Writing Advisory Service
The Writing Advisory Service (WAS) is a facility provided by the English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) to help improve the writing skills of both home and international students. These appointments are for fully registered, degree-level students at the University of Sheffield.
It is always helpful when producing some written work to try it out on a reader. WAS provides you with the opportunity to discuss your writing in a one-to-one situation for an hour at a time with a specialist writing tutor.
NEW online booking system for writing advisory appointments. You must register with the new online booking system to book a WAS appointment. This is completed online (follow the link below).
Appointments are currently available. More appointments will be made available from week beginning Monday 4th February 2013.
Please be aware that WAS appointments are in the calendar up to 2 weeks in advance and you will only be able to view appointments that are available.
Making an appointment
- Appointments last for one hour
- You can only book one appointment at a time
- Bookings can be made online
- Appointments are subject to availability
- Please let Reception know that you have arrived for your appointment
- You must inform the ELTC if you cannot come, so that another student can take your place. Using the online booking system you can cancel an appointment and put yourself on the waiting list.
What we do
You can discuss any of the following areas of difficulty which you might be having with your writing:
- logical organisation and linking of ideas
- paragraph structure
- sentence length and structure
- grammar
- punctuation and spelling
- referencing both within the text and in a bibliography
- vocabulary (but not too subject-specific)
- register: formal vs. informal language
- overall structure of an essay, report or thesis (in general rather than specific terms)
What we do not do
Our tutors cannot provide help with content and ideas as these should be discussed with your supervisor.
You cannot hand in your essay in advance for a tutor to read. We are not a proof-reading service. It is an opportunity for you to clarify the way you express your ideas through face-to-face discussion with a reader. We try to point out general areas for improvement rather than check every word.
WAS tutors will NOT read your work off a laptop or any data storage device: data stick, floppy disk, zip disk. You MUST print your work before you come to your appointment.
We cannot guarantee that you will always see the same tutor.
What to bring with you
You should always bring some writing with you even if it is an extremely rough draft.
If you have a deadline, be sure to bring your work (or sections of it) as early as possible so that you have plenty of time to make corrections and revisions.
How much writing will we be able to discuss in one session?
The quantity we are able to discuss will depend on the amount of advice which is necessary. It may be possible to look at a 2,000-word essay in one session but it won't be possible to look at an entire thesis.
If you are doing a PhD, you will be unlikely to receive enough appointments to share all your work with WAS tutors. Therefore, you should select the sections you most want to discuss and concentrate on these.
How we can help you
You receive feedback and consultation on one piece of writing and you have a chance to raise queries and problems concerning it.
In addition, you should aim to apply the advice you receive to your future writing. Try to make use of the suggestions you receive to improve your writing skills generally.
Cancelling appointments
If you make an appointment but are not able to attend then you MUST contact the ELT Centre to cancel. This will allow another student to take your place. If you fail to cancel you may be banned from making appointments in future.