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Services for Faculty
Our Mission
The Center for Writing is committed to assisting your students with their writing, reading, and critical thinking. We work collaboratively with students through questioning and in-depth conversation so that they can make connections between class discussions, readings, and their own ideas. This results in more thoughtful writers and writing that is more organized and clear.
We are also committed to supporting you as a writer. We are therefore collaborating with the Office of Faculty Development to establish the Faculty Writers Program. Through on-campus retreats and workshops on scholarly publishing, we'll be providing support for you as you write throughout the calendar year. Please check back for more details or call Dr. Susan Callaway at (651) 962-5602.
How We Work
We work one-on-one with students as they write, but we do not write their papers for them, nor do we proofread their work.
Most frequently, we work with students who care about their writing and their learning and have the initiative to come to us. They are interested in trying out their ideas, in talking through a difficult concept or reading, or in having an immediate audience for their writing. Your students are not tutored in their disciplines in the Center for Writing, nor do they come only because they are desperate or failing their courses.
Our conferences with students are confidential. We leave it up to the student to notify you that they've had a conference with a consultant for a particular paper. They may do this by submitting the form we provide to them at the end of the conferences.
Your students will most likely want to talk to us about:
- organizing their ideas
- focusing on a main point and writing a thesis
- documenting their sources and effectively incorporating others' ideas into their writing, and
- revising their writing at the word and sentence levels.
To help your students make the most of the Center for Writing:
- Provide information about the Center for Writing to your students at the beginning of your course, in your syllabus, and in class. Mention us again as you assign writing.
- Encourage all of your students to see a peer consultant.
- Talk to the Director, Dr. Susan Callaway, about our mission and how we work.
- Visit the Center yourself. (Because of our small space, we unfortunately can't accommodate visits from entire classes.)
- Include our hours and location in your syllabus.
- Request our brochures to distribute in your classes and to have on hand in your office.
The Extra-Credit Opportunity
Please do not require your students to come to the Center for Writing. We don't have the staff to accommodate conferences with entire classes in a short period of time and some students may resent the requirement, making for an unhappy conversation. Instead, feel free to set up an extra credit opportunity and contact Dr. Susan Callaway as you do so at (651) 962-5602 or writing@stthomas.edu.
Resources for ESL
The Center for Writing provides important support for ESL students at UST. If students are having difficulty writing in English, there are several resources available to them at UST:
The Center for Writing (651) 962-5601 We can work with students individually on issues they face with the writing process. We do not have any special worksheets or workbooks, but prefer to focus on a particular assignment they're actually doing for a class.
Professor Suzanne Donsky, ESL Specialist in the Center for Writing (651) 962-5694 Professor Donsky has extensive experience teaching ESL students, specializing in English Studies. Students can make an appointment to speak with her about particular papers they are writing. She also teaches special sections of English 111 and 112 and IDSC especially for ESL students.
ELS Language Centers (651) 962-5990 English Language Services is a private vendor affiliated with UST (currently housed in the Summit Classroom Building on
Private tutors (651) 962-5602 The Center for Writing keeps a list of individuals interested in providing private, intensive tutoring. Contact the Director, Dr. Susan Callaway.
Other Useful Resources
For Your Undergraduate Classes Check out the "Services for Undergraduates" for our listing of useful sites to which we've linked, including Purdue University's Online Writing Lab.
For Your Graduate Classes In our "Services for Graduate Students" we've included resources that can support your students as they develop their presentation skills as well as their writing skills. Please note also the links to Columbia University's School of Social Work Writing Center, as well as UST's School of Education Graduate Research and Writing Center.
Writing Across the Curriculum Please contact the director, Dr. Erika Scheurer, for information on upcoming workshops for WAC. We are constantly updating our online resources; so please pass on any link you've found useful in your teaching of writing within your discipline.
The Academic Integrity Policy We've linked to UST's policy that defines plagiarism.
A Note About Our Online Consultations
The consultants and many students understand the value of the face-to-face conversations we commonly hold, and we believe there are many facets of a conversation that can't be replicated in an online conference. However, we have the same mission and follow the same methods in our online work: we ask questions, engage the writer in critical analysis, and avoid proofreading or editing.
If you have any questions about or suggestions for the information on this web site, please contact the Director, Dr. Susan Callaway at (651) 962-5602 or by email sjcallaway@stthomas.edu.
