HSC Writing Center FAQs — University of Louisville Writing Center

What is the University Writing Center on the Health Sciences Campus?

The University Writing Center works with all members of the UofL community—current students, faculty, and staff—to improve their writing. On the Health Sciences Campus we focus specifically on helping students, faculty, and staff with the writing projects for their scholarship and professional development. We provide one-on-one consultations that help individual writers address their concerns about their drafts, and provide strategies for improving writing skills. We will work with writing at any point in the writing process, from organization when you are getting started to thinking about how best to revise a draft. In addition to our consultations, we also offer workshops about writing issues through courses or campus organizations

What kinds of writing can you work with at the University Writing Center on the Health Sciences Campus?

We work with all the kinds of writing that are common at HSC, including research articles, grant proposals, dissertation chapters and proposals, IRB applications, and other professional and scholarly work. We also can help writers with personal statements, job letters, cv, and other genres of writing.

Where can I find the University Writing Center office at HSC?

The University Writing Center office is located Kornhauser Library, room 216. Members of the HSC campus are also always welcome to make appointments at our Belknap campus location, Ekstrom 132.

Do I need to make an appointment to visit the University Writing Center at HSC?

While we do accept walk-in appointments, if you want to be sure to meet with a consultant, we recommend you make an appointment. You may schedule up to two appointments per week during the academic year at the HSC location.

How do I make an appointment?

You can make appointments using our online scheduling system, calling 502-852-2173, or stopping by Ekstrom 132. To use our online scheduling system:

Log in using your UofL user name and password.
Use the menu to select Health Sciences Campus from our three locations.
Select a white box, which indicates an available appointment.
Provide as much information as possible about the reason for your appointment.

How long do University Writing Center appointments last?

Our one-on-one consultations last fifty minutes and start at the top of the hour.

What should I do if I’m going to be late or miss my appointment?

We understand if circumstances mean that you must cancel or be late for an appointment. In such a situation, please call us and let us know. Please note, if you are more than 10 minutes late for an appointment and we have not heard from you, we may offer your appointment time to someone who is waiting to meet with a consultant. If you miss or cancel at the last minute five appointments during a semester, you will not be able to make further appointments without talking with the Director or Associate Director.

How do I use the online schedule waiting list?

If you can't find an appointment when you want one because they're all booked, you can use the Waitlist feature on our online scheduling system. On the schedule page, select the Waiting List link that is located under the day you are trying to make an appointment and fill out the form that pops up. Once you are on the Waitlist, if an appointment opens up, you will receive an email or text message notifying you that there is an opening. Please note that the Waitlist is only a notification system to let you know that an appointment is available. You will still need to log into the scheduling system or call the University Writing Center to make an appointment. Appointments are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on how to use the Waitlist, watch our video.

Must I have a draft written to make a University Writing Center appointment?

You do not have to have any writing completed to make use of the University Writing Center. Many people make appointments at the beginning of a writing project for help getting started. Our consultants can help you with brainstorming and organizing ideas and give you a great start to your writing.

What happens during a University Writing Center appointment?

At the University Writing Center, our goal is to help you improve your current writing project as well as offer advice that will help you improve your overall writing abilities. We don’t edit papers for you, but we do work with you to improve your writing skills. In a typical session, a consultant will begin by asking you about your project and any concerns you may have about the writing. If you are just starting a project, the consultant will help you develop ideas and think about organization. If you have a draft already, you and the consultant will read through the draft together. Typically we read the draft aloud, which helps you as a writer get a sense of the organization of both the draft and individual sentences. During the session, your consultant will continue to ask questions to help clarify what you are trying to accomplish in the draft and to indicate where the draft might need revision. Your consultant may also make suggestions about possible revisions but allow you to decide whether to make the changes in your draft. Near the end of a session, your consultant will take time to review with you what the two of you have covered during the session and make plans for how you will revise the draft after you leave the Writing Center.

How can I best prepare for my University Writing Center appointment?

We can help you most effectively during your University Writing Center session when we can address your concerns. If, before your appointment, you can make a list of some of the concerns about and goals for your writing project, that will help us respond to those concerns more effectively.

Can the University Writing Center help me with writing in my discipline?

University Writing Center consultants can work with any piece of writing, whether for a specific course or for professional or personal development. We work with students and faculty from every department and college at UofL, from both campuses. While not experts on the content of every discipline, our consultants are trained in working with science and technical writing genres and conventions and are able to help writers from across the University with issues of organization, audience, form, and usage and style. Our consultants also offer suggestions to help with writing process issues such as getting started and approaching revision.

Who will I work with in the University Writing Center at HSC?

The HSC Office of the University Writing Center is staffed by our Assistant Director for Graduate Student Writing, a current graduate student in the Rhetoric and Composition Ph.D. program who has had specific training working with science writing. The Assistant Director, like all of our consultants, has had had graduate course work in the theory and practice of teaching writing.

The Assistant Director of Graduate Student Writing for 2024-2025 is Jess Gottbrath, a PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition.

Can I bring writing I do outside of class to the University Writing Center

Absolutely. We can work with you on any kind of writing. We can help you with job letters, resumes, personal statements, book projects, grant proposals, even love poems. If you are working on writing and a member of the UofL community, we can help you.

What can the Writing Center do to accommodate writers who have disabilities?

The University Writing Center is committed to accessibility as both a policy and a disposition. Many of the strategies we already use can be conducive to writers with disabilities, such as working with writers to understand assignment guidelines and instructor feedback and helping writers brainstorm. In addition, we are pleased to make additional accommodations for any writer who requests them. For more information about accessibility in the Writing Center and how to let us know about accommodations that would help you, visit our Accessibility and Accommodations page.

Does the University Writing Center have other resources available to help students with Writing?

Yes. On our website you will also find handouts and videos about common student writing issues, advice about common writing questions and concerns, as well as links to other sites about writing. In the University Writing Center itself, we have copies of handouts and reference books. UofL writers are also welcome to use our computers and space to work on writing projects.

How can the University Writing Center support faculty in their teaching and writing?

The University Writing Center provides resources for faculty for their writing and for developing the writing skills of their students. Consultants at the Writing Center often work with faculty to develop and revise drafts of articles, grant applications, and other documents. The Writing Center also offers faculty consultations about teaching writing as well as handouts and videos about common student writing issues.

Faculty can also request a visit to a class from a member of Writing Center staff who will give a brief presentation about the services offered by the Writing Center.

May I drop a paper off at the University Writing Center to have it edited?

No, we are not an editing service. We are, however, happy to work with you on strategies for revising and editing your draft. Our approach is to work with you to improve your draft and your overall writing skills. See below for a description of what happens during a typical appointment.

Is there a charge for using the University Writing Center?

No, we are free to everyone in the UofL community.