FAQs
Office Hour and Individual Writing Tutoring
Where can you find us?
Our office is located at Schellingstr. 3, R 157/158.
What happens during a consultation?
During a consultation, the tutor will work with you not for you: This means that the tutor will guide you with questions, advice and tips. In order to make sure, solutions and strategies work for you, it is neccessary that you engage in the process. A tutor may provide feedback on your project. We recommend that you bring along a writing extract of a few pages or a table of contents, either in print or digitally. You may also want to bring a list of questions or notes for discussion.
Do I have to make an appointment for an individual consultation? If yes, how?
Yes, all consultations require an appointment. You can send a request via the contact form on our website. You will then receive an email from a tutor with sugested dates. Please note that it can take a few business dates until you have an appointment. We ask you to plan accordingly – last-minute requests ("I have to turn in my paper tomorrow") are likely to be too late.
Which tutor will be assigned to me?
Based on your status and questions, we consider the field of expertise and study status of our tutors to find the best fit.
Does the Writing Center offer consultation in all fields of study?
Students of all fields are welcome, but unfortunately we are not currently able to offer help with all questions concerning methodology or other subject-specific details. We aim at continually improving our services so as to be able to provide expanded consultation.
Is there anything I should bring to an appointment?
Please bring along an excerpt from your writing assignment—either in print or digitally. Furthermore, we recommend that you write down your questions and concerns prior to the appointment so that we can help you more effectively.
Can you proofread my paper?
The Writing Center does not offer proofreading. During a consultation, a tutor might read smaller passages from your paper but only to "help you to help yourself"—to answer your questions and show you patterns of mistakes, so that you can transfer the principles discussed to the rest of your paper.
Can you also offer help with papers written in English? If yes, which tutor should I request?
The Writing Center is also equipped to help with papers written in English. Since some of our tutors are students in the Department of English and American Studies, we have tutors experienced in academic writing in English who are able to help. As it is becoming increasingly common to write in English in other fields of study, we might alternatively suggest a tutor who specializes in the area of your question.
Can I choose a tutor?
If you wish to meet with a specific tutor and/or a tutor from your area of study, we recommend checking the list of tutors on our website and making an amentioning your preference in the comment field of the contact form. Please note that we can not guarantee that the tutor you ask for is available at the time.
Doctoral Candidates
Is it possible for doctoral candidates to get a consultation?
Yes, simply send a request via the contact form.
Do you offer workshops for doctoral candidates?
Yes, we do offer a small number of workshops targeted at doctoral candidates. You can find the program on our website.
Can I still participate in the workshops for (non-doctoral) students?
All our workshops are open for students and doctoal candidates. However, we provide info about the target group in the description and ask you to consider whether a workshop makes sense for you.
Cover Letters and CVs
I need help writing my curriculum vitae/my cover letter for an application. Can the Writing Center help me?
CVs and cover letters are not our field of expertise. Please see the LMU Career Service for consultation.
Research
I need help on how to conduct research—who can help me?
Our team can offer general advice, but please note that we can not offer advice with field-specific methodology and methods. The UB (University Library), the StaBi (Bavarian State Library), and the faculty libraries also regularly offer introductions—including some held in English—on research methods and software both for beginners and advanced students.
Writer’s Block
I have writer's block—what can I do?
We are currently in the process of expanding our website to offer short instructions for problems relating to writer's block and procrastination. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please send us a request for an individual consultation so as to talk through the difficulties you are experiencing.
What can I do if I have fear of writing?
Many students fight with writer's block, procrastination and fear of writing, making the daily life at university difficult, delay the completion of a course of study or even make it impossible. We offer individual consultation and regular workshops on this topic. Furthermore, the psychosocial consultation offered by the Studentenwerk München will also be glad to support you.
Writing Groups
How can I register for a writing group?
If you fill out the contact form on our website, you will be sent the link and key for the Moodle room. This is the space for writing grouos to organize themselves.
What is a writing group?
A writing group is usually formed by students and/or doctoral candidates to discuss each other's work in a supportive environment. The members of a group may work on projects of varying length (longer paper, thesis, PhD-dissertation, etc.) and the members may come from different fields of study as a writing group's focus is placed less on content than on the interdisciplinary aspects of writing, among them argument, structure, research, and time management. The group sets itself a meeting schedule (e.g. weekly or bi-weekly), the expectation being that members can commit to attending regularly. The commitment to the group paired with the possibility of exchange with other students creates a relaxed atmosphere; this can serve as motivation for your writing, and provide you with suggestions and feedback regarding your work.
Are writing groups only relevant for doctoral candidates?
Writing groups are not only relevant for doctoral candidates—they can be helpful at earlier stages of study, too, especially for anyone working on a longer paper or a BA/MA-thesis.
What does a writing group session look like?
A session might, for example, be conducted as follows: during the first half, each member briefly presents what they have accomplished since the previous meeting and what they plan to accomplish until the next. Subsequently, one member presents part of their project in greater detail and sketches the challenges and difficulties they are facing, thus opening for discussion among the group.
Other groups may additionally or alternatively want to set up joint research and writing sessions in a library or group study room. In this case, the emphasis would lie less on discussion and exchange than on the creation of a productive and committed work environment.
Where does a writing group meet?
Every writing group can decide for themselves where they would like to meet. We recommend the university's open rooms for the purpose of constructive work, as it may be harder to concentrate in a café or other public space. Library group rooms could be especially suitable.
Will there be a tutor present at every meeting of a writing group?
Writing groups are self-organized. If at any point your group feels like it needs external support, however, you can request a consultation with a tutor.
Is there a maximum number of participants per writing group?
To make sure that every member can share their work and ideas and receive extensive feedback, there should be no more than five people in a writing group.
Events
What events does the Writing Center organize?
The Writing Center offers a number of events throughout the year. During the semester, we offer the Friday Workshop series covering a great variety of topics around the writing process. We also regularly organize Writing Days and the Long Night of Procrastinated Papers; at these, we offer smaller workshops, the possibility of individual consultation, and a generally constructive atmosphere.
When will the next Long Night of Procrastinated Papers take place?
The Long Night of Procrastinated Papers always takes place at the end of the winter semester.
Do I have to register for Writing Center events? If yes, how?
We kindly ask for registration for organizational purposes. The form will be available on our website in the weeks before an event.
Workshops
When do the workshops take place?
During the semester, we offer workshops on a variety of topics every Friday. Additionally, we offer workshops in the Academic Pop-Up Labs and as part of the Long Night of Procrastinated Papers.
Where can I find information on the workshop topics?
You can find the current program on our wbeite. Further description of specific workshops can be found on lsf.
Do I have to register for a workshop? If yes, how?
You need to sign up via lsf.
Can I suggest a workshop topic?
We are always grateful for ideas concerning new topics and will try to incorporate them into our program. Please send an e-mail with any suggestions to schreibzentrum@lrz.uni-muenchen.de.
How do you allocate any last-minute places on your workshops?
You can register via lsf as long as free spots are availiable.
Creative Writing
What does the Writing Center offer in terms of creative writing?
Since the summer semester of 2017, we have been working on expanding our program on creative writing. Please refer to our website to see if we currently offer any workshops on the subject.
Can you point me to opportunities for getting published?
We recommend getting in touch with university magazines if you are looking to publish short stories or poems. For instance, the CampusZeit magazine regularly publishes creative writing.
Does LMU have any university magazines I could contribute to?
There is a range of university magazines at LMU, some faculty-based, some more general—these include CampusZeitung, Philtrat, Unikat, Cog!to, kon-paper and nebentext. Furthermore, the Presserat Kultur der studentischen Zeitungen an der LMU was founded to support young journalists at the university.
My question is not among the above—what should I do?
If your question is not among those answered above, please send an e-mail to schreibzentrum@lrz.uni-muenchen.de and we will respond as soon as possible.
