Services for Students & Alumni

One-to-One Writing Consultations

Students, staff, and alumni may sign up for 45-minute long consultations if they need help in completing any course assignment, NES work task, or independent project with a writing or communication component. Such projects may include an abstract, a term paper, book review, paper proposal, article draft, sections of a thesis or dissertation, a conference paper, application materials for jobs or graduate school, or an oral presentation. Faculty can refer students to the WCC, or students can come on their own initiative. Common writing and communication goals achieved during consultations are:

• generating ideas
• developing prewriting and revision strategies
• organizing and developing ideas and arguments
• quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and documenting outside sources using prescribed documentation styles
• enhancing sentence structure and vocabulary
• improving grammar
• understanding conventions of academic and non-academic writing genres (e.g. argumentative essay, statement of purpose, CV).

APPOINTMENT SCOPE:

• We cannot proofread or edit papers, but we can help to locate the writer's patterns of error and help develop strategies for effective self-editing.
• We cannot rewrite passages and thus take away the writer's ownership of the paper, but we can guide the writer's revision process through constructive feedback, i.e., questions and explanations.
• When the plan of the session is negotiated, priority is usually given to structural issues, such as organization and development, and then to the questions of language and style.
• We may not be able to cover all writing topics in a single consultation, so it may be recommended that the writer return to the WCC or perform independent work.

What to Expect in a Writing Consultation:

1. The plan for the session is negotiated based on the student's requests and consultant's assessment of the student's needs (3-5 minutes)
2. The plan of the session is completed. Usually the consultant and the client will look at the work together via shared screen or Google Docs (35-40 minutes)
3. The session goals are given for the client to follow up with (3-5 minutes)

Here is a sample consultation about a written text. This session is conducted in Russian because the client’s work needs to be written in Russian.

English Conversation Practice

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni who would like to enhance their speaking ability in a language they are learning can practice spontaneous conversation with a highly proficient speaker. Those wishing to have a group discussion should coordinate their availability with interested peers before requesting a session. Conversation can be general, based on small talk, current events, and popular culture; or, conversation can be related to course topics to practice new vocabulary and prepare for participation in course discussion. The WCC currently offers conversation practice for language learners in English, Russian, French, Italian, and German.

What to Expect in a Conversation Practice Consultation: 

Consultation time is usually broken down this way:

1. The plan for the session is negotiated based on the client's requests and consultant's assessment of the client's needs (3-5 minutes)
2. The plan of the session is completed. Usually, the consultant will offer some information related to the client’s needs, and then they will practice together. (35-40 minutes)
3. The session goals are reviewed and recommendations are given for the client follow up with. (3-5 minutes)

Here is a sample consultation that models conversation practice in English.

Workshops

Workshops are organized around specific topics that are based on common needs of students, staff, and alumni. WCC workshops comprise conceptual and practical components.

Prior to workshops, topic and registration information will be distributed via email, on the WCC Google Calendar, Telegram channel, and V Kontakte page.

Helpful Electronic and Print Resources

Materials containing explanations of major communication topics and exercises can be obtained from WCC staff electronically.