The Writing Center
The Writing Center at Pittsburg State University provides writing support for students, faculty, staff, and alumni—any field, any type of writing assignment, any stage of the writing process.
Writing Center Information
NEW FACULTY FRIDAYS!! First and third Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the Writing Center is open for faculty and staff only. Drop in with a quick question, work with one of us, or bring your laptop and use the time for writing. For more information email jzepernick@pittstate.edu.
Faculty and graduate students: To work with a faculty consultant on an article for publication, graduate thesis, academic book manuscript, or to get help designing a writing assignment, email us at writingcenter@pittstate.edu and tell us what you need.
International Students: Do you want to practice speaking and listening in English? You can have an English-speaking conversation partner! To get a conversation partner, apply here: Conversation Partner Application Form
Our 2024 Fall Semester hours are:
9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday
9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thursday
Faculty Fridays
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The first and third Fridays of the month
NEW Location:
116 Axe Library in the Howard W. Smith Student Success Center
Appointments are available for consultations in-person and online by email or video chat.
For questions please call 620-235-4694
or email writingcenter@pittstate.edu
What does the Writing Center do for students?
During a writing consultation, we can help you with any type of writing assignment, for any course, at any stage of the writing process. Use our online schedule http://pittstate.mywconline.com to make an appointment for a consultation by chat or email.
We can help with finding, using, and citing sources; planning and getting started on a writing assignment; checking to make sure you’ve followed the instructions; proofreading for final submission; and document formatting using Microsoft Word.
Our schedule fills up quickly, so plan ahead.
What is an online consultation by e-mail?
An online consultation by e-mail is a chance for you to get personalized feedback on your writing at a time that works for you. To use this service, go to the online appointment schedule at http://pittstate.mywconline.com, select any available appointment, and choose “Yes. Schedule Online by email appointment.” Use the appointment reservation form to tell us what kind of help you need, what you want us to pay attention to in reading your paper, and what special questions or concerns you would like us to address. Please also upload the instructions for the assignment, if you have them. Then attach your paper to the appointment, and you’re done. A consultant will respond to the issues you’ve identified, and you will have the consultant’s feedback within 60 minutes of the scheduled appointment time.
For best results, please send your draft in MS Word (.docx) format so that we can put comments directly on your draft. We can work with a .pdf if that’s your only option, but we can give you more targeted feedback using a Word document.
What is an online consultation by chat?
An online consultation by chat is a real-time conversation with a Writing Center consultant using either Zoom or the Writing Center’s private chat feature. During a chat consultation, clients can share documents with the consultant, ask questions and get feedback about their draft, and even work collaboratively on revision. Chat appointments can be made using the Writing Center’s online scheduling system http://pittstate.mywconline.com by selecting “Yes. Schedule Online by chat appointment” in the appointment reservation form.
What if I just have a quick question?
For genuinely quick questions, we’re happy to help by phone (620-235-4694) or by chat via the chat tool on our website https://www.pittstate.edu/office/writing-center/. You can also email questions to us at writingcenter@pittstate.edu.
Is there a charge for using the Writing Center?
No. The Writing Center @ PSU provides all services free of charge to students, staff, and faculty.
What kinds of writing can the Writing Center help with?
We can help you with any academic or workplace writing, including writing assignments for PSU courses, graduate school applications, resumes and cover letters, reports, grant proposals, and writing for publication. We can also work with creative writing for a PSU creative writing course and poetry or short stories for submission to a magazine or literary journal.
Will the Writing Center edit my paper for me?
Our goal is to help you address the issues that brought you to the Writing Center, whatever they are, so if editing is what you need, then editing is what we do. But we do also want to help you become more proficient in working with your own writing, including editing, so we will try to use the opportunity to teach you some things about editing that you can use for the future.
My professor wants proof that I came to the Writing Center. How can I get that?
If you have made an appointment using our online scheduling system, you just need to tell us in the appointment reservation form that you need proof of your visit, give us your instructor’s email address, and we’ll send it. If you work with us in a different format (by phone or using the chat tool on our website, for example), you’ll need to remember to tell us that you need proof of visit and spend a couple of extra minutes in the chat or on the phone while we collect that information from you.
Information for Graduate Students
Especially for graduate students, we offer the Graduate Writing Studio (GWS), which lets you get more intensive feedback from a full-time faculty member on your master’s thesis or doctor of nursing practice project, extended research or creative project, or article for publication—all at no cost. Register for the Graduate Writing Studio here: Graduate Writing Studio Application
Information for Faculty
We invite you to send your students to the Writing Center to address specific issues that you identify or for a general revision prior to final submission of an assignment. We can send proof of attendance if you plan to give course credit or extra credit for a Writing Center visit, or if using the Writing Center is a requirement for your course. If you would like us to your class to introduce the Writing Center, please use the Request a Classroom Visit form.
The full-time faculty in the Writing Center are experienced writing teachers, and we’re happy to help you develop writing assignments for your courses, develop strategies for giving feedback on student writing, and plan classroom instruction to improve student writing. We also offer classroom presentations on using APA or MLA format, writing the review of the literature, or developing a research project. To schedule a classroom presentation, please use the Presentation request form.
We also offer support for your academic and professional writing, including for writing publication and completion of the dissertation.
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