just fill out the referral form (PDF) and make sure the student brings it to his/her appointment. The Writing Center will inform you via e-mail within two weeks if the student has complied.

Yes. While most instructors simply encourage students to visit the Writing Center, or require visits on a student-by-student basis, it is up to you if you would like to make a visit mandatory for an entire class. However, past instructors have found that a more effective method for getting an entire class to the Writing Center might be a positive incentive, such as extra credit. Nevertheless, we do ask that you first contact the Writing Center so that we can prepare accordingly. Additionally, we have found it is quite helpful to schedule a brief classroom visit so that a consultant can explain our services and procedures to your students.

A consultant will never conjecture about a given grade or what grade a paper "should receive." In fact, we will not mention grading at all; we focus on a student's overall development and progress as a writer. A consultant will never make evaluative comments about an assignment or an instructor's feedback. Rather, a consultant will use an instructor's comments to help guide a student towards fulfilling the assignment and encourage dialogue between students and faculty regarding evaluation and feedback. We are aware of the possibilities of miscommunication as a student travels back and forth between us and the classroom, so please contact us if you have any questions about a student's session.

Unfortunately, the demand for the Writing Center is usually higher than the number of available appointments, especially during midterm and the final weeks of each semester. We recommend that students schedule appointments well in advance of assignment due dates (they are allowed to schedule up to a month in advance), and we encourage students to keep the appointments they do make.