One-to-One Consultations for Faculty & Staff

Whether you're writing an article for publication, drafting a chapter of a dissertation or book, working through a revision based on an editor's feedback, or putting together a conference presentation, you can schedule a consultation with a writing center administrator or a professional writing consultant. Consultations can be held in your office, if that is most convenient, or in another quiet space on either the Pew or Allendale campus. In special circumstances--such as if you are on faculty/staff in Traverse City, Holland, or Muskegon--phone or instant message consultations are available.

 

When might you find a one-to-one consultation useful?

  • You want to rehearse your presentation or get feedback on your article from an experienced writer and interested reader, ensuring your text is clear, complete, and organized.
  • You're experiencing a bit of writer's block and want to brainstorm options on what to do next.
  • You've participated in a Faculty/Staff Writing Retreat or a Faculty Friday and would like to continue to set and meet self-imposed deadlines as you complete a long writing project or multiple short projects.
  • You know that setting an appointment to share a draft with a professional writing consultant will help you pace yourself, working ahead of when the article/presentation is actually due.
  • You aren't sure a portion of your longer text really "works" just yet.
  • You have specific questions about style, grammar, or manuscript formatting that you'd like answered ahead of submitting your work to a journal/publisher.
  • You've shared your writing with a colleague, or have participated in a Faculty/Staff Writing Group, but want some personal coaching as you work through the revision process.

 

The shape of your consultation depends on your goals for the text, its length, and where you are in the writing process. If you want to discuss a rough draft of a short piece, an hour-long meeting would work best. Drafts longer than 10 pages will require you to submit your work to us ahead of the meeting so the consultation can focus on the writing, not reading through it. And very long or complex projects may be best addressed through multiple meetings.

Please note that although we are certainly happy to talk about grammar, mechanics, formatting, and citation styles, we cannot commit to editing the manuscript for you. We hope, however, that by working with a writing consultant on these issues, you can recognize and address areas of concern as well as achieve personal writing goals that can help you navigate future writing projects.

 

To schedule a consultation, please call the Fred Meijer Center for Writing at 331-2922.



Page last modified August 12, 2016