Outreach

Patrick Manning coordinates outreach requests for the Writing Center. Our outreach activities include setting up an information table at events, organizing outreach visits to classes, or having classes visit the Writing Center. You can contact Patrick by completing this request form.

Information Tables

If you are planning an event at which you would like the Writing Center to have a table, we can distribute flyers and answer questions that students may have about the services we offer.

Outreach Visits

Can Writing Center consultants visit my classroom?
Yes! Over the course of a semester, Writing Center consultants visit classes across campus, and we'd welcome the opportunity to visit your classroom.

What do Writing Center consultants do during a classroom visit?
The most common visit includes informing students what the Writing Center does, how to make an appointment, and why the Writing Center can be an important resource during the academic career. At the request of an instructor, we can also speak with a class about overall elements of strong writing and about writing strategies or requirements particular to a field, discipline, or type of writing project. A Writing Center outreach visit might involve questions and answers about everything from comma use to maintaining focus in a longer paper to correctly using APA or MLA or Chicago style. Class visits can address what constitutes plagiarism and cover basic best practices for maintaining clarity and academic integrity when quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and referencing.

A Writing Center consultant visiting a class can alert students to resources (in addition to the Writing Center) that provide advice and examples regarding grammar, punctuation, focus, cohesion, introductions, conclusions, and use of sources. In addition, a Writing Center outreach visit can help students realize that writing is a complex set of engagements and tasks about which they should not hesitate to ask questions.

One of the aspects of Writing Center outreach visits that consultants enjoy the most is letting students know that, while strong academic writing does require considerable time spent alone, they are surrounded by a community of writers—their peers in the classroom, their instructors, the consultants at the Writing Center—and that this community exists because everyone in the community has important ideas and knowledge to share.

When is the best time to have a Writing Center consultant visit my class?
Anytime! Visits at the beginning of the term might help students become aware of the Writing Center early on. However, having a Writing Center consultant visit in the middle or end of the term just before students submit a draft or a revision can be very effective. That may be the time in the year when writing challenges are more top-of-mind for the student, enabling students to more clearly see how the Writing Center can support them.

How can a faculty member set up a Writing Center Outreach visit?
Contact Patrick with ideas about what you would like a Writing Center visit to encompass. From there, we can work on scheduling an in-class visit.