The Writing Centre provides personalized,
one-on-one sessions with highly skilled instructors, as well as an array of writing groups, drop-in spaces, workshops, and events to nurture your thinking and writing at university.
If you’re…
- Brainstorming ideas
- Pushing through that first draft
- Polishing your work to meet those deadlines
- Seeking a community of peers to think and write with
- Trying to get started, but feeling stuck
We’re here for you!
Our free 50-minute sessions are geared to you, the student, and to the particular assignment you are working on. You can also drop in to the Writing Zone or hang out in one of our writing groups, where you’ll get the chance to work with peers, librarians, and writing instructors.
Book or cancel an appointment
Book nowFrequently Asked Questions
You can learn all about our policies here. You can also email us if you have further questions.
Am I eligible to book an appointment?
The following students are eligible to use our centre:
- Students registered at New College
- Students taking courses in a New College Program. These students must bring work from a course in a New College program, specifically courses starting with the code NEW, AFR, CAR, CSE, BPM, WGS or HMB. We also work with students on some joint courses (JNR301, JHN323, JLN327, JQR360, JNH350, JLN427, JNS450, HAJ453 and JHA410).
- In the winter semester only, students working on papers in IFP100.
- New College students and students minoring or majoring in a New College program may book three appointments per semester for application materials related to graduate and professional schools and grant funding.
If you are not eligible to use the New College Writing Centre, find information about writing instruction in your home College or Faculty here.
How do I book an appointment?
Log into the WCONLINE system, where you can create a profile and then select available appointments in the schedule. We offer a variety of appointments, including in-person and virtual (both synchronous and asynchronous).
You may book appointments only for yourself. We will see only the student who has booked the appointment, so be sure to have your T-Card handy. We will consider the appointment “missed” if the student who booked it does not use it.
If you are more than 15 minutes late for an appointment, we will offer your appointment to a student on the waitlist, and your appointment will be marked as missed.
How many appointments can I have?
You may reserve and hold three appointments at a time, but only one per calendar week. In the summer sessions, you may book two appointments per week.
If there are no appointments available, you can add yourself to the waitlist, and you will be notified if any last-minute drop-ins become available.
If you already have an appointment booked in a particular week, you may be able to drop in for a second appointment if there is a last-minute cancellation. Priority for drop-in appointments is given to students who have not yet had an appointment that term or week.
No single piece of writing should be brought more than three times. For admissions letters, personal statements, statements of intent, et cetera for graduate or professional school, students can have three one-on-one appointments per term.
What if I need to cancel or reschedule my appointment?
We ask that you cancel appointments at least twenty-four hours in advance. Timely cancellation makes appointments available to others who are on the waiting list.
If you miss two appointments during the fall/winter or summer term or if you cancel late three times, you risk having your writing centre privileges suspended. Cancelling within five hours of your appointment counts as a late cancellation. You will be unable to cancel your appointment within 30 minutes of the appointment time.
If you’d like to meet with us about reinstating your writing centre privileges, please email us at newcollege.writingcentre@utoronto.ca. We will be happy to talk with you about helping you manage your appointments.
What if I booked an in-person appointment and need to switch to a virtual appointment?
We know plans change—sometimes at the last minute. You can switch modalities up to five minutes before your scheduled appointment by editing the appointment in the WCOnline system. If you have any cold symptoms whatsoever, but are well enough to meet with us, we ask that you schedule a virtual appointment. You can also reach out to us at newcollege.writingcentre@utoronto.ca.
How should I prepare for my appointment?
That depends on what you’re working on and where you are in the process. If you have not yet started writing, we can help you better understand the assignment expectations, plan your process, or begin fleshing out ideas. If you bring in a draft, we can work intensively with the text, showing you how to develop your analysis or improve its coherence. If you’ve booked a virtual appointment—especially an asynchronous appointment—we ask that you upload both the assignment instructions and your work in progress. Our preference is to receive drafts as Word documents with your name in the filename.
Will you proofread my work?
No. We may offer suggestions about grammar and style, but rather than proofread assignments for you, we teach you how to become a more effective editor of your own work.
I can say with confidence that the most valuable tool I got from my university experience was learning to write well.
Former Student
Meet our Faculty
Meet our InstructorsContact Us
Offices:
Wetmore Hall
Rooms WE60A, WE60B, WE60K, and WE61 (enter at 300 Huron, go all the way downstairs, and turn left at the door. When you see green carpet, you’re there).
