Face-to-Face Paper Readings: Online Interactive

• Determine which type of paper reading appointment you would like to have. You may need to check with your professor to see which type of paper reading he or she requires.
• Determine how many appointments you'll need for your paper. On average, Writing Lab assistants can read between two and seven pages an hour, depending on the quality of the paper and the experience of the Lab assistant.
• Keep in mind that Writing Lab assistants will not write your papers for you, nor can they help you produce error-free, publishable papers. Their job is to help you write better.

• Go to your student page in Navigate;
• Click on the blue "View Advising/Student Support or Tutoring Availability" button in the upper, right corner of the screen;
• Select Writing Lab;
• Follow the prompts. 

You may also call us at (850) 474-2129 or visit the Writing Lab at building 51 at the UWF Main Campus.

Keep in mind you can make only three paper reading appointments per day.

Be sure to have the following to expedite the scheduling process:

• your UWF Gmail address,
• your professor's name (be sure to spell the name correctly),
• the name of your class,
• the due date of the paper (Note: Lab assistants will not read a paper on the day it's due),
• the style guide the paper should follow (MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, etc.), and
• the type of paper reading appointment you require.

Check your email for messages confirming your appointments.

• Create the best draft you can.  The time for a paper reading is limited, and the last thing you want is for the Writing Lab assistant to waste time correcting things that could have been corrected before the paper reading began.
• If you need to cancel your appointment, contact the appropriate Writing Lab office at least twenty-four hours in advance.  If you need to cancel your appointment while the Writing Lab is closed, you may either call and leave a voicemail message or e-mail us at writelab@uwf.edu.  Please give us your name, the date and time of your appointment, and the name of your paper reader. 
• Note: If you do not cancel your appointment twenty-four hours in advance, then your appointment will count as a no-show.

Bring yourself -- on time.  If you're more than five minutes late, you will lose your appointment, and your appointment will count as a no-show.

• You must remain with the Writing Lab assistant while he or she reads your paper, so be prepared to be fully engaged throughout the reading, just as you would be during a class. You will have to be present for the entire session.
• Each appointment lasts one hour, but the paper reader will work on your paper for 45-50 minutes.  The paper reader will have to spend 10-15 minutes completing a Paper Reading Report for your professor.  The paper reader will summarize what the two of you discussed and revised during the appointment and send your marked-up copy to Navigate to show your professor that a paper reading took place.
• You do not have to accept every revision your paper reader suggests, but the reader does have to mark each of the recommended revisions on your paper so that there is a record of said recommendations.
• The paper reader is authorized to terminate a reading if you do not participate in revising and editing your paper.

• A Writing Lab associate will send you a link to a Zoom meeting. Reply to the email with an attachment containing the document you want to have read. Your work should be in a Microsoft Word or PowerPoint document. Google docs tend to lose their formatting during submission. The University of West Florida provides free access to the Microsoft Office Suite for all students and employees. If you have not yet installed the Office Suite, search for it in MyUWF, and copy your work to a Word or PowerPoint doc before emailing it to your paper reader. 

• Join the Zoom meeting at the appointed time. You will initially be admitted to a waiting room. Your paper reader will move you to a private breakout room within five minutes of your arrival.  

• Notes and policies:
  • You must use a laptop or desktop ­­-- no tablets or mobile devices;
  • You must use your UWF student Gmail account;
  • It is your responsibility to secure a reliable Internet connection. The Writing Lab is not responsible for students’ Wi-Fi;
  • You must send your document to the reader before the scheduled time for your reading. Please do not send your document at the top of the hour as doing so delays your session;
  • The paper reader will connect with you in the Writing Lab's Zoom account -- Paper readers will not answer connections from students;
  • The paper reader will look for you in the waiting room five times during the first five minutes of your scheduled session. If the reader does not see you in the waiting room, you will be counted as a no-show.

• Use the marked-up copy that you and your paper reader revised as a guide to help you change your paper.
• Although the Lab isn't responsible for your grade, you should still keep track of the marked-up copy until after you've received a grade from your professor.

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