Graduate Writing Consultations

The Graduate Writing Lab (GWL) offers free consultations by appointment with trained and certified graduate writing consultants. Our peer consultants offer helpful feedback on any kind of writing at any stage in the writing process. The Graduate Writing Consultants service is a collaboration between the THINK TANK Writing Center and the Graduate College.

Consultant Schedule

Appointments: Monday through Thursday: 9 AM to 4 PM Arizona Time, September 3 through December 17

  • Please check Retain for appointment availability. In-person and Zoom appointments are available.
  • There will not be appointments on Labor Day (September 2), Veteran's Day (November 11), and the week of Thanksgiving (November 25-29).

Feedback Loop: Submissions accepted September 3 through December 12 (please allow approximately a week for feedback)

You can use the scheduling system Retain to schedule an appointment with a consultant. Limit one appointment per day and two appointments per week, with feedback loop appointments counting as one of the appointments. Please book no more than three appointments at a time. If you need to cancel, please let us know 24 hours in advance.

  • Click the button below to sign in to Retain with your NetID and password.
  • In the THINK TANK Services box on the right side of your Retain dashboard, you can click the blue Writing Center button and then select a service. The topmost services are graduate-student specific, though you are welcome to use all Writing Center services.
  • Learn more about using Retain by reading THINK TANK's Guide to Retain.

Access Retain

Support Styles

  • In person
  • Zoom
  • Feedback Loop  - Submit a document for review and receive feedback, usually within a week.

What should I expect and what do the consultants help with?

During each session, consultants get acquainted with the student’s writing, answer questions, identify patterns, make recommendations, and help the student come up with a plan for moving forward. They can serve as a second set of eyes on personal statements, application essays, lab reports, theses, dissertations, resumes, fellowships, and even professional emails.

Please note that we cannot work with students on exams, including final and comprehensive exams. If you would like to discuss any exceptions to this policy, please contact us.