Appointments
We provide writers with a focused environment for developing their writing skills.
We work with writers in collaborative appointments focused on developing writing skills through conversation and peer feedback.
Please indicate on your appointment form whether you will be working with us over Zoom or in person. If you need to change this before your appointment, please let us know by logging back in to your appointment in WCOnline and changing this by selecting "edit appointment."
Please note:
- If you are working with us over Zoom: at the time of your appointment, please open your appointment box in the WCOnline schedule to access the Zoom link.
- If you are working with us in person: please be prepared to share your work in progress digitally.
- Please note that all times are in the Central Time (CT) zone.
- Appointments must be scheduled at least 30 minutes prior to their start time.
- For additional questions, please email us at UND.writingcenter@UND.edu.
For more information about using Zoom, please see UND's guide.
Wait List
If the schedule is full, you can add yourself to our waiting list by selecting "WAITING LIST" on the lower right side of the daily schedule. You can specify if you only want to work with a certain consultant and which times work for you. Our system will then notify you by email if an appointment slot that fits your criteria becomes available.
Need to Cancel?
Appointments can be cancelled up to their start time by logging back into the schedule, selecting your appointment, and clicking "Cancel Appointment." We ask that you please cancel your appointment if you cannot make it so we can accommodate another writer who may be waiting for an appointment. Please note that no-show appointments will be marked missed in our system, and two missed appointments will deactivate your account, so it is important to cancel if you know you cannot make it. Accounts can be reactivated by contacting us at:
P: 701.777.2795
UND.writingcenter@UND.edu
Before Your Appointment
- Have an idea of what you want to work on during your appointment.
- Have these available:
- If you have a draft, bring a copy (hard copy or electronic) or be prepared to share your screen during a Zoom session.
- Your writing materials and instructions, like an assignment sheet, proposal requirements or personal statement guidelines.
- Any comments or feedback from previous readers, such as peer reviews or instructor feedback.
- Any additional resources if you have them. These could be a copy of a documentation manual (like the APA Style Guide) or paper and a pencil to take notes.
During Your Appointment
- Explain your writing project to the consultant.
- For most writing projects, Writing Center sessions can usually review between 2-5 double-spaced pages, depending on the focus of the session.
- The consultant will ask:
- What the goal of your writing project is.
- What stage you are at in the writing project.
- If you have particular concerns about your writing.
- If you would like notes from the session sent to your instructor.
- Together, you and the consultant will make a plan for the session. If you are concerned about a specific part of your project, we can help you with that first. Otherwise, we can start with a broad overview of your work.
- If you have a draft, you and the consultant can work through it, addressing any concerns. The consultant will read your draft aloud. This can help you identify new points to work on that you have not seen before.
- If you do not have a draft yet, the consultant can help you come up with ideas.
- Please be prepared to ask questions and take notes.
After Your Appointment
You should:
- Have a plan for revision.
- Have a better idea of how a reader responds to your draft.
- Have some new strategies you can use in future writing projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
All users of the Writing Center may make up to two 30-minute appointment slots per day, up to a total of one hour per day. Students may not schedule two 30-minute appointments back-to-back so that they have an hour-long appointment.
In certain circumstances, hour-long on-campus or distance appointments may be requested for longer projects like graduate theses, doctoral dissertations, or faculty publications. If you would like to request a longer appointment, please email the Writing Center at und.writingcenter@UND.edu stating your name and project and asking to extend your appointment to an hour. Please note that we cannot guarantee that you may receive an full hour-long appointment at any time due to consultant availability.
No. We can help you most effectively when we are able to work collaboratively. This way, we can better understand your writing project and your personal writing techniques. If your main concern is "correctness" (proofreading your grammar, punctuation, and spelling), we can help you develop your editing skills and learn a few simple proofreading techniques. We can also look at and point you to various handbooks and resources we have in the Writing Center.
Some writing questions are outside of the scope of what we can offer. We are not primarily a resource for:
- direct editing or proofreading
- fact-checking
- checking general documentation guidelines
- plagiarism detection
- a substitute for an English course
- questions about copyright and reproduction rights
- help with word processing software
However, we can connect you with resources that may suit your needs better.
We rely on current style manuals to answer questions about citations and formatting. We have various manuals for common documentation styles, and we can connect you with other resources outside of the Writing Center.
Yes, but we can only help you with what can realistically be done in a short amount of time. You may need time after your session to make changes to your draft.
You can get the most out of your session by setting up your appointment in advance of your paper's due date. The amount of lead time you will need will vary depending on the type of assignment and how much work you've already done.
We can talk about the main parts of your project (such as organization, argument, or content) or read and discuss a smaller portion of your draft. We can also coach you on strategies for working through a large project. You can also talk to us about setting up regular appointments to work through your larger project together over a longer period of time.
We typically reserve hour-long appointment slots for writers working on very long documents that require a lot of close attention. Examples of long documents include:
- a graduate thesis or doctoral dissertation
- a journal article to be published in a peer-reviewed publication
- a manuscript or book to be published
Half-hour sessions are appropriate for undergraduate students and smaller projects to give writers a chance to reflect on their sessions and make changes to their drafts without being overwhelmed by many revisions.
If you would like to request a longer appointment, please email the Writing Center at und.writingcenter@UND.edu stating your name and project and asking to extend your appointment to an hour. Please note that we cannot guarantee that you will receive an hour-long appointment at any time due to consultant availability.