Writing Clinics

Main idea

Outline

Students can send a maximum of two pages from a specific task (four for a bachelor’s paper) to writingclinics@arteveldehs.be. The writing coach looks at their text to determine what their strengths are, and they let the student know how their text might be interpreted, how it can be improved and what should change for the final version. After evaluating the text, the writing coach sends them a proposal to make an appointment within the week. During this online Teams meeting the student and writing coach go over the findings for half an hour. They rewrite parts of the text together and the student is given the opportunity to ask questions. Afterwards, the student receives a checklist with what can be improved and with tools that could help them improve their text.

If the student wishes to send in a second or final draft after their first meeting, they can, but they are limited to two appointments per semester. If a student needs more help, they are referred to a language coach.

Background information
Lecturers and language coaches can lack the time to give their students in depth feedback on their language and writing skills.

Main purpose
To provide students with individual language and writing advice, tools and information so they can independently improve their writing skills.

Who organizes or are involved in the Writing Clinics?
The Writing Clinics are organized by the Office of Study and Career Guidance at Artevelde University of Applied Sciences (AUAS). The feedback, however, is provided by self-employed specialists paid by AUAS.

Target groups

• Foreign language students
• Multilingual students
• Students who are insecure about their writing skills
• Students working on their bachelor’s paper
• Students in study programmes in which writing and language are important (e.g., journalism)

Goals

• Making it possible for students to receive in depth feedback about their writing process.
• Making sure staff has enough time to help students.
• Helping students see what their strengths and opportunities for growth are when it comes to writing.
• Teaching students about spelling, grammar and structuring a text where needed.
• Helping students find the tools they need to write better.
• Encouraging students to actively work on their writing skills.
• Helping students gain confidence when it comes to writing.

Target group

• Students experiencing educational difficulties
• Students experiencing obstacles based on ethnic-cultural differences

Obstacles targetted:

• Educational difficulties
• Migrant background obstacle

Success criteria

• This initiative makes it possible for students to receive in depth feedback about their writing process.
• The students receive help quickly.
• By working with self-employed people, AUAS’ staff saves a lot of time. Thus, this initiative allows staff to focus on helping students with other issues.
• Two appointments are usually sufficient to help students on their way.
• The self-employed specialists provide high quality support.
• By giving feedback in a positive and encouraging way, the students leave the meeting feeling more confident.
• By working with a text the students wrote themselves, the support is tailored to their specific needs and the students can hand in the improved version.
• It’s always available, except for during vacations.
• Students who might have dyslexia can be spotted because of this initiative. The writing coach refers these students to someone that can help them in a way that better fits their needs.

Points of attention

• It takes a lot of time (one hour per student).
• It costs money.

Effectiveness

Some of the questions in the evaluation inquire about the subjective effectiveness of the Writing Clinics (e.g., ‘Do you feel more confident?’).

Do you feel you can effectively provide the support that students require?

Would you recommend this to other institutions?

strongly agree

Evaluation

The students receive an online questionnaire to evaluate this initiative.

What’s being evaluated?

• Are students more aware of their strengths and opportunities for growth?
• Are they aware of the different tools they can use?
• Do they have opportunities to practice their writing skills?
• What did they think about the personal feedback?
• Are they motivated to keep working on their writing skills?
• Do they feel like they are able to keep working on their writing skills?
• Do they feel better after the session?
• Do they feel more confident after the session?
• Did their writing improve due to the session (e.g., fluency and structure)?

What are the results of the evaluation?
The Writing Clinics are evaluated very positively. Students mention:

• the friendliness and enthusiasm of the writing coaches,
• the accessibility, efficiency, and speed of the feedback process,
• the interesting and helpful documents and websites about writing,
• the individually tailored tips and tricks,
• feeling encouraged to keep writing after negative feedback from lecturers,
• feeling more confident in their writing after the feedback session(s).

What has been adapted based on the evaluation?
The Writing Clinics were originally done in person, but they are now online because this way:

• the students save time and money by not having to travel,
• it’s faster and more time efficient,
• you can share your screen,
• it’s easier to schedule.

The appointments were limited to a maximum of four appointments per student (twice per semester), because:

• two appointments are usually sufficient,
• it saves money,
• this way, the student will not become too dependent on a writing coach.

Communication

The Writing Clinics are mentioned in the newsletter and on AUAS’ online platform, but most students find out about this initiative through language coaches and lecturers.

The people providing feedback are contacted by staff members from the Office of Study and Career Guidance.

Timing

Students can book an appointment via mail at any point of the academic year, but they are limited to two appointments per semester.

The preparation for a feedback moment takes 30 minutes and the meeting itself takes 30 minutes as well. Ideally, the meeting would be an hour long.

Resources

• For the Writing Clinics, AUAS works with self-employed specialists. They ask for a fee to do this work, so the amount of students that can use the Writing Clinics depends on AUAS funds for this initiative.
• The specialist should be able to educate and coach students and they need to be well versed in Dutch.
• The preparation for a feedback moment takes 30 minutes and the meeting itself takes 30 minutes as well.

Extra information

• Checklist Writing (pdf)

Transferability

We think it is quite easily transferable to other contexts or groups.

Is it easily transferable to other contexts/groups?
One example of something that would be easily transferable is the checklist used by those giving feedback.

Context
Students are faced with the challenge of using academic language and some of them also have to learn how to write different types of texts. This is something that the people providing feedback should be prepared for.