For Students
The Writing Center is fully committed to helping all Western Michigan University students better understand writing related issues and better execute effective writing strategies at all stages of the writing process.
We can help with non-course related work, like professional and creative writing endeavors, as well as cover letters, resumes, CVs, personal statements, teaching statements, etc.
We help graduate students who are working on their thesis or dissertation projects. Please keep in mind that, because of the length of these documents, we encourage you to make multiple appointments over the course of several weeks. D´Ç²Ô’t try to squeeze your entire dissertation into just one consultation!
Regardless of the course, the field of study or the level of experience, if you are working on writing, we want to help!
What to expect at your appointment
The Writing Center offers two types of consultations: 50 minute appointments and 25 minute drop-ins. Each consultation is a collaboration between a client and a writing consultant to better create, develop, and document ideas at various stages of the writing process.
What we do:
Assess the needs of the writer by discussing the assignment and the text.
Determine the most important meaning making needs of each text.
Help the writer understand and apply options for improving writing.
Empower the writer to independently deploy effective writing strategies.
What to bring to your appointment
The Writing Center helps clients with their writing at any stage in the writing process—including brainstorming, outlining, drafting, composing, revising, citing, etc. In order to better serve each client during consultations, we encourage, but do not require, that you bring any of the following materials to your consultation:
The assignment sheet and rubric for the assignment in question.
Any pre-writing completed including, outlines, word-webs, rough drafts, etc.
Previous written feedback from consultants, teachers, peer groups, etc.
A physical copy or electronic copy of the paper thus far.
Any secondary sources that may need citation within the paper.
Plagiarism
Our consultants are trained to help you recognize instances of plagiarism. We want to help writers understand plagiarism in a safe environment and to empower writers to correct plagiarism in their own writing. At the Writing Center, we understand that students face a number of challenges with plagiarism--from confusion about proper source incorporation to unfamiliarity with citation styles to different cultural understandings about source acknowledgement, and we are here to help you avoid plagiarism.
51¸£ÀûÉç's Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities seeks to promote academic honesty among all members of the university community. In doing so, they provide students with brief definitions of some common violations of academic honesty, including cheating, fabrication, falsification, forgery, multiple submission, complicity, academic computer misuse and plagiarism.
The Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities defines plagiarism as intentionally, knowingly, or carelessly presenting the work of another as one's own. Visit the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities to learn more information about 51¸£ÀûÉç's policy on academic dishonesty.