The Writing Center's goal is to help students become stronger, more flexible and more independent writers. With that goal in mind, the Writing Center emphasizes the entire writing process, not just 鈥渃leaning up鈥� final drafts. Our writing center consultants can help you understand your assignment; generate, develop, and organize your ideas; engage with and document source material; revise and polish your drafts, and more. Writing Center consultants will not edit students鈥� papers for them; instead, consultants will work side by side with writers, looking for patterns of error and assisting students in addressing these errors.
Scheduling a Writing Center Appointment
Writing Center appointments are available in either 30-minute or one-hour lengths of time in-person or on Teams, and can be scheduled in one of the following ways:
Use the "Schedule an Appointment" form.
Schedule an appointment online through Starfish, which can be accessed by logging into your MyApps page and scrolling down to the Starfish App.
Call the mini传媒 Library at (989) 328-1261.
Preparing for Your Appointment
We want your needs to determine the direction of your session, so let the writing consultant know your concerns and what you would like to focus on. Be prepared to take an active role in your session, reading and discussing your writing with your consultant. The best sessions are conversations.
For all appointments, please have the following items handy:
Assignment directions (and rubric, if applicable)
Ideas, notes, drafts (if you鈥檝e made it that far -- and it's okay if you haven't)
Other relevant materials (books, research articles, etc.)
If your appointment is online (in Microsoft Teams), please be aware of the following:
Your consultant will invite you to a Teams meeting. You can access this meeting using the link sent to your mini传媒 email or via the calendar in your Teams app. It is very important to join using your mini传媒 email.
As much as possible, please find a quiet, distraction-free location for your appointment.
If you experience audio issues, it may help to disconnect Bluetooth devices from your computer.
Policies and Guidelines
Students may schedule Writing Center appointments by using the scheduling form, calling the library, visiting the library reference desk in person, or utilizing Starfish.
Please keep the following policies in mind:
Appointments can be scheduled up to one week in advance.
Students are limited to two non-consecutive hours of Writing Center assistance per class, per week. (Appointments may not be scheduled back-to-back.)
If you are 10 minutes late for your appointment and have not contacted the Writing Center to cancel, your appointment might be given away to a student waiting for walk-in assistance.
Failure to show for an appointment (without calling to cancel in advance) twice during a semester will result in appointment privileges being revoked for the remainder of the semester. The Writing Center offers walk-in assistance when appointments are not filled.
In order to be available to as many students as possible, the Writing Center reserves the right to cancel any appointment which violates our scheduling policies.
Students in the Writing Center must abide by the College's Student Code of Conduct and Acceptable Use Policy. This Code of Conduct prohibits engaging in assaults and threats, participating in discrimination and harassment, dishonesty (including cheating and plagiarism), disruptive behavior, lewd behavior, alcohol and drug use on College premises, failure to comply with college officials, fighting, violations of the Acceptable Use policy in the use of College computers and the mini传媒 network, and failure to abide by laws governing the State of Michigan.
Any student who does not comply with the Code of Conduct and the Acceptable Use Policy may be denied Writing Center services and asked to leave the facility.
Students who need to provide proof of their Writing Center visits to their instructors should, prior to visiting the Writing Center, ask the instructor what information they should collect in order to receive credit for visiting. Most instructors will ask their students to provide them with the date and time of the visit, the first name of the Writing Consultant, and a brief description of the feedback they received. Some instructors, however, may require students to answer more in-depth questions in order to receive credit for visiting the Writing Center.
Please note: Your instructor will be able to contact the Writing Center for verification of your visit, so be sure to report accurate information about date, time and the name of the person who assisted you. Writing Consultants cannot sign their names to student papers.
The Writing Center assumes no responsibility on behalf of students who choose to submit plagiarized or AI (artificial intelligence) generated material in mini传媒 courses. Additionally, the Writing Center assumes no responsibility for reporting plagiarism or suspected AI use to instructors or college administrators. However, Writing Center employees do reserve the right to refuse assistance with written material that is intentionally plagiarized or generated with AI.