FAQs

Step 1

Make an appointment on our online scheduler. Be sure to select a Consultant who is available for online consultation, as indicated by the words “Online appts. only” or “Face to face and online” below their name.

Step 2

When making an appointment, be sure to select “Yes – Meet Online” in the pop-up window. Save your appointment.

Step 3

At the time of your appointment, log into our scheduler again and click on the red square for you appointment. In the appointment window that appears, click the red “Start or Join Online Consultation.”

Step 4

You will be taken to a virtual whiteboard space. Your Consultant will meet you there, as indicated by the “2” in the upper right hand corner (for 2 users in the room)

Step 5

You can paste your paper into the whiteboard space, or you can upload it using the Import/Export button (two arrows facing opposite directions) in the upper right corner. You can text chat with your client, or if you would like to use audio/video chat, click on the grey panel on the left side of your screen. You will be asked to allow your web browser to access your camera and microphone. Click “Allow,” “Yes,” or something similar, depending on your browser.

Step 6

Your Consultant can show you other tools that you can use during your session, like drawing, highlighting, and viewing your revision history. At the end of your session, be sure to download your revised paper using the Import/Export tool again.

*For a video tutorial on making appointments, click here.

• Your Consultant will probably first ask you what you want to work on.
• If you already have specific goals for your tutorial, please let your Consultant know!
• Your Consultant may talk to you about your ideas for your paper/topic.
• You will probably be asked to read your paper aloud (people often catch errors in reading that they haven’t noticed before).
• Your Consultant can help you find the strengths and weaknesses of your paper.
• Your Consultant may also help you organize your ideas, develop a strong thesis, enhance your academic language, or may suggest ways to strengthen your argument, etc..

• The written question or assignment from the professor
• Your notes of draft, in paper copy if possible
• Any of the sources you are using
• Whatever else you’ve got that you think will be helpful

No, there is no need to send in your paper — in fact, we won’t read it in advance if you do. For an in-person appointment, your Consultant will go over the paper with you in the session. Our pedagogy is premised on allowing your concerns to guide the session, and we won’t know what those are until we talk to you! If possible, please bring a hard copy of your paper to your appointment.

Yes, definitely! We can help you with any stage of the process of writing your paper, including brainstorming ideas or starting an outline.

• You can get on a waiting list for a particular day. Next to each Consultant’s name, there is a small clock icon; if you click that icon, you will be notified if an appointment opens up with that person for the hours you specify. (If you’ve provided us with a phone number in your user profile, you can also receive text messages about open appointments. Or follow us on Twitter at @CGUWriting for notifications as well.)
• You can submit your paper for email review. If you can’t meet to speak with someone in person or online, you can still receive feedback on your paper via email. In the same appointment system, select the calendar labelled “Email Review” from the drop-down menu at the top, just under the MyCGU logo. On that calendar, you can select any Consultant and upload your paper. (The time on the calendar does not matter; it is for administrative purposes only.) In a few days, you will receive comments via email; for documents 15 pages or less, we estimate 3 business days, and if your document is 16-35 pages, we estimate 7 business days. (We make no guarantees about return dates and cannot honor assignment deadlines.)

Yes you can! The Center’s policy is that a client may make two appointments per week, which includes all of our services.

Yes, we do, but there is no time allotted just for walk-ins. If you have already been to the Center once this week and would like a second session, and if you see an open appointment time on the schedule, you can come to the Center and ask if you can use that open time. The Consultant will then meet with you. (If you would like a “walk-in” for an online appointment, call the CWR at 909-607-0012, and we can set up the session for you.)

However, just because we have open slots does not mean that you are entitled to a walk-in appointment, even if no one else is waiting. Our pedagogy is based on an hour of instruction at a time, with time in between for you to implement the strategies we’ve discussed in your session. Students cannot string together multiple appointments in succession, with either the same or different Consultants, and the CWR reserves the right to terminate a session at any time, if the Consultant believes it is no longer pedagogically beneficial to continue. If you have already had a second appointment as a walk-in, it is highly unlikely that we will allow you to have a third.

If you need to cancel an appointment, cancel online at least 12 hours in advance of the appointment. If you provide us with less notice than that, even if we cancel your appointment, it will be marked as a no-show. If you receive two no-shows in a semester, your account will be suspended for the rest of the term.

No, we don’t format papers, or do copyediting of any kind. However, we have all of the up-to-date manuals and we can help you look for patterns of inconsistencies in your formatting. We can also help you use the manual to answer difficult questions about formatting.

We have Consultants in many of the fields at CGU, but not in all of them. You can look at the staff list and find out if there is a Consultant in your field. However, all of the tutors are experienced at working with students in all of the disciplines at CGU, and are familiar with all major forms of academic writing across disciplines. In fact, we believe that it is more beneficial to work with someone outside of your field, because there will be no question of field expertise, and you will be more clear in your writing if you can communicate with an informed reader outside of your discipline.

All of the Consultants who work in the Center have experience working with incoming graduate students as well as doctoral students working on dissertations. We regularly see students at all levels, from all departments.

• You can walk in if you see an open space on our schedule
• You can submit a paper for email review
• You can schedule regular appointments over several weeks.
• You can contact one of the paid copyeditors on our list (send us an email and we’ll send it to you)