Academic writing centre
The writing centre is open for all students who wish to improve their own writing. Come and discuss your ideas, drafts and questions with one of our writing consultants.
Come for a consultation
Opening hours 2018: Monday 12–16, Tuesday 10–14, Wednesday 16–20, Thursday 12–16. Changes may occur.
We are located at the Georg Sverdrup's house at Blindern, Library of the Humanities and the Social Sciences, ground floor.
Book an appointment or come by during the opening hours.
Send your draft by email 24 hrs in advance.
Appointments can be booked one at the time. We normally offer up to three consultations per term.
What can we offer?
- We offer one-on-one consultations based on drafts or ideas for assignments.
- Topics for the consultations could be, e.g., structure, problem formulation, argumentation, discussion, academic language, references and other issues.
- Contact us at an early stage of your writing process in order to develop your ideas!
- The writing centre can also develop courses together with academic staff and academic services at the university.
- Shut up & write-sessions for PhD candidates and researchers Fridays 9 AM – 2 PM. Dates in the fall 2018: 31/8, 14/9, 28/9, 12/10, 26/10, 9/11, 23/11, 7/12. No registration.
- Writers' night at the library: Every semester the library of the humanities and social sciences organises writers' night at the library with workshops, talks, drop-in-assistance and shut up & write from 17 to midnight. Writers' night is open for all students and PhD candidates. We supply coffee, tea and snacks. From the fall 2018 the library of Informatics will be co-organiser.
NB: The writing centre staff does not proofread or discuss scientific content.
Who are we?
The writing mentors are skilled and highly motivated students and teachers. They come from various subjects and are trained in writing pedagogy and counselling. Some of our mentors are native English speakers.
The centre is led by Ingerid S. Straume. She has a cross-disciplinary background, including writing studies and a PhD in the philosophy of education. Ingerid Straume has a lot of experience in supervision and giving courses in academic writing. She is a co-editor of Search & Write, and a published writer.
A home for writing
Many new students are unsure about what it means to write academically, but also more experienced writers still need input. Moreover, to acquire an academic language also means to develop a new identity within one's discipline, utilizing both the written and spoken word.
The writing centre at the UiO aims to support writers in their academic identity formation processes and not simply "fix the text" of an assignment. Through activities such as consultations, writing workshops and various arrangements, we aim to become a "home for writing".
The Academic writing centre at the UiO belongs to the University of Oslo Library. The aim is to develop resources for the university as a whole, together with the departments and academic staff. The UiO writing centre shares experiences with other writing centres, such as the Study Skills Centre at OsloMet and Institute for Writing studies at St John's University, New York.
Would you like to work at the writing centre? Please contact Ingerid Straume
