Welcome to the GC Writing Center!
Mission
For scholars in every academic discipline, writing is central to the work of creating and communicating academic knowledge. In order to serve the needs of graduate-level scholars, The Writing Center therefore follows the principle that writing concerns are, first and foremost, research concerns. No academic can successfully advance their research agenda without formulating their ideas in writing and persuasively communicating the value of their knowledge contribution in grant proposals, conference papers, articles, and books. To complicate matters, graduate students must also navigate multiple genres of academic writing that are similar to— but notably different from—these established professional forms of scholarly output (the seminar paper, the prospectus, the thesis, the dissertation, etc.). The Center supports students in their writing-oriented research needs through individual consultations, workshops, courses, and other programming.
About Writing Consultations
We assist with materials such as:
- Thesis/Dissertation Proposals
- Thesis/Dissertation Chapters
- Graduate Coursework (e.g. presentations, bibliographies, seminar papers)
- Conference Abstracts
- Conference Talks
- Personal Statements, Teaching Statements, and Diversity Statements
- Article Manuscripts
- Grant Proposals
We address ‘big’ issues, including:
- brainstorming ideas
- the organization or structure of your document
- the logic or “flow” of your ideas
- the appropriateness of your argument for your reader
And we address ‘smaller’ isssues at the sentence and paragraph level, including:
- principles of English grammar, style, word choice, and punctuation
- the “flow” of your sentences and sentence transitions
- questions of clarity
Beyond our purview:
Graduate writing consultants help students learn and implement writing strategies rather than “correcting” or copy-editing student writing. Consultants direct students to the library for citation questions.
