Writing Center Resources: Online and in-person

The Writing Center and Online Writing Center (OWC) provides students, faculty, and alumni with many types of writing support.

While the Writing Center encourages undergraduate students to use the face-to-face Writing Center, graduate, online, extended campus and international campus students are encouraged to use the OWC for their writing needs.

Students can get support and feedback on every step of the writing process, from brainstorming to how to use a citation properly. The Writing Center's friendly coaches give constructive, holistic feedback on all assignments.

Writing Center Resources 

• Writing coaches maintain standards of professionalism and privacy as outlined through the University’s policies and through the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). More information can be found here: webster.edu/student-handbook.
• Writing coaches are student employees and have had experience with various paper formats and citation styles. All coaches have majors with a focus on language.
• Writing coaches look at global issues of focus, development, organization, logic, and clarity. While the Writing Center is not a proofreading service, coaches will discuss patterns of mechanical and grammatical issues and provide suggestions on how to recognize and correct them. Coaches will also assist with conventions of documentation and citation.
• Writing coaches encourage students to reach out to the professor if the student has specific questions about a paper assignment or demonstrates difficulty in understanding reading, theories, concepts that pertain to the content area of the assignment
• If specified by the student, the Writing Center staff will contact the professor only to notify him/her that the student has visited the Writing Center. No other information will be given per FERPA.

Scheduling information

• Please schedule all appointments with your writing coach via our online scheduler at mywconline.com at least 24 hours in advance.
• Please be prepared with all relevant materials (hard copy of a draft, assignment sheet, outline) in order for our coaches to fully assist you.
• Please come with an open mind and a positive attitude!

The Online Writing Center

The Online Writing Center can help graduate students, online students, or students at extended or international campuses with their paper and project needs. Online writing assistance is available to Webster University alumni, faculty, staff, students attending classes at the extended campuses in the U.S. or across the globe, to students enrolled in online courses, and to graduate students at the Webster Groves campus.

The Online Writing Center is devoted to helping students become better, more confident writers. Students can access the OWC through the WorldClassRoom site. Select the Help link in the blue global menu, then select the Writing Assistance link.

On the following page, there will be resources for students as well as the link to submit their assignment to the Online Writing Center, under the Get Online Writing Help section. That link will take the student to the Qualtrics submission form that requests essential information about the student and their assignment.

Once a paper is submitted, the student will be sent an e-mail confirming that the document was received. Online writing coaches will do the following:

• Read the student’s paper
• Comment on global issues (focus, development, organization, etc.)
• Mark a few areas for style and convention problems
• Ask questions about the assignment
• Ask questions about the paper
• Make suggestions using the comment function of Microsoft Word
• Provide advice for further steps, either for that assignment or for future projects
• Return the paper with those marks via e-mail
• Send a report, if requested, to the student’s instructor (this option is given in the submission form).

The student can expect to receive his/her paper back in two to three business days from confirmation that the submission has been received. During peak times such as the weeks surrounding midterms and finals, that turnaround time is slightly longer, around four to five business days.

Papers are processed by the OWC staff Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., submissions sent in the evening or over the weekend will not be processed until the following business day. Students should keep this in mind when submitting papers for review to ensure that feedback is received before deadlines or due dates.

Third Resource Available

The Writing Center is pleased to announce there is a third option for students to get writing assistance. Webster has joined forces with NetTutor. NetTutor is accessed through course pages on WorldClassRoom (Canvas).

The link is in the column on the left. Students can choose to have live tutoring or drop off a paper for review. NetTutor has a locker where students’ sessions will be stored for future review.

Resources Available for Faculty 

As a final note, the Writing Center offers writing support for faculty and staff as well. They are available for class presentations. These presentations can be tailored to the needs of faculty and staff in terms of topic, length, and format, and can provide handouts upon request.

For additional questions about using the Writing Center, Online Writing Center, or NetTutor, contact the Writing and Online Writing Center coordinator, Kristin Cobos, at kristincobos14@webster.edu.