One-to-one academic coaching
Write Direction is a one-to-one academic coaching opportunity for Keele students, designed to help you to develop your academic practice in a focused way.
During a Write Direction appointment, a member of the team will spend up to one hour with you to provide one-to-one coaching to help you to identify areas for development, and enable you to achieve your academic and professional goals. This might cover: academic writing; critical thinking; academic reading practices; revision techniques; academic presentation support; and more.
Write Direction appointments are confidential and free of charge, and students can access up to six appointments per academic year - with no more than two appointments per piece of work.
Write Direction appointments take place online using MICROSOFT TEAMS. You will receive instructions of how to engage with us remotely in your confirmation email (please check your Junk email if you haven't heard from us after booking).
How to prepare for your Write Direction Appointment
Aim: To provide one-to-one support to identify and enable you to achieve your academic and professional goals.
Your responsibilities will be to...
- Make and keep arrangements in good faith and punctually.
- Consider what you would like to work on before you arrive.
- Be prepared to experiment with new ideas, strategies and approaches at a pace that suits you.
- Take responsibility for your own learning and development.
- Be consistent and authentic to ensure that trust and honesty is established.
Our responsibilities will be to...
- Carefully explore and agree your specific areas for development.
- Enable you to consider your development and options for change.
- Be consistent and authentic to ensure that trust and honesty is developed.
- Encourage you, if appropriate, to keep people in the University informed of issues.
- Refer you to appropriate professionals for further guidance and support where identified needs exceed the boundaries of our skills, knowledge, qualifications and capabilities.
- Maintain confidentiality, unless there are exceptional reasons such as risk to health, personal safety or infringement of the law.
How many times can I bring the same piece of work to you?
We will see you about the same piece of work no more than twice. Your submission should be your own work; this includes the process of planning, research, understanding, thinking, organising and writing. You are therefore encouraged to think carefully about what you would like support with to maximise the benefits from your time with us.
How many times can I use the service?
You may make up to three appointments per semester (September-January and February-June). This is to avoid dependant relationships from forming. You are therefore encouraged to think carefully about what you would like support with to maximise the benefits from your time with us.
Can I email you my work instead of a face to-face appointment?
In the first appointment we want to be well-placed to develop personal plans to support you, and this is best achieved face to face. However, we understand there are sometimes circumstances which make this challenging, so do contact us if this is the case.
Can you proof-read my work?
We are not a proof-reading service and you are advised to read the University proof-reading policy here . Instead we provide feedback on how to improve your work; this might involve detailed discussion about small sections of your work or more general discussion about an entire piece.
What happens if I miss an appointment?
Life is busy and unpredictable so the occasional missed appointment is understandable. If you are unable to keep the appointment please be courteous and let us know, even if it is just 10 minutes beforehand because we might just be able to help someone else in that time. If you miss two consecutive appointments then priority will be given to other students.
Can I get an appointment tomorrow?
The service is very popular and we put on as many appointments as we can around our teaching commitments. To avoid disappointment we strongly encourage you to plan ahead with your work. During peak times (Early October – Mid December & Early February - Mid April) waiting lists can be 2-4 weeks so account for this in your planning. At other times of the year the waiting list is usually 1-2 weeks.
Can I book multiple appointments in advance?
You cannot book multiple appointments in advance so that everybody has a fair opportunity to access the service.