The Writers Workshop is the writing center at Illinois. We provide free writing assistance for University of Illinois students, faculty, and staff from all disciplines and at all stages of the writing process. Discuss your writing with consultants who are experienced writers and teachers of writing. For more information about our individual or small-group appointments and drop-in sessions, please visit our consultation page.
8 Things You Got Wrong About the Writers Workshop
Myth #1: The Writers Workshop is only for “bad writers.”
Fact: The most successful students use the Writers Workshop, and even our own consultants utilize WW services for their personal and academic work. Learn more about our impact at our “Testimonials” page.
Myth #2: The WW is only for school assignments.
Fact: Consultants work with resumes, cover letters, ICT transfer essays, study abroad scholarships, graduate school applications, manuscripts, blog posts, personal projects, and more.
Myth #3: The Writers Workshop only offers one-on-one appointments for individual work.
Fact: The WW offers a variety of appointment types and services, including online and in-person appointments, drop-ins, writing groups and retreats, and presentations. We work with group assignments, lab reports, and more—bring your co-authors with you!
Myth #4: The Writers Workshop is just a grammar and citation checker.
Fact: The Writers Workshop can help at all stages of the writing process, whether you’re getting started and brainstorming, refining the flow and argumentation, or want to revise your academic style. Consultants work with writers to determine the focus and goals of the session, and writers will leave with strategies they can use for future work.
Myth #5: Writers Workshop consultants are all English majors.
Fact: The Workshop hires undergraduate and graduate students from across the disciplines. We always have a few English majors on staff, but also consultants from STEM fields, business, the humanities, and fine arts. All consultants are trained and ready to work with any type of writing, including common genres like RHET assignments, literature reviews, and more. Click here to learn more about our consultants!
Myth #6: You need a full draft for a Writers Workshop appointment.
Fact: You don’t need to have a single word written. We love to help brainstorm, develop outlines, and help writers move beyond the blank page.
Myth #7: Students can only bring in a piece of writing once.
Fact: Students can return multiple times for the same assignment, until they feel satisfied and confident with their work. They can work with the same consultant or different people. Students can have up to 3 appointments per week, and drops-in are unlimited but on a first-come, first-served basis.
Myth #8: The Writers Workshop is against using AI with writing.
Fact: We understand that AI can enhance the writing process, especially for addressing grammar and sentence-level issues. In our mind, though, nothing beats talking to a person! The Writers Workshop is staffed with well-trained readers, and we promote ownership over your own work by providing personalized approaches to teaching skills like synthesis and critical thinking.