Here's what our Fall 2010 visitors to the Writing Center said they learned during their conference with a writing consultant:

·      Clarity.

·      Grammar and punctuation rules.

·      How to brainstorm.

·      Organization is crucial.

·      About writing my prompt.

·      I learned how to keep the focus of my paper upon myself and where to condense my ideas.

·      How to form a paper, write a conclusion, refer back to my thesis and effectively argue a set of points.

·      Refocusing my introduction will help me develop the rest of my essay.

·      I learned that my paper needs refined topic sentences and the organization of ideas.

·      Don't be too concise- reference visual elements

·      How to work on the personal statement.

·      Good ways to organize.

·      How to insure my arguments are clear.

·      Grammar

·      Clarity

·      Helped brainstorm ideas for my final paper, so helped me figure out/pull out certain things to focus on in my paper.

·      How to work my argument more clearly

·      How to condense arguments!

·      How to focus and structure my paragraphs.

·      How to be more concise on points that didn't necessarily strengthen my argument.

·      On a resume you should keep white space. Essays for application- think about your audience! How could they read my app. differently than I intend?

·      Nothing much…

·      My paper was mostly logical (except in maybe one or two place) Some sentences were a little too informal.

·      Transitions well.

·      About being concise and focusing.

·      Grammar, citations

·      More about how to expand my paper based on what I know.

·      How to proof-read the paper and have effective titles.

·      That my paper isn't consistent with my thesis.

·      Talking about prose, tone, usage, and content.  Good tips for what I'm working on.

·      Some of the issues I discussed needed to be clarified, and some of my writing sounded confusing, but the organization worked well.

·      Can't generalize my argument to all realms of the world without explaining why

·      Organization of my paper.

·      I need to clean up my paper.

·      Commas go inside quotations

·      Sentence clarity, grammar.

·      How to clean up my thesis/conclusion so it gets more to the point.

·      That I need to clarify some of my ideas to arrive at a more solid thesis.

·      How to organize my ideas better.

·      To write my thesis! To synthesize multiple ideas into a coherent argument.

·      Everthing! Organization, clarification of argument/thesis

·      Grammar

·      Specific ways to clarify my writing.

·      How to narrow the focus of my paper and effectively use and organize evidence.

·      We went through my paper and worked on refining it.

·      Organization

·      Help with thesis and conclusion

·      About organization of essay and making sentences and paragraphs connected.

·      I'm doing an okay writing job.

·      To brain storm and organize.

·      We went over the flow/understanding of my argument and adjusted as necessary.

·      Arguments, structure, and grammar

·      Citations, clarity

·      Be less wordy, be more concise.

·      I went over my much-revised essay with someone who hasn't seen the original version, which was really helpful.  I also got advice on a few additional changes to build on the ones that I'd already made.

·      Clarity and not getting off topic.

·      Clarity.

·      I got some help on deciding on a thesis.

·      Conclusions, continuity

·      How to write a proper thesis.

·      How to fix abrupt sentences.

·      Clarity, organization, flow

·      Nothing.

·      How to make my paper better.

·      Using commas.

·      The importance of finding what makes each story unique.

·      New perspective on paper, acknowledge alternate positions, don't flood with support, etc.

·      He's Helpful.

·      [The consultant] helped me deal with a long-form, non-argumentative essay in an organized manner.

·      Visualizing concepts as diagrams to help join together complex thesis.

·      Not to make generalizations and where to incorporate my experiences into the paper.

·      How to organize my thoughts more effectively.

·      Incorporate details!

·      I learned about incorporating more specifics and evidence into my paper.

·      I learned to clarify and better organize my points.

·      [The consultant] helped me identify the repetition in my essay.

·      Be more specific!

·      How to formulate an argumentative paper.

·      What paper sounds like to people not in the field.

·      How to best structure my essay and that if a thesis doesn't have to be contained to just one sentence.

·      Lots

·      How to distinguish between the author's ideas and my own.

·      We talked about how to organize my long paper and deal with different sets of ideas.

·      How to go straight to the point.

·      Make more concise statements.

·      How to make complex math and science concepts make sense to the rest of the world.

·      Some idiomatic expressions in English.

·      How to re-organize the paper, how to deal with passive voice, and other helpful advices.

·      How to organize my essay better.

·      How to generate a thesis to fit the evidence.

·      I need to be more specific in my writing.

·      I need to use more specifics, particularly on the audience’s reaction.

·      [The consultant] was really sympathetic with my frustrations with my professor’s comments.  She helped me realize my strengths in my draft and integrate changes and criticisms in my second draft.

·      Some organization stuff.  How to unpack quotes.

·      To connect my ideas with more fluidity.

·      Not much…

·      Relate beginning of paragraphs to the thesis.

·      Clarity

·      I made some typos… I fixed them.

·      I need to create a hypothesis before choosing subjects of my paper.

·      Grammatical mistakes, sentence structures, and editing.

·      I need to be more logical in a philosophy essay.

·      To organize the flow of ideas.

·      Writing papers isn't as difficult as it looks.

·      Minor mistakes that can make a huge difference. Easy flow of paper-- punctuation corrections.

·      How to sort through my ideas and pick out what's important and what's just stuff I need to sort out myself.  Where to draw the line to prevent an endless argument.

·      Structure of essay and flow.

·      Grammar issues.

·      to be concise and prove my points directly.

·      How I can add more effective examples to me paper and how to improve my talking points.

·      The types of information to include in an application essay vs. not.

·      I learned that evidence is a necessity.

·      How to add on important parts of my paper.

·      Use of articles/organization skills.

·      Flowing between texts and quotes, grouping similar ideas.

·      Moving sentences to mirror structures of paper.

·      Structure, logic, grammar

·      organization of paper; proofreading.

·      I learned that formatting paragraphs and splitting them can yeild greater understanding than one gigantic paragraph.

·      Parallel agreement with listening.

·      I learned about different tools I could use to incorporate detail into my work.

·      Citing examples for arguments and fleshing them out is vastly more important than giving many arguments in passing.

·      A lot. 

·      To move sentences around and that my paper sounded ok.

·      About organization.

·      How to improve the flow/diction of my introduction paragraph.

·      Passive voice isn't so bad.

·      Basically just beginning to consolidate a bunch of complex and potentially conflicting ideas into one paper.

·      Make sense of argument.

·      Improved my paper.  Correct some expressions with grammatical errors.

·      The speech that I analyzed focused more on another, more relatable topic.

·      Elaborating, clarifying arguments.

·      How to construct a paper and clarify it.

·      Brainstorming, to talk to my professor.

·      I need to tighten up my intro and several other paragraphs to get to the point.

·      How to respond to my professor's comments and further changes to streamline background information.

·      Worked on organization, citing, etc.

·      Grammer and getting rid of sentences.

·      Clarity.

·      Brainstorming for my paper.

·      Organization for a much more clear and fluid introduction.

·      How to reorganize paragraphs and other helpful advices.

·      How to make any thesis clear.

·      I learned a lot about common problems that I had to fix and how to make a greater meaning from everything.

·      A more concrete way to go about writing a thesis and some ideas for writing a conclusion.

·      How not to generalize and be less speculative.

·      How to keep the flow of my paper.

·      In a longer paper, a "map" in the opening doesn't necessarily need to completely lay out everything that's going to follow.

·      It is helpful to read a paper out loud in order to catch awkward sentences.  Careful not to go off on tangents in the conclusion.

·      Just read my essay outloud and got some feedback.

·      The proper expression, structure

·      I learned about the focus I need to give to my paper.

·      How to write in a more compelling way.

·      Revised introduction part and grammar mistakes.

·      How to write sentences more naturally (English is my second language).

·      How to better flesh out an idea and take it one step step further.

·      Grammer.

·      Expand on my ideas.

·      I just found a clarification of some ideas.

·      Make sure your paper doesn't sound like someone else.

·      Smooth flow of essay.

·      [The consultant] was extremely helpful and dedicated.  I learned how to establish a LOT more poignancy in my argument and paper, as well as how to clarify my paragraphs.  I also learned how to organize my paragraphs clearly, use better metaphors, and punctuate certain points.

·      Grouping similar ideas under topic sentences.

·      I learned some strategies on how to improve my writing and some ways to better format my essays.

·      How to use articles, how to analyze a movie using theoretical framework.

·      How to make my paper better.

·      I learned how to organize my topic sentences better and how to set up the thesis if I want to assert several points.

·      Shortening sentences, clarifying wording.

·      Re-write my essay.

·      Making a paper less awkward means reading it aloud to make sure it flows well.

·      I learned about organization of my paper.

·      Use of words, vocabulary, sentences

·      I was late so we weren't able to do anything.

·      Chicago style and using active voice.

·      Quote citing, length, chat about flow and organization.

·      Organize ideas in my paper in a better, more reader-friendly way.

·      How to do APA bibliography format.

·      To clarify the ideas stated in the paper, general grammar and organization issues.

·      Passive voice is bad.

·      Clarity/flow

·      Not to use "extremely"

·      Clarity, when to use "us"

·      Foot notes, citing, and focus

·      I learned how to proof-read my draft and construct sentences.

·      I learned how to approach my thesis/argument thoughtfully.

·      We rewrote my essay and I learned how to cite.

·      Improve and clarify the theme of the paper.

·      Specificity is required.

·      How to organize info and set up an argument

·      About expanding on certain ideas.

·      To better tie my body paragraphs into my thesis and organize the essay better.

·      Checked out my argument to make sure it stood up.

·      I learned about APA citing and that I need to be more specific with my writing and clarity.

·      Organization, thesis, sentence structure.

·      My sentences are too wordy, but it's easy to change them.

·      How to write a better thesis.

·      How to make sense of the mess of ideas in my head.

·      Really just helped me with clarity of my argument and paper.

·      My ideas need to make more sense.

·      How to better construct an argument and to make sure that my arguments all work well together towards a common, broader point.

·      Grammar things, structure, vocabulary

·      That my paper is well written…

·      Editing skills

·      About structure.

·      Organization of paper for science.

·      Passive voice vs. active voice.

·      What an arguable paper is.

·      One hour appointments are better.

·      I edited my partial draft of my paper.  I learned that my ideas are good but my sentences just needed a bit more reworking.  I learned that my ideas are pretty clear and definitely worth arguing in my paper.

·      Helping me find my thesis and be opinionated in my argument

·      Structure, grammar, how to make my paper clearer

·      To avoid putting things in a list format

·      Framing complex evidences into topic sentences that are broad enough

·      Transitions between paragraphs

·      My paper follows a natural progression that I hadn’t realized before.

·      To explore the ideas in my paper.

·      To police my paper with the paramedic method.

·      How to correctly format page numbers.

·      The writing center is a good place to get  a second opinion.

·      How to organize my paper in a more logical manner and flush out a solid thesis

·      How to structure my essay more effectively

·      I learned how to successfully "map out" my argument.  I learned how to incorporate my personal feelings on the advertisement (which was asked) into my essay and not how to use it as a conclusion

·      Citations!

·      Clarify, relate data to claim

·      First sentence should relate to thesis statement and I should use quality quotes

·      Make sure my body paragraphs tie into the thesis.  Conclusion gives a higher analysis of the thesis.

·      The consultant helped me make my paper flow better and made sure I was supporting my points clearly.

·      Clarify several things about definitions, arguments, etc.

·      I learned to look for topic shifts in my writing.

·      What types of quotes to include or not to include

·      How to start my paragraphs

·      Improvement in clarity

·      The efficient expression, paper quoting manner

·      That I am a better/more clear writer than I though I was.

·      I learned about emphasis in certain sentences by changing word order.

·      Importance of bringing out unique qualities of both works in a comparative essay; not flattening a work to simplify it.

·      I need to come up with a thesis to tie it all together.

·      Making more explicit statements.

·      I had to re-organize my essay to make it more clear.

·      I learned some ties that helped me in a few individual areas for my essay, but also some broader shifts I'll have to make throughout

·      That I should work on making my sentences less critical and more clear.

·      If my paper made sense to the average reader

·      I could change my transitions to something more flowing

·      How to more effectively contextualize my points and bring in more effective quotes.

·      How to better word paragraphs in order to make the outline and flow more apparent to the reader

·      Need to read aloud the paper for specific topic sentences

·      Similarities and differences are in the eye of the beholder.

·      That it is important to keep in mind the space that you have in a paper because this can dictate what ideas are appropriate for your specific argument

·      How to clarify a thesis.

·      It's best to go to your professor for question about content.

·      That I need to expand my ideas past observations to discuss large themes in the story

·      We talked about focus and support

·      A lot of punctuation rules and word choice.

·      To write more concise sentences

·      Compare/contrast structure

·      Don’t end paragraphs with broad generalized statements.

·      We talked about importance of thesis and clarity

·      I became aware of some specific problems in the rough draft of my essay, mostly relating to clarity

·      There are different ways to organize an essay

·      I learned how to write a nice, clear introduction and a clear conclusion

·      Essay organization/articles

·      Flushed out ideas

·      Not to repeat words/ideas.  Work on incorporating new ideas into conclusion- strengthening my thesis

·      Structure of the paper

·      Cut out the bull.

·      Usage of certain words.

·      How to describe the bronze vessel.

·      How to develop "legitimate" ideas and arguments

·      Correct some organizational problems of my essay

·      How to organize my arguments

·      Steps I may need to take in order to finish my essay

·      How to keep writing, organize

·      How to break up paragraphs and make sentences more fluid

·      I learned how to outline my paper better.

·      How to state your overall way of explaining and providing ideas.

·      More depth to my argument

·      Compare and contrast more effectively and stay away from using lists.

·      How to condense a 5 page paper into just 2 pages through being concise and being aware of which points really add to my paper's argument.

·      How to always tie my argument to my thesis and give reasons why my evidence is important

·      How to clean up thesis and split up

·      Learned how to make my sentences shorter

·      To keep focused on my thesis throughout the paper

·      Grammar and composition

·      How to relate all the paragraphs

·      connecting sentences

·      Word organizing in a sentence/make it less wordy

·      Argument, making sentences sound clearer

·      Thesis must be clear and reflect every paragraph

·      How to make my arguments clearer

·      How to better organize my thoughts into a thesis

·      cutting down paragraphs

·      To not be afraid of explaining my evidence

·      Brainstorming

·      How to increase the focus of my paper and relate it back to the thesis

·      I can change my thesis later, organization

·      That I need to clear up definitions of my sub-topics/themes

·      I learned to keep my sentences succinct while still not losing value in my argument

·      Formatting

·      How to improve clarity and focus

·      How I was going to structure my essay and to use concrete examples

·      How to set up my conclusion and what to focus my thesis on

·      How to better organize my paper and explicitly present my idea and thesis

·      How to form my thesis

·      Use more examples, back things up

·      That my paper flows well

·      More about paragraph organization and passive sentences

·      How to organize my essay and compare texts analytically and how to cite a chapter in the anthology in MCA format

·      I learned how to organize my ideas and new ways of approaching material

·      My sentences are too long sometimes, and I tend to write too many unnecessary words

·      I learned that I need to narrow my paper to one strong concrete idea rather than two undeveloped ones

·      Word choice and trying to get rid of things I don’t need.

·      How to write clearly

·      How to better craft sentences to more clearly convey complex ideas and avoid redundancy

·      Organization, give specific examples, proofread

·      Citations

·      To argue, not discuss in my essay and what exactly I'm trying to argue

·      I learned how to properly write a work cited page as well as the conclusion

·      I learned how to cut down my introduction paragraph to be more concise and get to my argument quicker

·      How to make my essay flow better, to make my point more clear, and better word choices I could make

·      How to focus my body paragraphs

·      I need to re-organize my paper.

·      Basic writing skills and paper structure, important notes

·      I learned to make my sentences sound less awkward and that I need to add some more evidence to my paper.

·      That the write place is a powerful resource that I've failed to take advantage of for four years

·      How to summarize legal quotes and how to eliminate unnecessary words in the quotes

·      How to approach a complex topic by organizing my thoughts.

·      Organization, don’t go off-topic

·      How to make my essay longer

·      I need to use the right words in my thesis

·      How to see things from the reader's perspective.

·      revising sentences, natural and more effective ways to express my point

·      How to form my conclusion

·      My paragraphs need more unity within themselves

·      How to better incorporate textual evidence and narrow down my thesis

·      How to organize my paper

·      We brainstormed

·      organizing, brainstorming, getting things down on paper, creating an outline

·      Commas, semi-colons, word choice

·      How to adjust the thesis to be arguable and help transition well

·      I learned to write in the active form rather than in the passive form because it clarifies what I am trying to say in my writing

·      Better structure and conclusion for me body paragraphs

·      A lot about introductions and conclusions and how to build them

·      worked on the flow of my essay and making sure it made sense

·      trying to get rid of passive!

·      How to make my topic sentences more clear and relevant to my thesis

·      Have topic sentences connect more to thesis

·      organization of thought

·      That the conclusion of a rough draft is often a good thesis

·      How to effectively address the ideas in my paper without going over the assigned page content

·      How to create a basic outline for my paper

·      How to improve on my proof-reading

·      I learned to look past me initial thought and dig deeper to examine stereotypes.  Also that I shouldn't be so hard on myself

·      How to analyze my points

·      A lot about referencing and structuring my essay and answering the question appropriately

·      I learned about Buddhism

·      I learned about proper usage of the colon

·      Outside of MLA formatting rules, to remain consistent with my thesis throughout the paper

·      I learned today about connecting my topic sentences more clearly with the thesis.  I also learned to take the time in the essay to fully explain my point.

·      How to add to a conclusion and avoid apologetic phrases

·      How to better structure a series of sentences so a reader can understand them

·      An outside perspective is always useful

·      Many things… grammar and many corrections in starting a new paragraph

·      How to structure my thesis and organize my thoughts

·      To provide a more specific roadmap in my intro

·      That a solid paper's topic sentences are at the beginning of each paragraph

·      Worked one structure and flow

·      How to create a clear/easily understandable inttroductory paragraph and to lay out a map of what you will be talking about in the essay

·      The beginning of my paragraphs need to link more to the central point

·      I learned how to relate the topic sentences of my body paragraphs to my thesis

·      How to edit my paper

·      Organization, thesis, expanding

·      How to condense non-essential material and focus more on my main point

·      How to reformulate my intro and conclusion such that I don't merely summarize the plot

·      good new perspective of my paper

·      Brainstorming and organization

·      Parallelism and run-on sentences

·      That I need to restructure my paper and that reading it helps me understand it

·      The writing center is certainly a helpful resource.  I worked on weeding out unnecessary information and connecting arguments more closely to the thesis

·      Checked over my paper for style and clarity

·      I learned to focus more on organization while writing a paper

·      I learned that I don’t completely believe in that I'm arguing in my paper but I'm not changing my topic at this stage.  Also, I should not only try to persuade the reader of why my argument is right,, but also why the other points of view are wrong

·      I learned that the evidence I have for my thesis isn't as strong as it could be, and there is always room for improvement in my writing

·      I learned about organizational skills for my essays, and more about how to tie in my arguments and textual support with my thesis

·      Editing techniques and clarity

·      How to better incorporate my ideas into my argument

·      We discussed grammer and flow

·      I learned to make topic sentences tie in with each other.

·      Clarity of transition

·      I learned to re-evaluate my argument by asking/answering thought provoking questions

·      How to continually bring up my thesis

·      Some new grammatical laws

·      Process to write paper, working with thesis

·      Citation, adding analysis

·      How to create a conclusion that succinctly summed up my essay well, but wasn't exactly the same as my introduction

·      I learned how to rework different elements in my paper

·      Making the thesis clear in the first paragraph

·      How to strengthen my thesis and cite an entire website

·      How to organize and write the essay

·      How to clarify my ideas

·      Don't attach yourself to words/phrases-be clear, concise, and to the point

·      I learned about possible ways of structuring a compare/contrast paper

·      How to put together a better paper

·      Organizing and clarity

·      How to structure thesis and varying sentence length

·      How to be more concise and not using "to be"

·      I need a thesaurus

·      Brainstorming works

·      Paraphrase, manners to improve responses

·      How to cut stuff out

·      Revision is essential and that expanding very clearly on that precise topic is key to good writing.  No beating around the bush or trying to form your idea.  Know your idea.

·      It helps to read outloud

·      To list all the requirements and check one by one what to do when I just don’t know where to begin

·      A lot about the structure of my paper

·      How to correct passive voice, make more compelling and active sentences

·      I learned a lot about writing portfolio requirements

·      CMS format

·      Discussed the flow and organization of the piece

·      I learned tips for my interview.  She helped phrase answers and told me practice, practice, practice, enthusiasm, eye contact and making it like a conversation were important pieces of advice

·      How to support and connect my idea and example

·      Shortening my work, compacting it…