Terms of Use

At the Klooster Center for Excellence in Writing, writing assistance is offered by students who are employed by the center and is available to all Hope students, staff and faculty. This service is also available on a limited basis to recent graduates who are working directly with Hope faculty or staff on writing projects such as applications for graduate programs and fellowships.

1. Services offered. Writing assistants work with students and others on any stage of the writing process, from initial brainstorming to honing the finished product. However, they do not edit papers for others, nor do they offer a proofreading service. Writers who bring their work to the center are ultimately responsible for revising, editing and finalizing their own work.
2. Appointments. Students and others who have made appointments (and arrive on time) take precedence over walk-ins; however, appointments are subject to cancellation if a student arrives more than five minutes late. Late arrivals may still be seen if a writing assistant is available, but the session will end as scheduled unless the assistant has extra time and no one else is waiting.
3. The Instructor is the Boss. Writing assistants offer advice; they are not sources of infallible truth. The expectations, suggestions and evaluative comments of the course instructor or advisor always take precedence over those of the writing assistant. In addition, writing assistants are not responsible for, and make no guarantees about, a paper’s ultimate quality or grade.
4. Reporting. A summary of each session will be sent to the student’s instructor or advisor, cc’ed to the student. These reports indicate what kinds of issues were discussed; they do not evaluate the quality of the student’s writing. They may recommend additional steps to be taken.
5. Recording. Sessions may occasionally be recorded (audio and/or video) for the purpose of training writing assistants and improving the quality of the center’s offerings. Such recordings will not reveal the name or face of the student who has come for writing help. Recordings will be available only to the director of the center, who may show them in closed sessions of writing assistants for training purposes only.
6. Opting Out. Students who wish to opt out of either or both of the reporting and recording policies (numbers 4 and 5, above) should indicate this to the writing assistant at the beginning of the session. Such requests are in effect for that session only and must be made again, if desired, at any future session.