what an SWS.online consultation is

Like our face-to-face consultations, online appointments are collaborative, student-centered conversations about writing. Unlike appointments in Nicholson, where consultants read and discuss your paper when you arrive, SWS.online consultations involve two parts:

1. You submit your writing and your specific questions electronically. The consultant whom you've chosen will read and respond to what you've written; you will “pick up” his or her response via email.
   
   

2. After you read the response, you will meet with your consultant online for a follow-up chat. In this collaborative online conversation, you and the consultant can address old or new questions, talk through revisions, and strategize about what to do next.
   

   
   

what you’ll need for online submission

• a text file of your document
• any directions your instructor has given you for the assignment, including assignment sheets, your syllabus, and in-class notes
• your specific questions for the consultant
• your personal calendar for scheduling the online chat follow-up

what to expect after you’ve submitted your work

• You will receive an email when your consultant has read and responded to your paper and questions. You can assume that the consultant spent about 45 minutes reading and responding.
• This email will contain two links: one where you can “pick up” your document, and another you can follow to join the online chat follow-up.
• Most online chat follow-ups last about 45 minutes.
• The consultant will ask you questions about your concerns and what you've written/thought about so far on your paper or project.
• The consultant will discuss with you strengths in your writing and areas for improvement.
• The consultant’s goal is to help you develop writing strategies to apply to this particular paper/project and future work.

Look at our policies document (a pdf) to learn more about what to expect and how to get the most from your work with a writing consultant.

 

how to set up an SWS.online consultation

You can make an appointment with sws.online using the SWS.online submission form.

Note: SWS.online works only in Firefox,
a browser that is free to download, and that works on both PCs and Macs.
If you do not have Firefox, you will not be able to use SWS.online.