Preparing to Write

Writing something new is a complex task. It calls on a writer's prior knowledge, experiences, and skills. The wide range of genres that exist and the degree to which you as a writer are familiar with a given genre or topic both impact how you prepare to write something new. That said, there are a few long-standing and tried-and-true strategies that you can use as you prepare to write.

Professor Teaching

As you plan your writing, consider the following:

Reflecting on the Writing Process

Also as you plan your writing, think about how you think and how you have gone about writing in the past. Does the productive "chaos" of freewriting help you generate ideas? Does a methodical approach work better for you? Does a mix of productive chaos and sequential "steps," work best for you? Perhaps other approaches you've identified are helpful?

Many writers find it helpful to try new strategies, to switch strategies, to back-track, and to talk with others.

Because we value writing and it's role in learning and shaping our world and DePaul University, we offer a range of ways to connect with and support instructors who are teaching at DePaul.

Writing Center Presenter

The Writing Center offers short informational presentations about the services we provide to writers. An experienced Writing Center Tutor can visit your class to discuss our services with your students.

Schedule a Presentation
Workshop Participants

To help instructors to teach writing and incorporate writing into their teaching, the UCWbL offers customized, hands-on in class workshops. A small team of experienced workshop facilitators will visit your class to lead a workshop on any aspect of writing.

Schedule a Workshop
Writing Fellows

As you plan your courses, consider working with Writing Fellows—highly talented and extensively trained peer writing tutors who work with classes across DePaul University.

Request Writing Fellows
Professor ePortfolio Appointment

All UCWbL staffed are trained in and experienced with creating ePortfolios in Digication. To get help on their own ePortfolios, faculty members are welcome to make appointments with Writing Center Tutors or visit ePortfolios@DePaul for extensive online help guides.

Make an Appointment
Matthew Pearson

To offer feedback, guidance, encouragement, and ideas on a range of topics related to teaching and writing, contact Associate Director Matthew Pearson to schedule one or more one-on-one consultations.

What is the Writing Center?

Writing Center Tutors assist writers during all stages of the writing process, from prewriting to drafting to revising. They approach tutorials as your peer, acting as engaged readers of your written work.

How can the Writing Center help you?

Writing Center Tutors can help you understand your assignment as well as help you develop your own ideas for your writing project. They can discuss with you ways to revise your paper and can help you with basic skills such as grammar and mechanics as well as strategies like summarizing and paraphrasing.

The Writing Center provides a range of appointment-types: Face-to-Face, Written Feedback, Screencast, Online Realtime, and Conversation Partner.

When should I make an appointment?

Schedule your appointment with enough time to think through and incorporate the feedback you'll receive. Always bring or upload your assignment sheet, your paper or working draft (if you have one), and any source materials, such as an essay or book to which you are responding. During the session, expect to respond to your tutor's questions about your writing process generally and your writing project specifically.

How do I make an appointment?

To schedule a Face to Face, Written Feedback, or Online Realtime Appointment, visit www.depaul.edu/writing. You can also call one of our offices: (312) 362-6726 (Loop Office, Lewis Center 1600) or (773) 325-4272 (LPC Office, SAC 212). When possible the Writing Center accepts walk-in requests, but it's always a good idea to schedule your appointment ahead of time. You may schedule tutorials on an as-needed basis or as weekly standing appointments up to 3 hours per week. You can also request an Appointment Report, in order to confirm your visit to the Writing Center to work on your paper(s) for this course.

NOTE: The following boilerplate language should only be used after you have received confirmation from the Writing Fellows Coordinator that your course(s) have been assigned Writing Fellows.

Writing Fellows

Writing is a central part of this course. Because writers improve by sharing their work with others and individual pieces of writing improve through a process of drafting and revision, each of you in our class this quarter will work with a Writing Fellow on two drafts. The Writing Fellows program assigns a peer tutor to each student in this course. Your Writing Fellow will dedicate four hours to working with you and your writing:

  • Your Writing Fellow will spend two hours providing you with thoughtful and extensive revision oriented comments upon your drafts.
  • Your Writing Fellow will spend two hours meeting with you—either face-to-face or online in real time—to work on making real and substantive revisions to your drafts. You and your Fellow will spend time, for example, focusing your topic, strengthening a thesis statement, learning relevant grammatical principles, or providing more or more effective evidence for your claims.

The goal of this whole process is to help you make smart, signi cant revisions to your papers before the papers are turned in for a grade. Overall, your Writing Fellow will help you to learn more about the standards for written products in this course, and about the process of writing and revision.