Writing Centers

Faculty FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions 

You will find some commonly asked questions and resources for your course below.

How can I refer a student to the Writing Center?

The best way to direct students to the Writing Center is by sharing information about the Writing Center with your students: 

Winona Campus: 

The Writing Center offers free tutoring for all types of writing assignments. Writing tutors will give students helpful feedback at any stage of the writing process, including brainstorming and organizing, partial drafts, and full draft review.  Please visit write.smumn.edu and select Get Help with a Paper from the Undergraduate (Winona) tab. For more information call 612-728-5154 (toll free 866-437-2788, ext. 5154) or e-mail write@smumn.edu

Twin Cities Campus: 

Writing Center consultants are available by appointment Monday through Saturday to help students with writing assignments. In our free, one-on-one sessions, consultants give students helpful feedback at any stage of the writing process, including brainstorming and organizing, partial drafts, and full draft review. Please visit write.smumn.edu and select Get Help with a Paper from the bachelor’s completion or graduate tab. For more information call 612-728-5154 (toll free 866-437-2788, ext. 5154) or e-mail write@smumn.edu.

Our services are confidential, but students may request copies of our session notes. They are free to share these with you as proof that they met with us. In some limited cases involving plagiarism, our staff may discuss our sessions with faculty, department chairs, and program directors. See our policies for more information.

Can I require a student to visit the Writing Center for credit or extra-credit?

While we appreciate your promotion of the Writing Center, we cannot support required consultations. We do not have the staff or resources to support required visits, even for a limited number of courses. Required visits may prevent those students who voluntarily seek writing assistance from getting it. Additionally, some (not all) students are less invested in a consultation when they meet with us to fulfill a requirement rather than improve as writers.

How do I request a class visit and get e-learning modules for my course?

You can request a class visit by filling our our Request a Visit Form. Keep in mind that we do our best to accommodate class visits, but we can only do as many as our schedule allows.

You can also use any of your e-learning modules as part of your course. A comprehensive list of our modules is available here.

How do I avoid copyright issues in my course?

Copyright

Please see the TC-Library Resources Here

Difference Between Copyright and Plagiarism

Copyright is a matter of law whose intent is to protect original authors from loss rights and revenues of the material they created. Merely citing the source of the copyrighted material does not protect the use from copyright violations. The user must obtain permission from the copyright holder in order to quote from, copy, or distribute the original work.

Plagiarism, on the other hand, is a matter of academic and professional ethics. Plagiarism is the use of another’s material, whether or not that material is copyrighted, without citing the original author. If the plagiarizer uses copyrighted material and makes copies for distribution without permission, then the plagiarizer may also have violated copyright law.

What can I do to prevent plagiarism in my course?

We have a number of resources for faculty and students to prevent plagiarism. You can check out our resources here.

We will also work with students and assist them in learning strategies for avoiding plagiarism. We encourage you to tell your students about these services. Keep in mind that these services are confidential, but in some limited cases involving plagiarism, our staff may discuss our sessions with faculty and program directors. See our policies for more information.

 

Location

Twin Cities

128 LaSalle Hall
Minneapolis, MN 55404
612.728.5154
write@smumn.edu

Winona

Saint Mary's Hall 103
700 Terrace Heights, #1432
612.728.5154
write@smumn.edu

Hours

Twin Cities

By Appointment 

Winona

By Appointment

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