Upper Level Writing (ULW) Support

To help faculty and instructors in the College address their students’ writing needs, the Writing, Speaking and Argument Program (WSAP) offers several support services including:

If you do not see the service you need, or would like us to present our services to your team, please contact us at (585) 273-3584 or wsap@ur.rochester.edu.


Services

Writing Workshops

Writing workshops help students learn writing principles and strategies to meet the writing goals in their classes. These interactive, hands-on workshops help students to practice particular writing skills (e.g. organization and disciplinary conventions), work with peer feedback and reflect on their own writing.

Several elements of the writing workshops can be tailored to your needs including the:

  • Content and targeted skills
  • Timing and number of workshops
  • Format in which workshops are run (in or out of class, in person, or online)

If you are interested in discussing writing workshops for your course, contact Katherine Schaefer, writing workshop coordinator, at katherine.schaefer@rochester.edu or (585) 276-5685.

See the writing workshop page for more information.

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Consultation on Design of Writing Assignments 

WSAP can help you to refine your writing assignments, create a schedule for drafting and revising essays, and develop grading criteria in ways that will lead to:

  • Improved student papers
  • Better student understanding of the writing process
  • A more positive reading and responding experience for you

We also maintain a library of materials about teaching writing as well as sample syllabi and assignments.

We have people on staff with backgrounds in the social sciences, humanities, engineering, and natural sciences. As such, they are familiar with the general conventions in your field and can discuss them with you.

If you are interested in discussing your course materials, contact Katherine Schaefer, writing workshop coordinator, at katherine.schaefer@rochester.edu, or (585) 276-5685.

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Writing Tutor Support for Your Course

WSAP undergraduate writing tutors, also known as writing fellows, are students specially trained to provide feedback on writing projects. Our tutors regularly work with issues that are relevant to writing in all disciplines and have writing experience in the social sciences, humanities, engineering, or natural sciences.

Writing fellows are especially suitable for working closely with students on individual writing concerns, facilitating peer-review and writing groups, and offering group tutoring sessions.

Students can always choose to visit the fellows individually during drop-in hours or make an appointment using the online scheduling system. However, if you think that the students in your class would benefit from a more structured interaction with the fellows, WSAP may be able to arrange semester-long support for your course.

Please contact Stefanie Sydelnik, associate director of the WSAP, at stefanie.sydelnik@rochester.edu for more information.

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Individual Consultations

If you are interested in having a Writing and Speaking Center representative visit your classroom to introduce or promote our services, contact the WSAP associate director, Stefanie Sydelnik, at stefanie.sydelnik@rochester.edu.

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More questions? Contact us (585) 273-3584 or wsap@ur.rochester.edu