Information for Faculty and Staff
The Writing Center provides support to students, faculty, and staff of Missouri State University. Faculty and staff can are integral in ensuring that students receive accurate information and hold reasonable expectations about our services.
Referring Students
About 75% of the Writing Center's clients were referred by a faculty or staff member. Remind your student that talking with other writers at every stage of the writing process, from conception to revision to completion, is an essential part of successful writing in every context. Urge your student to talk with a Writing Center Consultant because a good writer knows that informed feedback can help in the creation of a superior paper.
It will be up to the student to provide you with proof of the visit as we won't automatically share session information.
Class Visits & Workshops
For an overview of the services we offer in the Bear CLAW (Center for Learning and Writing), a member of our staff can visit your class to discuss our aims, practices, and personnel.
To schedule a visit, please email the director. We ask that classroom visits be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance whenever possible. For a custom workshop on a particular topic, like APA, MLA, CBE, CSE, Chicago, Turabian, and AMA formatting and integration of sources, incorporating source material, or the writing process, please try to schedule at least two weeks in advance.
Request a class visit, new resource, or workshop
Proof of Visit
Students may request a Proof of Visit email from the consultant be sent to their faculty member during or after their session to provide you as proof of their visit. We do not send session information automatically to instructors; however, consultants can fill out any forms created by instructors and sent with students to confirm visits or sessions.
Students can also receive a stamp on their rough draft to prove they visited the Center. Students should stop by the registration desk for this stamp.
Since the Writing Center tracks every visit, should the student fail to request proof, email the director for confirmation of the visit.
Handbooks & Resources
The Writing Center is an excellent resource for handbooks and materials for writing and citation support. We shelve citation and style guides, writing handbooks, textbooks, and more. These materials are available for use only in the Center. Our Absent Professor Program website also provides links which contain helpful advice on solving many of the academic issues students face when writing. Resources on commonly addressed topics are available on our Resources page or on the Absent Professor Program website.
Recommending Writing Consultants
Some of our best writing consultants were once your students. We hope that you'll continue to refer your engaged, interested, successful students to us as potential writing consultants. We look for students who've been successful in a discipline, show an interest in the college experience, are friendly and engaged, and demonstrate good communication skills. Please feel free to recommend prospective writing consultant.
Faculty & Staff Writing
All Writing Center consultants are experienced writers and attentive readers who can give even faculty and staff a sense of the effect of their writing on readers. Writing consultants are qualified to assist faculty and staff with a variety of writing-related tasks, including the following:
- Work-Related & Personal Writing: Articles, conference submissions, grant proposals, reviews, and more.
- Writing for Your Classroom: Assignments and writing prompts, syllabus development, and feedback on student work.
For Your Syllabus
You are encouraged to visit the Writing Center early and often throughout the semester to help build a strong foundation for writing in this course and all of your courses. In-person and online sessions are available. The center’s writing consultants and director will work with you at any stage of the writing process, from developing and organizing ideas to revising and editing drafts. Rather than editing your work for you, writing tutors will actively engage you in meaningful conversations about your writing and help you learn new strategies. Tutors can also discuss approaches to managing the college reading workload and reading more effectively. The center is located in the Bear CLAW (Center for Learning and Writing) on the first floor of Meyer Library and can be reached at 417-836-6398. Appointments are strongly recommended to ensure availability, but walk-ins are welcome.
Code of Ethics in the Writing Center
Writing consultants participate in ongoing training. We implement best practices and ethics in the tutoring and writing consultant professions - both include boundaries. If you have questions about our role, please feel free to speak with the director.
Writing Consultants cannot:
- grade or evaluate work
- serve as a conduit for student to faculty communication
- proofread a student’s work
- fix content, grammar, or citations for a student
- send proof of a visit without a student’s consent
As always, we appreciate your feedback and support!