Email Instruction
Email instruction will resume September 3, 2013
Email instruction
As a UW–Madison student enrolled in almost any class, you can get feedback from a Writing Center instructor over email.
The instructor will read your work and begin an email exchange with you about your paper, paying particular attention to your goals and concerns.
If you have a quick writing question that does not involve a draft, you can ask the Writing Consultant (open to the public).
What sort of response will I receive?
Your writing instructor will use your concerns to help you identify 1 or 2 revisions that will help you make a significant difference. As in a face-to-face writing conference, our time is limited. Instructors typically have 30 minutes per draft, and so we will not be able to comment on every aspect of your draft in a single review.
Email is a poor fit for our interactive approach to teaching grammar and other sentence-level issues. If these are your highest-priority revision concerns, visit one of our face-to-face instructional opportunities in person and online.
What kinds of papers can I send?
We accept drafts up to 1,500 words (about five double-spaced pages). If you are writing something longer, you can send us a stand-alone section of your document.
What classes qualify for email instruction?
Almost all classes! The Writing Center unfortunately cannot work with you on papers for a handful of writing-oriented classes, including Communications-A, ESL, and creative writing courses. In these classes, your course instructor is your specially trained writing teacher, a resource to which students in other types of courses don’t have access.
When will I receive a response?
| You submit | We respond |
|---|---|
| between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Monday | by 5 p.m. Wednesday |
| between 5 p.m. Monday and 5 p.m. Tuesday | by 5 p.m. Thursday |
| between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m. Wednesday | by 5 p.m. Friday |
| between 5 p.m. Wednesday and 5 p.m. Thursday | by 5 p.m. Monday |
| between 5 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Friday | by 5 p.m. Tuesday |
Please send your draft well before its due date so our feedback reaches you in time for you to revise.
If your paper is due soon, all our options for real-time writing conferences are faster! You can schedule an appointment in our main location, see if we have any satellite locations near you, or check out our real-time online writing conferences.
How often can I use this service?
Please feel free to send up to two drafts per week.
As a UW-Madison student, you are invited to use up to an hour of Writing Center individual instruction every week. Each email submission counts as a half hour.
During busy times of the semester (around midterms, holidays, and finals), we may be unable to accommodate your request or your request may be delayed; in that case, you will hear back from the Online Writing Center, letting you know.