For some writers, the usual Writers Workshop hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. are quite busy – maybe they’re off campus, or their schedule simply does not allow time to rush to the library or a satellite location for an in-person appointment between obligations. In an effort to make the Writers Workshop accessible for all, the Writers Workshop has expanded its appointment offerings beyond the original in-person format. Writers now can select synchronous in-person appointments, synchronous online appointments, and what we call “Written Feedback Appointments,” which are completely asynchronous.
In-person appointments have been offered the entirety of the Writers Workshop’s tenure on this campus. A writer comes to the Workshop, meets with a consultant face to face, and receives help on their work. Today’s sessions take place in the Workshop’s new home at the Main Library, off the Orange Room, where writers have a chance to relax and study before and after their appointments. Video Call appointments, first offered in Spring 2017 and the dominant form of appointments in the Workshop’s online-only COVID-era, take place through the WCOnline platform, which allows a consultant and a writer to collaborate through a live video conference and text-sharing space. In both online and in-person sessions, writers receive live, dynamic feedback during the writing process.
Written Feedback Appointments, first piloted in Fall 2020 and offered routinely in Spring 2021, allow a writer to upload a draft for feedback from a consultant. Writers specify their concerns, ask questions, and explain the assignment through the scheduling system; the consultant then provides feedback, highlighting patterns, explaining grammatical and structural suggestions, and asking questions to prompt further revision. The writer is encouraged to act upon suggestions as they see fit and to engage in the revision process themselves to bolster their skills. The Writers Workshop is first and foremost a teaching service, and that philosophy informs all tutorial modes.
Most writers have preferences between tutorial modes; others may choose based on convenience. (As a writer, I can confirm that some days, I prefer some modes over others.) Overall, in Fall 2023, WFAs made up a small fraction of all appointment types. Live Online and in-person appointments were nearly evenly split, and those patterns are predicted to stay—barring any world-changing event—about even. Not only has the Writers Workshop innovated these services, but it has also contributed to writing center research about tutors’ and students’ experiences across modalities (e.g., Wisniewski et al., 2020, and see our “Research” page for more information). The Writers Workshop, certainly, will remain steadfast in its mission to support writers at every stage of the process.
By Elizabeth Scherschel, Classics major, History and Anthropology minors, junior