Faculty and Staff
- For the secure Faculty area of the website, please click here.
- Use the Student Referral form to send a student to the Writing Center
- To request a visit by a staff member to your classroom, or to request a workshop specifically for your students, please fill out the Visit Request Form. We can visit any class at UWG, especially senior seminars.
- Flyers that you can either print out for your classes or link to on your syllabus.
- For the WAC (Writing Across the Curriculum) page, please click here.
- For guidelines to write your own Regents' reading test, please click here (will open a Word document).
Frequently Asked Questions for Faculty Members
Why do we have a University Writing Center?
Who can come the University Writing Center?
What happens during a tutorial?
Do your tutors assess the essay during the tutorial?
Can I require my entire class to bring their papers to the University Writing Center?
How can I encourage my students to use the University Writing Center?
Will I know when one of my students uses the University Writing Center?
Can I send my students in for proofreading?
Will the University Writing Center help students document sources?
Can a student drop off a paper and pick it up later?
How does the University Writing Center help with group tutorials?
Can the University Writing Center staff conduct workshops or presentations for my students?
Why do we have a University Writing Center?
The UWC gives students the techniques and practice to improve their writing skills. The UWC serves the first year students at West Georgia.
Who can use the University Writing Center?
Any student of West Georgia may use the UWC. All appointments are free.
Who are the tutors?
Currently, tutors are either English graduate students or professors from UWG's English department.
Can I become a tutor?
Yes, you can. Please contact the director of the UWC, Maren Henry, at mhenry@westga.edu.
What happens during a tutorial?
We ask that students bring their assignment sheets and drafts of their projects to the UWC. The tutor will ask them what area they feel needs the most work (idea, organization, grammar, citation, etc). They will then read through the work, focusing on the area specified. Finally, the tutors will help the student develop a plan to improve the draft.
Do your tutors assess the essays during a tutorial?
It is not our function to assess writing done in your classes. Our tutors are specifically instructed to not grade essays during a tutorial. Even if students ask, tutors will not give them a grade for the essay.
Can I require my entire class to bring their papers to the University Writing Center?
Entire classes will greatly strain our resources. Instead, please use the referral form to refer specific students that need help to us. Make sure that you ask your students to pick up verification slips so that they can prove they were here. The slips include a brief summary of the tutorial and are signed by their tutor.
How can I encourage my students to use the University Writing Center?
The staff of the UWC is happy and willing to come by your introductory class and talk about what the UWC can provide. We also have several flyers that you can either post to your syllabus or hand out in class.
Will I know when one of my students uses the University Writing Center?
There are several ways to know if your students use the UWC. You can have them pick up verification sheets at the front desk. If you would like weekly updates on student attendance, you may join our mailing list. Email Maren Henry at mhenry@westga.edu for more information.
Many of my students turn in papers that have many grammar and spelling mistakes. Can I send them to the WC for proofreading?
You can send your students to the UWC for help, but please know that we cannot be responsible for proofreading. Rather, your student will be able to learn which problems are most prevalent and how to identify and fix them in their papers. We will not point out every mistake in the essay. Since this is a learning process and not a quick fix for a better grade, it will take several appointments for the student to be able to improve the quality of the writing in the essays that they turn in to you. It is their job to proofread their own paper.
Will the University Writing Center help students document sources?
Yes, we will. Please give your students a list of documentation styles that are acceptable so the tutors know which resources to use (i.e., MLA, APA, Chicago, ASA, etc). Again, though, we expect students to do most of the work on the essays themselves so that they can learn the process. So we might do an example citation, but they must do the others on their own. Please visit our Resources section for more information on citation formats.
Can a student drop off a paper and pick it up later?
No. Because the tutorial is a dialogue between the tutor and the student, the student must be present.
How does the WC help with group papers?
We do offer group tutorials. We ask that as many group members be present as possible so that we can make sure all of the ideas and concerns of the individual group members are reflected in the essay.
I've had students who have visited the University Writing Center and still turned in papers that still contain problematic writing. Why?
Each appointment is limited to 30 minutes. One session will not be sufficient to address all the problems in an essay. Therefore, we encourage students to come by several times before an essay is due. Even then, there may be issues that will take more than a semester to resolve.
Can the University Writing Center staff conduct workshops or presentations for my students?
Yes, we can, time permitting. For the first six weeks of the semester, we can send a representative to your class to introduce the Writing Center and its goals. Also during this time, your students are welcome to join our workshops. Please have your students visit our workshops page for a schedule. After Fall Break, we can conduct workshops specifically for your students on areas of writing you feel need to be addressed. Please fill out our form to schedule a workshop time.