Masks are not required but in-person appointments involve close collaboration over a shared document. Masks can protect both you and our staff from Covid-19 and other illnesses that are transmitted in situations of close contact. If you are not feeling well, or you want to reduce your risk of exposure, make a video conference appointments or use our document review system.

There are no special student fees or additional costs for using the Writing Center. Our funds come from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Our services are available to all faculty, staff and students. Not connected to the University of Iowa? Most semesters you can meet with one of our staff at our Community Writing Center in the Iowa City and Coralville Public Libraries.

Yes. However, there are other centers which provide discipline-specific writing feedback. Business papers should be brought to the Frank Business Communication Center. The History Teaching and Writing Center provides help with undergraduate history papers and the College of Education's Writing Resource helps graduate students in the College of Education. See our resources page for a full list.

Yes, we can help with any kind of public speaking, from class presentations to public speeches, theses defenses, job talks, and conference papers. We give feedback on organization, argument and clarity, as well as on delivery techniques.

We welcome non-native speakers of English. While most of our tutors are not ESL instructors, their training includes a strong focus on issues related to writing in a second language. We also have an active research program in second language writing development and our director, Professor Carol Severino, is a leading scholar in this field. Whenever possible, we make a point of hiring multilingual tutors who have experience writing in English as a second language themselves. Please note, however, that we cannot help with papers for ESL or Intensive English courses. (This is an ESL Program policy)

Unfortunately, we do not currently provide assistance with writing in languages other than English. Please check with the Center for Language Culture and Learning for other options.

While we prioritize feedback on ideas, argument, organization and logic, the Writing Center has always recognized the importance of grammar and syntax to clear writing and that grammar issues are important to students. We're happy to explain the rules as best we can, point out recurrrent errors in your paper, and connect you to online grammar resources. We don't, however, proofread or edit papers (fix errors directly). Our goal is to teach you to recognize and correct grammatical errors yourself so you can become a stronger writer. If you're looking for a professional editor, email us at writing-center@uiowa.edu and we'll send you a list of people who do this for a fee.

A draft of what you're working on, an assignment sheet or other directions, and your questions.

Sure! We'll brainstorm ideas with you or help you figure out what the assignment is asking you to do. We can also help you look for sources. We also work with reading! Struggling with a tough article or book? Bring it to us and we'll teach you some strategies to use when navigating difficult texts.

Absolutely. We love creative writing. Bring it along.

Make an Appointment and then register for an account. Activate your account through the email sent to your uiowa address. Be sure to enter your uiowa address correctly (firstname-lastname@uiowa.edu NOT yourhawkid@uiowa.edu). 

If it is a new account, you need to activate it through the email sent to your uiowa address. If you didn't get the email, you may have entered your address incorrectly. If you've used the Writing Center before, your account may be disabled because you missed three or more appointments. Three no-shows and your account will be disabled automatically.

Apologies, we are too busy to accommodate the increase in demand when students are required to use the Writing Center or offered extra credit, and so we don't provide proof of a visit. If your instructor is not aware of our policy, email us at writing-center@uiowa.edu and we can let them know.