Center for Excellence in Writing

Florida International University

The BBC Consultants:  Ron, Fitz, Jessica, and Matt

 

We offer individual consultations about any writing you do throughout your years at FIU. Whether you are brainstorming, drafting, revising or polishing, our writing consultants can assist you with projects such as

Come by to write in a friendly, supportive environment.  Need the space and support to work on a group project?   We’ve got computers, large work tables, reference materials. 

We also hold workshops during the semester:  CV Writing; Proposals; Evaluating, Documenting and Citing Sources; Thesis/Dissertation Defense Announcements; Research Strategies; Avoiding Plagiarism; Overcoming Writer’s Block and more!

What We Don't Do: 

Before Your Consultation

During Your Consultation

Services for Graduate Students

 

 

 

Before Your Consultation

Make an appointment as early in the writing process as you can.  Before arriving for your appointment, make sure you have the assignment sheet and any other supporting materials such as grading criteria, grading rubric, previous drafts with instructor comments, etc.  Also, bring any questions you may have about those drafts.  The more information you bring to your consultant , the more successful your session will be.

If you are having difficulty getting started, we can help you brainstorm and gather ideas. We work with you in all stages of the writing process:  prewriting, drafting, revision, presentation.  You stay in control of your paper by arriving to the consultation with specific questions or concerns and being prepared to think critically about your writing.

During Your Consultation

Your writing consultant will consider global issues first. For example, the consultant will make sure you have a strong thesis statement or that the thesis is effectively supported before helping you with such concerns as grammar and usage. The reason global issues are considered before local ones is that if your thesis or supporting evidence is weak and needs to be improved, changes in grammar or usage will not make your paper stronger.

The consultants at the Center for Excellence in Writing will not edit or proofread your papers for you. They will not do the thinking or the writing for you. Instead, their goal is to teach you to critically think about your paper so that you can become a strong writer. You always remain in control of your writing during the session.

Services for Graduate Students

The Center for Excellence in Writing welcomes graduate students in all disciplines to take advantage of our individual consultations and our workshops.  Our graduate consultants have personal and professional experience working on longer sustained writing projects.  We offer master’s and doctoral candidates completing theses and dissertations the opportunity to schedule weekly or bi-weekly appointments with the same consultant to build continuity. These frequent consultations can help you meet your goals for completing your project.

We also have a space for graduate students working on group projects.  Meet your group members at the Center to work on your own, or schedule an appointment with a graduate consultant who will help guide your group through its project.  

In addition to individual consultation, the Center for Excellence in Writing offers workshops throughout the semester.  Some of our workshops include CV Writing; Proposals; Evaluating, Documenting and Citing Sources; Thesis/Dissertation Defense Announcements; Research Strategies; Avoiding Plagiarism; Overcoming Writer’s Block and more!