GWC Policies
Fees
The services of the GWC are free of charge to all students in master's degree programs. This includes both individual student consultations and workshops. Students in doctoral programs should check with their
program administrators to determine whether a fee will be charged.
Group Writing Projects
The Graduate Writing Center is an instructional service. Our purpose is not just to proofread and/or edit student papers. We collaborate with students and suggest improvements for their writing. The suggested improvements can touch on any area, from structure and content to spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If papers are completed by a group of students, then each individual person in the group must contact the Graduate Writing Center with their concerns about their own individual sections.
If one person in the group is elected as a "group leader," one who "puts the pieces together," that person is welcome to send the entire paper to us. In that case we will look at the entire paper for flow, structure, conformity with the assignment, and any other "higher" levels of writing concerns. We cannot address grammar, spelling, punctuation and other "lower level" concerns because we are not working with an individual and his or her section of the project.
A combined paper submitted by a group leader will be given an overall review, looking at higher levels of thought: organization and structure, flow, conformity with the assignment, and development of the thesis
statement.
Proofreading and Editing
The Writing Assistant will help students to identify and correct errors. If there are so many mechanical errors that we cannot effectively work with the paper or need to ask the meaning of sentences, then we reserve the right to decline the paper until these writing skills are addressed by the student. In this case, a student may inquire about available proofreaders by contacting either the ACCESS or International Student Services.
Turnaround Time
We will make every effort to return student projects in a timely manner. Please keep in mind that the Graduate Writing Center becomes very busy with papers near the end of a semester. Therefore, to ensure that you have an appointment for the future, contact the GWC as soon as you know the due date of an assignment to schedule an appointment for the future, for two to three days before your project is due. You may contact us well in advance to set up a date for a future submission. When we are notified in advance, we will work with you to determine an appointment date and time, just as if we were meeting with you in person. In this way, you are guaranteed an appointment and a timely return, which will to allow you to make revisions before submitting the assignment for a grade. If you wait until the last minute to contact us, our schedules may be full, and we will not be able to assist you.
We reserve the right to decline any paper about which we are first contacted less than two full business days before the due date/time. Papers received after Friday at 4:00 PM will be considered to have been received the following workday at 8:00 AM.