Academic Outreach and the Writers Workshop have teamed up in a pilot project this semester to offer online writing assistance to Academic Outreach graduate students. Since this is a pilot project, the word “undergraduate” may still appear in some messages you receive. Do not let this confuse you.

As part of the project, Writers Workshop consultants will provide project participants the same help they give to walk-in writers. The sessions are interactive. The consultant will ask questions about your writing and help you learn how to improve your paper. You can read more about the Writers Workshop and how a consultation works at www.cws.uiuc.edu/workshop.

What they will assist you with:

• Practical advice on composing and revising:
  • Course papers
  • Literature reviews
  • Group projects
  • Lab reports
  • Theses and dissertations
  • Application essays
  • Personal statements
  • Multimedia projects

  (Sorry, no proofreading or editing services are available)

Your consultation session will be held via Elluminate if possible. If you cannot use Elluminate, you will need to email your paper, and your consultation will be by telephone. These are the hours your consultants will be available:

To make your appointment:

• Call the Writers Workshop at 217-333-8796 during our open hours (Sundays 1–5PM, Monday-Thursday 9 AM–8 PM, Friday 9 AM–3 PM). Explain that you are an Academic Outreach student and that you want an online appointment using Elluminate or e-mail. You may also call toll free 800-252-1360 and enter extension 3-8796.
• The receptionist will ask for your email address and phone number and a description of the paper you are working on. He or she will also give you a Workshop ID number. Use this number to log in for your appointment and to make future appointments.
• We will send you an email message with the procedures for your appointment. For your first appointment, you will also receive a copy of our policies. You will need to reply that you have read and agreed to the policies.
• At the beginning of your session your consultant will log you in to our scheduling system using your ID number.
• After your consultation, someone (not your consultant) will log you out of the scheduling system and ask you to evaluate your session.
• If you need to cancel your appointment, you should call the Workshop so that someone else can have that time and you do not receive a “no show”message.

Available Workshop times fill up quickly, so please call for your appointment as soon as you can, up to 7 days in advance. If you call very close to the appointment time, we will ask you to choose a later time. You are welcome to make an appointment for a face-to-face consultation when you are on campus.

Because this is a pilot project, you may receive an email after your session asking you additional questions about your experience. Please help us evaluate our program by answering them promptly.

View a three-part video clip about the Workshop

1. Introduction (.wmv)
2. Process (.wmv)
3. Contact (.wmv)