Welcome to the Webster University
Online Writing Center!

Hours:

10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday Central Standard Time
Closed Saturday and Sunday

What is the turnaround time?

You can expect to receive your paper back in one week.

Who Qualifies for Online Writing Assistance?

Online writing assistance is available to Webster University students attending classes at the extended campuses in the U.S. or across the globe and to students enrolled in online classes. Students taking classes at the Webster Groves campus should visit the Writing Center in Loretto Hall in person. Contact the Writing Center at 314-961-2660 extension 8644 or on the Web at writing@webster.edu.

Our Staff and Your Options for Online Help

Our coaching staff consists of writing-proficient faculty and students at the St. Louis Webster University campus. (For biographies and photos of our coaches, check the "Meet our Staff" page.)
You have two options for electronic coaching to choose from here at Webster's Online Writing Center:
An email transaction

In an e-mail transaction, you send us your paper, one or more coaches read and comment on it, and then we e-mail it back to you. In an interactive real-time coaching session, you and the coach (who has already read your paper) chat about its strengths and weaknesses. You can ask questions and your coach can give you suggestions for improving your paper. This type replicates the best form of writing assistance, i.e. in-person coaching. Either way, allow one week for the paper to be returned.
For the e-mail transaction, click here.*

THE COACHING SESSION AT A GLANCE

1. The Online Writing Center is not a proofreading service. We primarily look at global issues (focus, development, and organization). We mark problems with style and conventions (grammar, formatting, spelling), but you must figure out the precise nature of the problem and make decisions about how you want to revise these problem areas.
2. Especially on longer papers, we will mark only the first few pages for style and conventions. With these marks, we attempt to draw your attention to patterns of problems in your writing.
3. Our hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 AM to 7 PM, and Friday, 10 AM to 5 PM, Central Time. Consequently we are not here over the weekend and cannot respond to papers on Saturday or Sunday.

After receiving your paper and all of the required information, coaches will do the following:

1. Read your paper.
2. Comment on global issues (focus, development, organization) and mark style and convention problems.
3. Ask questions about the assignment.
4. Ask questions about the paper.
5. Make suggestions using the comment function of Microsoft Word .
6. Return your paper via email.
7. Send a report to your instructor informing her or him about our commenting (please indicate if you would prefer for us to not send such a report to your instructor).
   

Upon receipt of the paper, you may do any of the following:

1. Respond to questions and suggestions via email
2. Revise the paper and resubmit it (please be aware of due dates and our turn-around time)
3. Revise the paper and hand it in to your instructor.