Support for Multilingual Students

If you are an undergraduate student, graduate student, or visiting scholar with a first language other than English, the Writing Center has ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) programs to support your English communication needs. For an introduction to the Writing Center, watch this video

Resources for All Multilingual Students

Consultations

You can book free 45-minute one-on-one appointments to receive feedback on your writing in person, on Zoom, or through a consultant's written feedback on your draft. All Writing Center consultants are trained to work with multilingual writers, and all students at Mason may book up to 15 appointments every semester. For more information on how to make an appointment, visit this page.

Weekly Consultations

If you want to meet with the same one or two consultant(s) every week throughout the semester, sign up for the ESOL Opt-in program, where you will be paired with a consultant who will work with you on your writing tasks throughout the semester.

Workshops and Other Resources

We offer workshops on topics related to academic writing and speaking. You can benefit from the Writing Center’s quick guides on topics related to academic writing, or refer to these outside resources.

Resources for Graduate-level Multilingual Students

Consultations

If you are a graduate student working on your thesis or dissertation, an article for publication, or a paper over 15 pages in length, you can make an appointment for a Thesis/Dissertation Consultation with a PhD student consultant on the Thesis/Dissertation schedule. If you are working on less lengthy writing projects for your coursework, but would like to work with the same one or two consultant(s) every week, you can sign up for the ESOL Opt-in program. If you do not need an appointment every week, you may book your own individual appointment with any consultant on the regular consultation schedule.

Peer Feedback Groups

In the ESOL Graduate Peer Feedback Groups program, you will meet every week with a group of 4-6 other graduate students to receive and provide constructive feedback on one another’s writing. Groups are facilitated by the Writing Center’s ESL Specialist or a trained ESOL specialist student consultant. The number of groups is limited and you need to sign up by the end of week 1 of the semester to be placed in a group.

Other Groups and Resources

Consider signing up for the Weekly Friday-morning Write-Ins, when a group of graduate students meet on Zoom simply to write together. Making regular time to write can be easier if you commit to doing it with a group of people who also want to make progress on their writing goals. You can find additional resources and events on this page.

Watch this video for a summary of our services for graduate students.

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