Graduate Student Writing Help
The Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center offers graduate students one-to-one meetings with writing consultants who offer constructive feedback designed to help with writing processes and written work-in-progress. We help graduate students with coursework-related writing, theses and dissertations, and application materials.
Most graduate students should visit our “Graduate Student Appointments” page for information about how to make appointments. The appointment scheduler is available at UTK.MyWCOnline.com
Nursing graduate students: Visit our Nursing Graduate Students writing help page for information about how to make appointments.
Citation Help
See our “Citation Resources” page for resources about citing using various style sheets.
Application Materials Help
We offer appointments for writers who are preparing application materials, including personal statements, graduate school applications, cover letters, CVs, diversity statements, and more. To make an appointment for Applications Materials Help, visit our free appointment scheduler.
Check out, too, our page of Application Help Resources.
Dissertation “Assignment Planner”
Our dissertation “assignment planner” walks you through steps to complete your dissertation project. Since your dissertation is unique to your research question and department, you will need to adapt the steps. Your process may not follow the linear path this planner lays out, but hopefully this planner can guide you through the various stages of the dissertation as you experience them.
Resources for Multilingual Writers
Graduate students for whom English is an additional language are encouraged to use our EAL Writing Help schedule, which is staffed by writing consultants with special expertise in this area. The appointment scheduler is available at UTK.MyWCOnline.com.
For our more information about workshops and additional resources–including information about our Canvas site for multilingual students, see our Resources for Multilingual Graduate Students page.
Requests for Editing
While we do not provide editing, proofreading, or formatting assistance as part of our free service, we maintain a list of local, qualified freelancers who provide these services for a fee, and we can put you in touch with one of them upon request. All fees are negotiated directly between you and the editor; we are simply a go-between to put you in touch with someone. Use this Request for Freelance Editing to make your request, and email it to writingcenter@utk.edu.
Other Campus Resources
For help with other questions, check out these UT resources:
- The Graduate School’s Theses & Dissertations page offers a collection of guidelines and information for writers, including links to formatting help.
- The Graduate School’s page on Using iThenticate helps writers check for potential plagiarism before submitting their manuscript for approval.
- OIT offers a self-paced course on MS Word for Theses and Dissertations. In the course, you will explore how Microsoft Word can create different features for your writing and help you format your document. This course is not a comprehensive list of all of the requirements and guidelines for your thesis/dissertation, but rather a resource to help you structure your thesis/dissertation using Microsoft Word as a tool.
- The University Libraries offers resources and support for graduate student research and teaching.
- The Counseling Center provides a range of resources to all UT students, including appointment-based services and online materials.
- The Center for Career Development and Academic Exploration provides assistance for graduate students writing job application materials.
- Teaching and Learning Innovation offers numerous resources to support graduate student teaching. See especially the Teaching Resources page and the Certificate Programs page.