The Writing Lab

The Writing Lab provides an ideal setting for students to improve their writing techniques by working with our experienced staff during in-person or online consultations. The goal of the Writing Lab is to produce better writers, not necessarily better individual pieces of writing. We believe that if we do the first part, the writers will do the second. Consequently, we do not promise students or teachers perfect papers at the conclusion of each conference, but we can promise that we will help hard-working students learn how to improve their own writing.

If you are a UIndy student or member of the faculty or staff and would like to make an appointment for a Writing Lab consultation, please visit our My UIndy page.

The Writing Lab's Role in the Writing Process

Our role is to serve as a test audience and as writing coaches.

Our faculty and peer consultants are skilled judges of writing. We can help writers determine if their writing (essays, letters, personal statements, etc.) fulfills their intentions. If it does not, the consultant serves much the same function as a director in theater or a coach in athletics, devising and describing possible solutions. Like a director or a coach, a writing consultant does not perform the activity but advises writers about how to perform certain writing tasks for themselves. At the editing stage, for instance, we will not proofread, but we will help writers learn how to proofread for and correct their own errors.

Who We Serve

Any UIndy writer (undergraduate, graduate, online student, faculty, staff) at any stage of writing, be it searching for a topic, developing a thesis and support, organizing, or editing for correctness, may make use of our services. As coaches of writing, we work with writers at their level. As they develop confidence, we challenge and encourage them to further refine their skills. Thus, we welcome experienced and competent writers who want to make their writing still better, and we welcome writers who feel they are struggling. (What writer has not felt the struggle at some time or another?)