Our Services
The Writing Centre is a friendly place where you can talk with Learning Advisors about developing your academic skills and improving your writing.
PleaseÌýtake your time to browseÌýthe information below; from appointments to drop-in sessions, we hope youÌýfind a serviceÌýthat suits you!
Appointments: one-on-one writing consultationsÌý
Writing CentreÌýAppointments are available for all current undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students, from all Faculties and courses. Appointments are 30-minutes long, offering a chance to have an in-depth one-on-one discussion about your writing with aÌýLearning Advisor.
Teaching Weeks Appointment HoursÌý
OPEN for in-person and online consultations from 10am-4pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Appointment Availability: Appointments openÌý4Ìýbusiness days (weekdays) in advance - this runsÌýonÌýa rolling schedule that excludes weekends. For instance, appointments on Fridays open for booking on the MondayÌýprior,ÌýwhileÌýappointments on ThursdaysÌýopen for booking on the Friday prior (4Ìýweekdays inÌýadvance).ÌýSo, if you were aiming to get an appointment at 11am on Friday, then this would become available to book from 11am Monday onwards.Ìý
No appointments available?ÌýIf the booking system currently shows that no appointments areÌýavailable (they are often in high demand!), keep checking back and more will become available over time. Or, consider coming to drop-in Wednesdays - no appointment needed!
Finally, before making an appointment, please read our Booking Policy.
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Drop-in Wednesdays
OPEN for in-person drop-ins from 10am - 4pm, every Wednesday during teaching weeks.
WantÌýa quiet space to work on your academic writing and English skills with the support of a Learning Advisor? Come along to our Drop-in Wednesdays -Ìýno appointment needed!ÌýDrop-in Wednesdays have Learning Advisors present to answer your questions and to help facilitate an encouraging space for you to work on your writing.Ìý
Drop-in session guidelines
- Drop-in sessions are designed for independent study with quick check-ins from a Learning Advisor to keep you on track.ÌýFor moreÌýdetailed advice about your writing, consider booking a one-on-one, 30-minute appointment.
- Before you see a Learning Advisor, consider what targeted advice you need before they come to help you.
Workshops
The Writing Centre often runs a number of writing and study skills workshops throughout the semester, including our Neurodivergent Study Skills workshops, LANTITE Preparation workshops, and the English Assist Program. For more information about these workshops, or to access past recordings, visit our workshops page.
We also run some workshops in collaboration withÌýthe Disability, Illness and Divergence Association (DIDA)Ìý.
If you would like us to drop into your class to teach assignment-specific skills across any discipline or level of study, please feel free to contact us at writingcentre@adelaide.edu.au.ÌýÌý
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How can you best use the Writing Centre?
- Take ownership over and pride in your writing. This is your chance to communicate your ideas. They are yours and only yours. We want to help you learn how to better express your own ideas.
- We are not a grammar checking service, nor an editing or drafting service. Though we are happy to discuss sentence structure and word choice with you,Ìýwe want you to know that grammar is not just a right or wrong proposition;Ìýit is a set of choices that can strengthen or weaken your writing. You need to do the work of understanding subjects, verbs and objects, and how they should best combine to communicate your ideas. Look at the resources within theÌýhelpful websites and books to improve your EnglishÌýguide, and make a daily practice of learning about the grammatical choices open to you.
- Be open to ideas to strengthen your writing. If you see us hours before your assignment is due, and are just looking for someone to reassure you that your writing is ‘ok’, then we cannot do that for you. Our job is to help you become a better writer, not just to make you feel good about one particular assignment.
- We are critical readers of your work. We are called Learning Advisors, and we serve as such. We are experienced writers who can support you as you become more experienced writers yourselves. Think of us in this way. We are going to ask you questions. We are going to tell you how a reader reacts to your work, and what a reader expects from your writing.
- Try to have specific questions about your writing ready for us when we see you, and try to visit us well before your assignment is due.
- If you are an undergraduate student, you can useÌýStudiosityÌýfor 24/7 online feedback. You may also wish to see if there is aÌýPASS classÌýfor your course. For referencing support, please consult theÌýUniversity Library.Ìý
- Writing Centre appointments are for undergraduate and postgraduateÌýcoursework students.ÌýIf you are aÌýHDR student, please enquire with theÌýAdelaide Graduate Research School.ÌýÌý
- We see writing relatingÌýto the development of your academic writing and researchÌýskills, or relating to a ³ÉÈË´óƬ course of study. For example, we do not advise on the content of IELTS tests, PTE tests, CVs, orÌýjob applications. For assistance with increasing your employability, consider engaging with the university's excellentÌýCareer ServicesÌýteam. For advice on using Endnote, please see the Library's excellent .Ìý
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Booking policies
We have a few rules in place to help ensure appointments run smoothly. These include:
- Students can make an appointment once per day, up toÌýtwo times per week.ÌýÌý
- If you cannot attend a booking, please ensure you cancel with at least 6Ìýhours notice so that another student has the chance to have theÌýappointment. Demand for our serviceÌýis high (particularly later in the semester!), so please make bookings that you are able to attend. Repeated instances of late cancellations, or not coming to booked appointments, may lead to restricted bookings for the future.
- Before your appointment, please send your writing to appointments_wc@adelaide.edu.au; this helps with document sharing during the appointment.
- You can only make an appointmentÌýfor yourself. You cannot book on behalf of a friend.
- If you want to work on a group assignment, then we can only look at the parts that you have written yourself.
- Please do not book a face-to-face appointment if you are unwell. If you are visibly unwell in the Writing Centre, we may ask you to leave.Ìý
- If Learning Advisors are treated in an aggressive or threatening manner, thenÌýthe personÌýbehaving in that manner will be barred from further use of the Writing Centre.