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 Writing Center 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.
To be productive and instill 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 & Reflection Form
Reflection Form
If you’re requiring a class visit, or are providing students who visit the Writing Center with extra credit, we have a form available for students to fill out to document their visit. Here’s a copy of the Writing Center Reflection Form.
Students will be given our Reflection Form at the end of the session. The student will fill out the form, sign and date it. Someone at the Writing Center will then stamp the form.
The reflection section of the form is important as it gives students the opportunity to reflect on what they’ve learned. Given its importance, we will not stamp blank forms.
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 both 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 make an appointment.
Teaching Resources
Here you can find some links that can help you determine how best to help your students in their writing journey!
Working With English Language Learner Students
Effective Peer Review Strategies
Teaching Writing in Non-Writing Courses
Writing as a Thinking Tool
Writing Assignments Guidance
Frequenty Asked Questions
The Writing Center is for writers in all areas of study, at all levels, in all stages of the writing process, with all types of writing projects. The Writing Center offers support for students developing as a writer and thinker, sharing work and ideas, and receiving feedback on works-in-progress in a practical, friendly, collaborative environment.
In our humble opinion, all students would benefit from working with a writing consultant.
To schedule a class visit, please call the Writing Center at 303-615-1888 or contact Yvonne Reed at [email protected].
The Writing Center consultant will introduce themselves and share their pronouns with the student they’re working with. They’ll ask the student to explain the assignment they are working on. They’ll inquire about the student’s writing goals and concerns.
Depending on the student and the assignment, our consultants may use different strategies during the session. Below are strategies often used during our sessions.
- Asking questions about the student’s purpose and goals in the piece of writing.
- Reading the draft out loud so the student can hear how it sounds.
- Asking the student to read their draft aloud so the consultant can hear how it sounds.
- Discussing strategies and techniques for the writing process.
- Demonstrating and modeling different writing techniques and strategies.
- Referring to materials in our resource library (like dictionaries, handbooks, style guides, etc).
- Cutting a draft into smaller pieces and rearranging them in different ways.
- Brainstorming ideas for the assignment with your student.
- Starting or developing an outline.
- Breaking a draft into separate chunks to better understand how the argument or ideas are organized in the assignment.
It is especially helpful if your student brings the assignment instructions and a copy of the assignment rubric
What happens during a consultation varies from student to student and often assignment to assignment. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. We strive to work with students in ways that best serve their writing processes and needs.
That depends on what type of appointment they schedule! In order to provide support for as many students as possible, we have in person and virtual appointments available. We also have a Doc Drop Program where students are able to submit their writing and receive feedback from a consultant in two to four days.
Students simply need to pick the type of session that’s the best fit for them!
This depends on what type of consultation your student books. Our sessions vary in length.
The most common session, a one-on-one consultation is 50 minutes, regardless of whether it’s virtual or in person.
Our Doc Drop consultation allows students to submit their writing to a consultant, who will provide feedback in four business days. Please note that while other consultations don’t require students to come with a draft, our doc drop consultants do need some writing in order to be able to provide feedback.
We’re so glad you asked! We offer a variety of services for students and faculty.
The Writing Center offers workshops throughout the semester for students about citations, grammar, punctuation, and other writing strategies.
You’re also welcome to attend our Antiracist Book Club as a student or faculty member. Check our home page or events page for information on upcoming events.
Students can come to the Writing Center at any stage of the writing process. That means they can come with nothing written!
In fact, we recommend students make an appointment as soon as they have an assignment and before they’ve started writing. At that point, we can help students break the assignment into more manageable tasks and figure out how much time to allow for each task.
We often help students brainstorm topic ideas or approaches, revise drafts, and integrate and document source materials.
Yes. We strongly encourage students to schedule appointments in advance to guarantee a full, 50 minutes of uninterrupted time with a writing consultant.
Students can schedule appointments:
- Online at https://msudenver.mywconline.com
- By calling our main location, in King Center 415, at (303) 615-1888
- In person, by visiting any of our Writing Center locations
However, if availability permits we can accommodate walk-ins. That is, we will try our best to give the student some time with a writing consultant who is in between previously booked sessions.
There are three ways that student can make an appointment at the Writing Center:
- Using our online scheduler at https://msudenver.mywconline.com.
- Calling our main location, in King Center 415, at (303) 615-1888.
- Stopping by in person, by visiting any of our Writing Center locations.
Yes, we can if the student requests verification that they’ve gone to the Writing Center. After a consultation, if a student needs proof of visitation, we ask them to fill out a Reflection Form, then sign and date it. One of our staff members will stamp it once it has been filled out and signed.
The Writing Center is not an editing service; however, we do support students who are looking to expand their grammar and punctuation knowledge. Our method is to teach students to identify issues that affect the clarity of their writing.
Our philosophy is that students should do the work with our consultants facilitating. We want you to be confident that the assignment you grade was written 100% by your student and not our consultants.
If a student is having a hard time scheduling an in person or online appointment with the Writing Center due to time constraints, they can always use our Doc Drop program. This program allows students to submit their writing for a consultant to review and provide written feedback on in four days.
If a student schedules a 50-minute consultation (online or virtually), they will work one-on-one with a consultant for the full duration of the appointment.
Absolutely! We recognize that writers at all levels could benefit from an extra set of eyes on their writing.
We have a dedicated group of professional writing consultants who often have experience teaching composition courses on campus. All of our professional writers consultants (and peer consultants) are more than happy to work with you on your project.
If you are interested, please contact the director of the Writing Center, Elizabeth Kleinfeld at (303) 615-1316 or [email protected].
We’re here to help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Elizabeth Kleinfeld, the Writing Center Director, at (303) 615-1316 or [email protected].
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 Handout: 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.
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!