What to expect when you meet with an SSC writing advisor 

By: Michael Gallant, MA, PhD Candidate, Academic Skills Program Coordinator

So, you’ve decided to meet with an SSC writing advisor 

Great! Meeting with a writing advisor is an excellent way to improve your writing skills. Writing advisors are available for free to everyone in the McMaster community, and we encourage you to make the most of this service.

Before your writing advisor appointment 

Make sure you have the guidelines for the assignment you are working on. If you are developing some other type of writing, such as a cover letter or a creative project, think about what you want the final draft to be like.  

We also recommend you bring:

1. Guidelines for the assignment you’re working on
2. A laptop, tablet or a printed copy of your assignment

During your writing advisor appointment

You can meet with a writing advisor online or in person. There are five stages in a typical appointment: introduction, goal setting, review, reading and wrap-up.

1. Introduction: Your writing advisor will introduce themselves, explain our services and how we can support you. 
2. Goal setting: The writing advisor will ask what you would like to work on. Then, together, you will set goals for the appointment. 
3. Review: If you are working on a specific assignment, the writing advisor will review the guidelines with you to make sure you get the help you need. 
4. Read: If you have something prepared, either you or the writing advisor will read it out loud. Reading our work out loud helps us to appreciate both the strengths and the opportunities for improvement in our writing.
5. Wrap-up: Your writing advisor will review your goals before concluding the appointment. If necessary, the writing advisor will invite you to schedule a follow-up appointment.

Writing advising appointment types 

Writing advisors are upper-year undergraduate or graduate students who help identify areas of improvement and teach you essential writing strategies. The Writing Centre provides personalized one-on-one support based on your needs. 

How to book your writing advising appointment 

OSCARplus / Student Success Centre / Appointments / Book an Appointment / Academic Skills / Book an Appointment Type 

After your writing advising appointment

Once you have completed your writing advising appointment, you can continue to work on your goals and develop writing skills you want to improve. There are other Academic and Writing appointments curated to your needs, such as:

1. Academic Peer Mentor Appointment: If you need support in developing your academic and personal management skills,meet with an upper-year peer mentor, who can guide you in creating goals, study skills, test taking strategies, scheduling, time management and more.
2. Academic Coach: If you are struggling and want to dive deeper into the science of learning, an academic coach can support you. Academic coaches are not academic advisors and therefore can’t help with adding/dropping classes or degree pathways.
3. Undergrad Peer Tutoring Network: Are you seeking tutoring support? Find a tutor at mcmaster.tutorocean.com and connect with an upper-year student who has received an A- or above in the course. You can review key concepts using your notes, textbook material and practice tests and gain a better understanding of course content.