Faculty Resources

What We Do

The MSU Denver Writing Center can help your students at any stage of their writing process, for any assignment in any discipline. We help with any writing they are doing, including: 

• Summary and response writing
• Journals
• Case studies
• Research projects
• Collaborative projects
• Digital projects
• Lab reports
• Presentations
• …And more!

As we are writing experts, rather than experts in your discipline, please note that we cannot provide students with feedback on the accuracy of their content. We can help students with any aspect of their writing process and with elements of their writing that transcend disciplinary concerns. 

For example, we can help your students determine whether their writing has a clear thesis statement or focus, whether their points are developed, whether sources are integrated and cited properly, and whether they have done what your assignment requires. 

Requiring Visits

Thank you for encouraging your students to visit the Writing Center! We appreciate your support. 

That said, we, like most Writing Centers, discourage faculty from requiring their students to come to the Writing Center. This is because when students are required to come, they tend to take the session less seriously, and thus, the session can be less productive. 

For an in-depth discussion of this issue, please visit this site that shares the required visit experience of the Writing Center staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

To be productive and instil the habit of visiting the Writing Center, visits must be positive experiences for students. We recommend that you encourage students to come on their own volition or incentivize visits with extra credit opportunities. 

In some circumstances, requiring a visit can be helpful. If you would like to require a Writing Center visit for your class, please follow the protocols outlined below to ensure your student’s experience is positive and productive:

1. Email Elizabeth Kleinfeld, Director of the Writing Center, at [email protected] to alert the Writing Center that you will be requiring visits. Please include the class students are coming from, the assignment details, what you want the students to learn, and the time frame in which the students will be coming in. 
2. Emphasize to students the importance of making this appointment in advance. Often, when an entire class is required to schedule an appointment, half the students show up the day before the assignment is due. If we don’t have room for walk-ins, this can lead to frustration and disappointment. 
3. Provide students with tools and strategies for making the most of their visit. You might find inspiration from the Reflection Form or the model assignment requiring WC visit written by Dr. Jessica Parker from the English department. You are welcome to use the form assignment verbatim or modify them for your own use. 
4. Keep your expectations realistic, and encourage your students to keep their expectations realistic. There is only so much that can be achieved in one Writing Center consultation. Let your students know that measurable progress can be made over time and multiple visits. 
5. Let us know how we’re doing and how we can better support your students by contacting Elizabeth Kleinfeld at [email protected]

Proof of Visits and the Writing Center Reflection Form

Class Visits, Workshops and Presentations

The MSU Denver Writing Center provides several options for in-class support for faculty members and MSU Denver students. 

Hangouts

Writing Center Hangouts are an opportunity for students to meet consultants and learn about our services on Microsoft TEAMS. Hangouts are available for a couple of hours each day for weeks 3 – 5 of the semester – encourage your students to pop in, say hi, and/or ask quick questions! 

To get this semester’s schedule of Hangouts, email [email protected] No need to make a reservation–just tell your students to show up for a Hangout. We can provide documentation that your students attended. 

Class Visits

A Writing Center consultant can visit your classroom to lead a 10-15 minute discussion about writing and how the Writing Center can support students in their writing processes. 

Workshops

Have you scheduled peer review sessions during the semester? Our consultants are available to help facilitate if you’d like to provide your students with extra support! 

Presentations

We offer several presentations for classes, and will happily design a custom presentation on writing to meet the needs of your class. We have offered many topic-specific presentations in the past:

• MLA/APA formatting 
• In-Class writing (for exams)
• Thesis development
• Writing an abstract
• Managing a large writing project

Virtual Presentations

We support in-person and online faculty with presentations! We offer online meetings where we can facilitate any of the above sessions. 

Next Steps For Scheduling Your Class Visit, Workshop or Presentation

To schedule a class visit, workshop, or presentation, you can fill out a form here. Please give us two to four weeks notice in advance to ensure availability. 

Faculty Support

In addition to all of our other services, the Writing Center also offers support for faculty writing.

We have a number of professional writing consultants on our staff who can help faculty members with their own papers and/or books for publication, writing clear syllabi and assignment prompts, etc.

If you’d like to make an appointment for a one-on-one writing consultation, you may visit any one of our locations. To make an appointment you can call us at (303) 615-1888 or sign up here.

Additional Helpful Links

On Writing

• Bad Ideas About Writing: This free online textbook is about the myths of writing. It includes sections like First-Year Composition Should Be Skipped, Writers are Mythical, Magical and Damaged, and Response: Never Use I. 
• New Pedagogical Resource Prompt: This new journal is specifically about writing paper prompts. 
• Walden University Writing Center Blog: This blog is a place for instructors and editors to talk about writing. It’s written by the Walden University Writing Center. 

On Teaching

• Syllabi Blurbs on the Writing Center: Students are most likely to come to the Writing Center if they know about us and our services early in the semester. Why not mention the Writing Center as a resource in your syllabus? Feel free to copy and paste the blurbs in the link to a syllabus or assignment sheet. 
  • The MSU Denver Writing Center supports all MSU Denver students with all writing at any stage of the writing process. It’s a helpful resource for students, no matter how good of a writer you are. Make an appointment by visiting their website (www.msudenver.edu/writing-center/), call 303-605-7040, or stop by King Center 415 or JSSB 201 to make an appointment. 
• Writing Center Reflection Forms: This is the form that we give to students who need proof that they visited the Writing Center. It can be helpful to give this to your class as it outlines what the Writing Center does. 
• Get It In Writing Hand Out: This handout has some helpful tips to encourage students to visit the Writing Center. If you don’t know how to talk to your class about the Writing Center, this handout is a great place to start! 

For Your Students

• Why Visit Your Campus Writing Center: Consider making this short essay by Ben Rafoth a required reading for your students. 

On the Writing Center

• Writing Center Orientation Video: If you’re still feeling a little lost on what a Writing Center appointment looks like, or what the Writing Center does, watch our orientation video.