One-on-One Writing Support

The KSU Writing Center provides one-on-one writing help in any subject, at any level, and at any stage of the writing process. Graduate students, honors students, and even faculty members frequent the Writing Center along with students new to the demands of college writing. We help with all types of writing, for all majors and every discipline.

Helping you become a better writer means we focus first on the global aspects of writing: topic development, thesis construction, organization, etc. We then can help you learn to edit and proofread your work successfully.

Types of Sessions

You can get feedback on your writing in three different ways:

  • Face to Face: Work one-on-one with a Writing Assistant or Graduate Writing Coach in the KSU Writing Center on either campus. 
  • Online Live Feedback: Interact with a Writing Assistant using audio, video, or chat feed online.
  • Online Written Response: Receive revision tips from a Writing Assistant within 48 hours of your appointment (available only to students in 100% online degree programs).

How to Make an Appointment

 

  • Make an appointment for online writing assistance by selecting a date and time on our appointment calendar. (You will need to register the first time you log in.)
  • Same-day appointments can be made one hour in advance via the Appointment Calendar.
  • So that we are able to help as many students as possible, students are limited to one session per day and three sessions per week.

Two ksu students at working together at the writing centercoffee table

 

How to Prepare for a Session

  • Bring or upload your assignment guidelines and, if you have started writing, a copy of your draft.
  • Expect to spend 30–50 minutes discussing your writing and writing process with a friendly, knowledgeable writing assistant.
  • Review our tips on how to prepare for a session.
  • Click on your appointment on the Appointment Calendar. Upload your draft (as a Microsoft Word document) and your assignment guidelines.
  • Expect to receive feedback within 48 hours of your scheduled appointment time. Depending on the type of writing and the areas of focus, our writing assistants can provide feedback for up to ten pages. Please note that the longer your paper, the less detailed your feedback will be.
  • Via the Microsoft Word Comment feature, your writing assistant will address both global concerns (organization, thesis statement, etc.) and local concerns (commas, sentence structure, citations, etc.). Review all of these comments carefully.

Additional Information for Writing Center Sessions

  • If you are working on a group project, your Writing Assistant can discuss any sections you wrote; however, we encourage all group members to be present to discuss the entire project. The greatest improvement in these projects occurs when the entire group is involved.
  • If you are more than ten minutes late and do not contact us, your appointment time may be given to another student.
  • If you are unable to keep your appointment, please cancel one day in advance via the Appointment Calendar. If you must cancel on the day of your appointment, call the KSU Writing Center at (470) 578-6380 (Kennesaw campus) or (470) 578-5005 (Marietta campus).
  • Missing three or more appointments without prior cancellation prohibits you from making appointments for the remainder of the semester.
  • Repeat late cancellation will prohibit you from scheduling appointments for the remainder of the semester.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Kennesaw Campus:
    English Building, Room 219
    (470) 578-6380

    Marietta Campus:
    Johnson Library, Room 101
    (470) 578-5005

    Online: https://kennesaw.mywconline.com/saml/login

    Our hours vary based on location, semester, and service. Please check our homepage for the most current schedule. Please note that all online appointments must be made a minimum of one day in advance.

  • Appointments are scheduled through our online scheduling system. Select the "Schedule an Appointment" button on our website.
  • The KSU Writing Center's goal is to help you become a better writer. Writing assistants will work with you at any stage of the writing process from brainstorming to organizing to developing your ideas. Writing assistants will not edit papers, but we will help you learn valuable strategies for proofreading your own work and correcting recurring errors.

  • The KSU Writing Center is a busy place, and you may find that no appointments are available. You are always welcome to come to the Center and wait in the Computer Lab on the Kennesaw campus or our reception areas on either campus for a drop-in appointment. We can't promise a short wait, but we will help you as soon as we can!

    Please note that all online appointments must be made 30 minutes in advance. There are no “drop-in” online appointments.

  • Bring a printed copy of your paper (if you've started on it) and your assignment sheet or guidelines. If you have a previous draft or paper on which your instructor has commented, bring that as well.
  • Appointments are scheduled to last 50 minutes. If the Center is not busy, the session can last longer. If you are a graduate student working on a very long paper or project, you may set up an extended session or series of sessions by emailing graduatewritingcenter@kennesaw.edu with your request.
  • At the beginning of the session, your writing assistant will record your name and course information. When the session is completed – and with your permission – the assistant will send an email notifying your professor of your visit.
  • If you are more than ten minutes late and do not contact us, your appointment time may be given to another student.

  • In the Center
    Each session is different, but most begin with questions from the writing assistant about your assignment, due date, and specific concerns you may have. Often the writing assistant will ask you to read your essay aloud; this practice helps you both identify areas you'd like to focus on during your session. Discussion usually begins with global concerns (thesis development, organization) and leaves punctuation and grammar until the end of the session. The writing assistant may encourage you to return with a revised draft of your essay.


    Live Feedback
    In a Live Feedback session, a writing assistant will interact with you using either audio/video feeds or a chat feed and an interactive whiteboard. You will upload a draft (if you’ve started writing) and your assignment guidelines. Like a session in the Center, the writing assistant will likely begin by addressing global concerns and move to more local concerns later in the session.


    Online Written Response
    You will begin this type of session by uploading your draft and your assignment guidelines to your appointment form. Within 48 hours, you will receive a response from a writing assistant that includes both embedded  comments in Microsoft Word and a note with suggestions for revision. Ideally, your writing assistant will give you feedback on both global concerns like the organization of your draft and point out a few instances of recurring errors, along with a written explanation of how to correct them so that you can find any additional errors in your draft.

  • That depends on your instructor's policy. If your instructor has indicated on the exam directions that help from the KSU Writing Center is permissible, then we certainly are able to help you. Remember that your instructor will receive notification that you visited the Center with that assignment.
  • KSU Writing Center assistants are happy to provide feedback on group projects, but we do require all group members to be present for the session so that we can discuss each individual writer’s work. Writers may bring their individual sections of a paper to the Center, but the greatest improvements in group projects occur when the entire group is involved. For these reasons, online appointments are not currently available for group projects.
  • If you are working on a very long paper or project, you may set up an extended session or series of sessions. Please email writingcenter@kennesaw.edu with these requests. Graduate students working on capstones, theses, or dissertations should contact graduatewritingcenter@kennesaw.edu.