If you’re not able to meet with a consultant in real time—or if you’d prefer to receive feedback by email, so you can read it later at your own pace—you can submit a request for Written Feedback. Upload your draft to our online schedule, along with two or three questions you’d like us to focus on. We’ll return your paper via email with comments and suggestions to guide your next steps.
Submitting a Written Feedback request
To submit your paper, log in to the schedule and select “Written Feedback [Semester]” from the dropdown menu in the middle of the page.
Next, click on the earliest available group appointment. The pop-up window will direct you to:
- Upload your paper as a Word file (.docx). Currently enrolled CUNY students can download MS Word for free.
- Include as much information as you can—your assignment instructions, revision goals, questions, deadline, and where you are at in the writing process.
- If your document is longer than 6 double-spaced pages, please also identify a specific section you’d like the consultant to focus on.
We are also piloting the use of video feedback. If you are interested in receiving video feedback (where the consultant records a short screencast video responding to your questions), check “I am interested in video feedback” at the bottom of the appointment form. Because this is a pilot, we may not be able to accommodate all requests for video feedback. If we cannot provide video comments, you will still receive text-only comments.
You can submit multiple requests for Written Feedback, but keep in mind that students are limited to two hours of consultation per week, in any combination of online sessions or Written Feedback. For example, if you’ve had a video session this week, we can only respond to one Written Feedback request, even if you have four requests in the queue.
When to request Written Feedback
The Written Feedback service works best when you have a full draft and clear questions about your next steps. In marginal comments, the consultant can:
- Notice where your ideas are clearest, strongest, or most persuasive
- Help identify and revise unclear arguments and phrases
- Note places you may need more evidence
- Help you ensure you’re meeting all of the assignment guidelines
- Suggest strategies for reorganizing
- Develop a plan to address patterns of grammatical error
- Provide links to additional writing resources
What we cannot offer in Written Feedback
- We cannot respond to requests that are missing a draft or clear revision goals and questions. If you’re still brainstorming and developing your ideas, or if you’re not sure what to prioritize in revision, we recommend that you sign up for a 50-minute online session on our main schedule instead.
- We cannot guarantee an immediate response. Consultants respond to Written Feedback on a first-come-first-served basis whenever an hour winds up free due to missed or canceled appointments. We generally respond to Written Feedback requests within 3 business days. However, during peak times of the semester—like midterms and finals—the turnaround time may be slower. Be sure to submit your request far enough in advance to receive a response and revise based on the feedback.
- We cannot proofread, copyedit, or otherwise directly revise student writing. That said, students often ask for help with grammar, clarity, and accuracy. Our consultants are happy to help you revise your own writing with these goals in mind; they just cannot make the edits for you.
Viewing your feedback
When your Written Feedback is completed, the online schedule will automatically email you the consultant’s response as an MS Word attachment.
To view your feedback, open the document in MS Word on your computer (not your mobile device) and make sure that comments and “Tracked Changes” are visible.
