Promote Us to Your Students

You can promote the Writing Center to your students using a syllabus blurb, embedding or showing our video in your online course, or inviting a consultant to join your synchronous class meeting on Zoom, Webex, or Collaborate Ultra.

Include a blurb in your syllabus

Paste this blurb or one with similar language into your syllabus:

Take advantage of the Writing Center space and peer consultants as you work on written assignments in this course. You can book a free 45-minute appointment to meet with a consultant in person or on Zoom or to submit a draft for written feedback. Consultants will work with you on any phase of a writing project. They can help you develop your ideas, provide feedback on a draft, answer your questions, and show you strategies for brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising, and editing. Schedule your appointment to allow plenty of time for revising your paper afterwards. To make an appointment, go to writingcenter.gmu.edu, register with the center, and make an appointment using the online scheduler. Watch this short video (https://youtu.be/LA-B0Szoe28) for more detailed guidance on making an appointment, and send any questions wcenter@gmu.edu.

Embed a video in your online course

Embed or link to this video (3:00) that describes the Writing Center and its services and shows students how to register and make an appointment.

If you are teaching a graduate course, consider linking to our graduate student services video (3:22), which describes the Writing Center's services for graduate students.

Both videos above show students how to make an appointment. If you want a short video that only shows students how to make an appointment (with no description of services), use this link (1:49).

Find instructions for linking to and embedding videos in your Blackboard course here

Invite a consultant to your synchronous class meeting, or come to us in Johnson Center 227E

If your course meets synchronously, we can schedule a consultant to join your class meeting in person or on Zoom to deliver a "roadshow" that describes the Writing Center's services and resources as well as how to make an appointment. 

If your class meets in person on the Fairfax campus, you can bring your students to us for the roadshow and a tour of the Lab for Writing and Communication in Johnson Center 227E, the state-of-the-art instructional and studio space where we are located. 

request roadshow

Help students get the most out of their consulting sessions

Use these strategies to help students get the most out of their sessions:

  • When you introduce your first writing assignment, invite all your students to use the Writing Center.
  • Remind students that professionals get feedback from colleagues on their high-stakes writing.
  • Recommend meeting with a consultant early in the writing process to talk through ideas.
  • Recommend bringing specific goals to the consulting session.
  • Recommend scheduling appointments to allow time for revision afterwards.

Recommend rather than require Writing Center visits

Referrals to the Writing Center are highly encouraged; we appreciate faculty support of students who use and work in the Writing Center.

We discourage requiring students to visit the Writing Center or even offering extra credit. As pleased as we are that you support our services and want your students to take advantage of them, students whose primary interest is to earn extra points sometimes disengage in the session, do not bring material to work on, or end the session after only a few minutes. Our center serves the entire community of Mason writers, and we wish to make our resources available to the students most likely to benefit from them.