Digital Handouts
Appointment Instructions
On the day of your appointment, please come to the Writing Center (BL Fisher Library, First Floor). Bring the following with you:
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A copy of the essay you want help with. It is fine to bring a laptop, if you prefer to look at your paper on the computer
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A copy of your syllabus
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The instructions for the assignment
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Specific questions - remember, we won’t be able to cover everything in your paper in one session, so if you come with specific questions, it will help your consultant provide more targeted help
Director of the Writing Center
ANNOUNCEMENT - NOW OFFERING LONG HYBRID APPOINTMENTS
Beginning July 1, 2021, the Writing Center will be adding a new appointment type for students working on longer pieces of writing (longer than 12 pages, double spaced, not including bibliography). These appointments will be 2 hours long, and they will use a hybrid format. For the first hour, your consultant will independently review your document. Then, for the second hour, you and your consultant will meet together, either in-person or through Zoom, to discuss your paper. This will allow for a deeper engagement with the subject matter and more effective communication between you and your consultant.
To ensure the best use of Writing Center resources, these appointments are restricted to projects above 12 pages in length. If your paper is shorter than that, please choose a 60-minute option.
We are also offering a shorter hybrid option for students working on papers 6-12 pages long. These will only be 60 minutes, but they will work the same way. Your consultant will work independently for 30 minutes; then meet with you for the second half to discuss.
Our traditional appointments, both through zoom and in-person, remain available, but we recommend that they be used only for shorter (5 pages or fewer) projects or for more general questions.
Asynchronous Email appointments remain available as well, and can be used by students working on projects of any length.
To sign up for any of these appointment types, click the Registration buttons on the left. Any questions about these new appointment types can be directed to Writing.Center@asburyseminary.edu.
Canvas-Based Writing Course
The Writing Center is happy to announce that we are now offering a Canvas-based, self-guided tutorial for students who want or need more in-depth help than a one-hour consultation. This tutorial is available to all currently-enrolled Asbury Theological Seminary students, free of charge. It is designed around the concept of guided revision, where you will be guided through the stages of the Writing Process for a paper you're working on, with regular feedback from Writing Center staff.
If you're interested in signing up for this tutorial, or if you have questions and would like to know more about it, please contact us at writing.center@asburyseminary.edu or stop in and visit us in the Writing Center.
How to Make an Appointment
To make an appointment with the Writing Center:
- Click on the "Register for an Appointment" button.
- Find the date on which you need to make an appointment.
- Choose the time for the appointment you wish to make.
- Fill out the form, and click on "Confirm Appointment."
- You should receive an email confirmation shortly.
- Prior to your scheduled appointment time, please email your paper to writing.center@asburyseminary.edu. Your consultant will NOT read your paper before your appointment, but having the paper in advance will make it easier to get started quickly and maximize the available time.
PLEASE NOTE: In an average 60-minute session, we can adequately cover approximately 15 pages double-spaced (7 single-spaced). If your paper is significantly longer than that, please plan ahead and sign up for another appointment on a subsequent day. Unless special permission has been requested by emailing writing.center@asburyseminary.edu, clients are limited to one session per day.
What type of appointment do I need?
We have three different types of appointments available:
- In the KY Library - if you are physically located in or near Wilmore, please schedule a face-to-face appointment.
- Zoom.us - these are online, real-time appointments. You will speak to a consultant through Zoom (instructions coming soon), an online meeting software. This is recommended for students in Florida and Memphis, as well as anyone who cannot come to Wilmore directly.
- Email - if you are unable to meet with a consultant in real time (either face-to-face or through Zoom) because of scheduling or time zone issues, you can schedule an email appointment. This means that you are reserving a block of the consultant's time in which they will review your submission and return it to you via email.
Writing Center Policies*
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Appointments may be made no more than two weeks in advance.
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Clients should sign up for no more than one (1) consultation per day and two (2) per week.
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Requests for additional consultations may be submitted to writing.center@asburyseminary.edu. These requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the assignment, the length of the paper, and the availability of consultants.
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The Writing Center reserves the right to cancel appointments in excess of these limits.
Dissertations
The Writing Center is happy to consult with clients on dissertations, including on issues relating to formatting. However, due to the length and complexity of most dissertations, as well as the nature of writing consultation, we are not able to accept whole dissertations for review.
Because the mission of the Writing Center is to help students grow in their writing skills, a successful consultation ends with the client taking our suggestions and using them to revise existing content and develop new content. This is true whether the client is writing a five-page reflection paper or a dissertation.
Consequently, we recommend scheduling consultations throughout the dissertation process. Depending on the length of each chapter and the type of questions, multiple visits per chapter will likely be needed, with time in between for revising based on the recommendations provided by the consultant.
In a typical 60-minute consultation, the Writing Center can adequately cover approximately 16 double-spaced pages (8 pages single-spaced). If an essay is longer than that, clients should plan to make multiple appointments across different days.
Back-to-back appointments or multiple appointments during the same day are not permitted, as research has shown that the effectiveness of the consultation process begins to drop after an hour. It is important for both client and consultant that sessions be limited to one hour.
*Pending final approvals
