Writing Place policies are designed to help us provide equitable access to services to all writers. If you need an exception to a policy, please contact writingplace@northwestern.edu
Registering at the Writing Place
Any Northwestern student, staff member, or faculty may register to use the Writing Place. Registration requires a Northwestern email address and netID. You may register online via online scheduling system.
Booking Appointments
To book appointments, use the online scheduling system and select the Main Library Writing Place from the drop down menu. You may book appointments up to a week in advance. Currently all appointments are being conducted via Zoom and Google docs in 60 minute blocks.
Number of Appointments
All students are eligible for 2 hours of appointments/week. The daily limit is 1 hour. You may book those appointments in advance. If you need additional appointments in a specific week, you may email your request to the Writing Place (writingplace@northwestern.edu).
Cancellations
Appointments at the Main Library Writing Place must be cancelled at least twelve hours in advance via the online scheduling system. This policy is designed to help us use our resources wisely. When appointments are cancelled sufficiently in advance, other people can take advantage of the appointment time.
If, on a rare occasion, you need to cancel an appointment less than 12 hours in advance, you may send an email to the Writing Place (writingplace@northwestern.edu).
No shows
If you fail to either attend or cancel an appointment, the system will record you as a “no show.” Students who accrue more than 1 “no show” have their accounts disabled and their future use of the Writing Place is subject to the Director’s discretion.
The Graduate Writing Place
The primary objective of the Graduate Writing Place is to provide writers with a venue to discuss aspects of writing and the writing process that are unique to advanced work in academia. Graduate Writing Fellows are eager to share their knowledge and insights regarding the genres, features, and challenges associated with writing at the graduate-level and beyond. Writers who book appointments in the Graduate Writing Place should therefore expect their consultations to focus primarily on higher-level aspects of writing. In particular, writers should expect to discuss how the argument, organization, and evidence in their text satisfy the conventions for writing in a particular field or genre.
Writers who are exclusively interested in receiving feedback on rhetorical features of their writing (e.g., grammar and syntax) should consider working in the Main Library Writing Place.
Registering at the Writing Place
Any Northwestern student, staff member, or faculty may register to use the Writing Place. Registration requires a Northwestern email address and netID. You may register online via online scheduling system.
Booking Appointments
Graduate students, post-docs, and faculty may book appointments using the online scheduling system and selecting the Graduate Writing Place from the drop down menu. (First time users should register for an account prior to selecting a schedule.) On the schedule, available appointments can be seen up to a week in advance. Graduate students may also request an appointment either in person or via email up to (but no more than) two weeks in advance. All emailed appointment requests should be sent to the Writing Place email account (writingplace@northwestern.edu).
Number of Appointments
Writers are eligible for 2 hours of appointments/week, but no more than 4 hours/month. Writers may also work with the undergraduate consultants in the Main Library Writing Place or in the Chicago Campus Writing Place in the Schaffner Library. However, to maximize the allocation of all resources, no student may book more than 2 hours of appointments across all Writing Places in a given week.
Writers wishing to exceed 2 hours appointments/week are always welcome to come for a drop-in writing consultation at either the Graduate Writing Place or the Main Library Writing Place during any hours that a schedule shows as available/unbooked.
Cancellations
Writers must cancel appointments 12 hours in advance. Appointments that are canceled less than 12 hours in advance count against a student’s maximum allotment of 4 hours of appointments/month. If a writer needs to cancel an appointment less than 12 hours in advance, they must send an email to the Writing Place (writingplace@northwestern.edu). Writers who fail to cancel an appointment via email will be designated as “no shows.” Writers who accrue more than 2 “no shows” have their accounts disabled and their future use of the Writing Place is subject to the Director’s discretion.
For Chicago Campus Writing Place policies, see the NU Libraries page.
Graduate Writing Place