The iSchool writing consultants are here to help you with every step of the writing process.

What We Can Help With

Got a paper coming up? Make an appointment to talk over your ideas and figure out the scope and feasibility of topics you’ve got in mind. We can also help with building your argument and figuring out the next steps in research.

Stuck? We can help you go over what you’ve already gotten done and help you figure out where you want to go next.

Got your paper partly or mostly done? We can go over it and give you feedback that will help you finish your paper with confidence.

Done with your paper but feeling a bit anxious about something? Make an appointment and tell us what you want us to look at. Whether it’s spelling, transitions, citation format, or something else, we can help you fine-tune it and let you turn in your paper with a bit less anxiety.

Turned in your paper and have instructor feedback? While you can always email or talk to your instructor to get some clarification on their feedback, the iSchool writing consultants can help you go over your paper with this feedback in mind and point out any portions that you could improve on for next time. Don’t take this feedback as criticism, use it as a chance to learn and improve.

Writing Resources Services for PhD students

Writing Resources will provide the following services to PhD students at the School of Information Sciences:

1. Proofreading
2. One-on-one or group appointments to help students with the writing up process rather than the research process (e.g., to acquaint students with some of the key writing moves for each part of the dissertation so that their content is presented with clarity, coherence, and cohesion)

These services will have the following parameters:

Proofreading

• Students must submit papers or other written items for proofreading with adequate time for review:
  • No less than 48 hours (2 days) for up to 6 pages
  • No less than 72 hours (3 days) for up to 12 pages
  • No less than 5 days for more than 12 pages
• Students may submit articles and other written documents for which they are the lead author
• Students may not submit any portion of their field exams or other qualifying written work for proofreading or correction
• Students should submit abstracts, posters, and surveys for proofreading to Research Services rather than Writing Resources
• Proofreading services will only deal with proofreading the document; if the student has questions or concerns, they will need to make an appointment with Writing Resources

Appointments

• Students who wish to ask questions or go into further detail about proofreading corrections from Writing Resources will need to make an appointment
• Students may get help for better organizing their ideas or refining their English language usage; these services do not include any content-related reviews

What We Cannot Help With

There are, however, a few services that we do not offer, including:

• Field Exams or Take-Home Exams
  • As these are exams, not just essays, the writing consultants are unable to provide guidance regarding them without violating UIUC’s academic integrity policy.
• Line Editing
  • Our goal is to help you improve your own writing skills and help you learn to edit and proofread your own work. We’re more than happy to teach you some tips and tricks to help you perform these tasks yourself!