Our approach

A Writing Services Coordinator and a team of Graduate Writing Facilitators are available to work with graduate students at any stage of the writing process. Support is not limited to theses and dissertations but is available for all types of academic writing including course work, conference presentations, and publications. Learn more about the Graduate Writing Services Team.

Services

  Read Ahead service

Students are invited to request a Read Ahead to get intensive writing support focused on a draft document, which can be at any stage of completion. Graduate Facilitators and the Writing Services Coordinator comment on student writing (but do not edit student work) and suggest resources and ways of making progress. Read Ahead responses are provided asynchronously, sent out through the WCOnline platform. If students want to follow up on feedback received through a Read Ahead, they are encouraged to book a Writing Consultation.

Students can submit up to three drafts of the same work for feedback. For longer pieces of writing (ex., theses and dissertations), please note that the consultant may not read the entire draft but, instead, provide feedback on a section which they encourage you to apply to the rest of the document. 

Read Ahead turnaround times

Please allow one week from submission to receive a response (not including weekends). Once a Read Ahead request is received, the grad writing team aims to assign the submission to a reader within 48 hours (two business days). Once a submission is assigned, we aim to respond to it within 72 hours (three business days). Students will receive notifications from the WCOnline system when their submission has been assigned and when the response is uploaded. 

Students should not expect that feedback can be provided with less than 72 hours notice (excluding weekends). The time to respond to student work varies depending on the length of the submission, the number of students requesting feedback, and the Facilitators’ and Writing Coordinator’s existing commitments. Be sure to submit your request well in advance of course or semester deadlines.

  Writing consultations

Students can book in person or virtual one-on-one consultations with a Graduate Facilitator or the Writing Services Coordinator to discuss any aspect of the writing process. Consultations are synchronous discussions. They can be focused on a draft document or broad questions about the writing process, including time management and goal setting for writing, stages of the writing process, and planning for different writing assignments. Writing consultations are 30 or 60 minutes long and may be available at all three campuses. Students interested in having their written work reviewed in advance of a consultation should first submit a Read Ahead request. 

 Presentation consultations

Responding to a call for papers or preparing for a defense? Graduate Writing Facilitators or the Writing Services Coordinator offer consultations for students who are interested in the process of developing a presentation based on their written work. Presentation consultations can help students to prepare for conferences, in-class presentations, and defenses.

Consultation timelines

Once a Consultation request is received, a student will normally an email confirmation of their consultation booking within 48 - 72 hours (excluding weekends). This email will come from the WCOnline system.

 Online Graduate Writing groups

Join Thesis Writing Group to make progress on your thesis (or other academic writing projects) and to develop a sustainable writing practice! Thesis Writing Group is modelled after other successful online writing groups that use scheduled time to work on writing with the (quiet) presence and support of other writers.

Join Graduate Writing Online Community (GWOC) on Canvas to find helpful writing resources, connect with other graduate writers, and follow our discussion posts. Graduate writers are also encouraged to ask questions -- big or small -- on our Q&A forum, and to share resources of their own!

 Writing workshops

Check the Workshop Schedule for a complete list of upcoming writing workshops. Make sure to check for new workshops added throughout the term!

Which service is right for me?

FAQs

Q.  I have met with a facilitator before but I have a new piece of writing I want help with, what should I do?  
A.  You need to make a new request, but you can request a particular facilitator. Note that responses are dependent on facilitator availability.

Q. How many times can I have a facilitator look at the same piece of writing?  
A. Facilitators will normally review the same piece of writing two times.

Q. Do I need to attach the document to the read ahead request?  
A. No, once you are contacted by a facilitator, you will be asked to email your document.

Q. I made a request on Saturday, when will I hear back?  
A. Normally you will hear back within 48 hours- 72 hours, however, this does not include weekends so you should have a response by Wednesday.

Q. How far in advance of my deadline do I need to submit my work?  
A. The volume of requests at any given time of semester combined with the size of the document under review will impact the time to complete the process. Students should not expect that requests made with fewer than 72 hours to a deadline can be accommodated.

Q. Will you proofread or edit my work?  
A. No. We are developmental and instructional in our approach to working with students on their writing. We use individual pieces of writing that are shared with us as opportunities to support writers in their understanding of specific writing skills. Our philosophy is therefore oriented towards supporting writers as a whole, rather than improving or polishing a single piece of writing. We are able to provide grammar support and comment on issues related to flow, structure, cohesion, and argumentation, but may not do so in a first round of feedback if there are higher order concerns that we feel need to be addressed first. Typically, our feedback will focus on offering suggestions and resources for learning to proofread and edit your own writing effectively -- an incredibly important aspect of scholarly writing!

Q. Can I request a particular facilitator?  
A. We will attempt to specific facilitator requests, but responses are dependent on facilitator availability.

Information for faculty

Graduate Writing Facilitators provide support for graduate students seeking to improve their writing. Services include:

• Writing Consultations: one-on-one consultations to discuss strategies for time management, planning writing tasks, elements of style, and writing for different audiences
• Read Ahead: asynchronous feedback on virtually all types of graduate level writing to improve clarity and coherence
• Presentation Consultations: support for developing oral presentations based on a student’s writing.

Students may be referred to the services by their instructors, advisors, and supervisors, but please note that consultations are confidential and will be managed in accordance with BC's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. 

The Writing Services Coordinator can also develop Course Integrated Workshops, which may be delivered by the Coordinator and/or Graduate Writing Facilitators. These in-class sessions are created by request and are designed to meet students' needs related to specific assignments or course goals. Please contact the grad writing team for more information: slc-gradwritingteam@sfu.ca 

Graduate writing resources

See Graduate writing resources for more information on different types of writing.