University Writing Center
The John Carroll University Writing Center, located in G244 on the second floor of the Grasselli Library, is a free academic resource available to all JCU students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We are dedicated to creating a space where all writers feel welcomed, empowered, valued, and heard. We strive to meet each writer where they are, recognizing the diverse lived experiences, backgrounds, and identities that shape their writing and learning journeys. We embrace a growth mindset, believing that all writers can develop their skills through practice, reflection, and engagement with their own process. The Writing Center offers one-on-one support where writers can get personalized feedback on any type of writing, including essays, case studies, reports, annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, research posters, and much more! A common misconception is that writers have to have at least a partial draft to have a writing center appointment, but that’s not true. In addition to getting feedback on a draft, writers can come in to brainstorm ideas or talk about how they can transform the notes they took on their sources into a research paper.
The Writing Center offers three different types of appointments that can work for busy schedules: synchronous appointments, which can be done in-person or via Zoom, and asynchronous appointments.
During synchronous appointments (in-person or Zoom), the writer and consultant will go over the writer’s goals for the session and make a plan for their time together. For the last 5-10 minutes of the appointment, the writer and consultant will discuss next steps and write up a brief session summary. Both in-person and Zoom appointments are particularly helpful for writers in early stages of the writing process or who have questions that might require some back and forth dialogue.
Our asynchronous appointments offer the most flexibility. Asynchronous appointments are 60-minute sessions where the consultant will review the assignment requirements, read the paper, and provide feedback throughout. In the last 10 minutes of the session, the consultant will complete a personalized feedback form, which they will send to the writer at the end of the scheduled appointment. Writers do not need to be on campus, online, or present in any way to get this type of feedback, so it’s great for busy schedules. Simply upload your assignment description and a link to your paper when you sign up for the asynchronous appointments.
Writers can go to our scheduling website, https://jcu.mywconline.com, to see our schedule and sign-up for personalized feedback. To make the appointment as helpful as possible, we encourage writers to share the following information with us: (1) your assignment sheet, (2) any class notes you may have taken on the assignment, (3) comments from peer reviews and/or your instructor, (4) a list of specific things you’d like to focus on during the session. Questions? Don’t hesitate to email us at writingcenter@jcu.edu.