CWC – FAQs

The Centre for Writing and Communication (CWC) works closely with the academic community at Ashoka University, to develop interdisciplinary writing and communication skills and build critical thinking competence. Our support includes one-on-one consultations, core academic workshops, course and discipline-specific workshops and English Language Learning.

Sessions are highly dialogic, focusing on students’ explanations and tutors’ questions and suggestions. They can also include short writing tasks. Feel free to take running notes during the session!

These sessions cover the following components:

• Ideating for arriving at an outline that can be used to structure your draft when you begin writing.
• Becoming proficient in drafting focused thesis statements.
• Revising and editing for focus and clarity and learning how to write concisely.
• Restructuring where necessary to make the draft more streamlined.
• Discussing good writing practices and useful techniques for argumentative and persuasive writing.
• Learning how to ensure a smooth transition between arguments using signal phrases.
• Understanding how to properly back all claims with evidence for greater credibility.
• Learning how to use sources, and build on research, both primary and secondary sources.
• Working on grammar and punctuation to ensure well-written papers.

Yes, CWC has an interdisciplinary team with ample research experience. They regularly publish their work at various academic portals, and they are well equipped to guide students with all formats of academic and research writing. This support can be in the form of one-on-one appointments or in the form of schools and workshops the centre holds for students writing a thesis. Each year, the centre holds a Winter School on Research Writing for students at Ashoka University (ASP, Masters and PhD). The centre also has a Summer School on Research Writing open to both Ashoka and non-Ashoka audiences.

Yes. The support is provided through (i) courses that the centre offers and (ii) regular one-on-one sessions. The centre also provides discipline-specific English language support where a student can seek reading and writing support for a specific course that they are enrolled in.

CWC tutors and fellows are capable of providing feedback across disciplines and courses. During your session, you can work on brainstorming, clarity of argumentation, structure, and flow. The sessions are not designed to evaluate or comment on the technical concepts in the paper. Please speak to your TF/ Professor/ peer tutor for any questions regarding discipline-specific content/ “material”.

To book an appointment, you must first register on the MyWCO portal with your Ashoka email ID. Please note: without first registering, your email ID will not appear in the drop-down email menu and you will not be able to book an appointment. You can also watch this video guide: Booking Appointments with CWC.

All fellows and tutors can guide transferable writing skills. However, if there is someone with a particular interest area/ disciplinary orientation you would like to speak with, please see the tutor profiles on our website.

CWC helps everyone with an active Ashoka ID (except alumni): regular and exchange students, staff members, researchers, faculty, etc. across all disciplines and levels.

Students can book appointments at a frequency suited to their needs. At the same time, students should book appointments keeping in mind the time required to incorporate the feedback received.

You may not book appointments with different tutors on the same writing task/ query. However, you can book with different tutors for different tasks.

CWC is not open on weekends. We work during the academic semester, from Monday to Friday, 10 am to 5.30 pm. The last appointment can be booked at 4.30 pm.

All CWC appointments take place in person. When you book an appointment you are expected to arrive five minutes before your appointment. The Centre is located on the third floor of the Administration Building.

You don’t need a written piece to come to CWC. You can visit us even in the pre-writing or ideation stage. You may also book CWC appointments for sustained support in critical thinking, and academic and professional writing. CWC instructors are also equipped to provide feedback on creative writing.

Ashokans can seek help with any queries related to writing and communication, including papers, presentations, writing for popular media, creative writing, college and job applications, and personal pieces they wish to publish or improve.

Yes. The centre provides sustained academic writing support. You can visit the centre and we will design a plan as per your needs and specific requirements where you can meet a tutor on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Yes, it is recommended that as you begin writing an essay or working on an assignment, you schedule an appointment with CWC, so that you can gain clarity on your idea and/or argument. These sessions will primarily support you in brainstorming and narrowing down your argument so that you can begin the process of writing with ease. More importantly, brainstorming and ideation sessions will help ensure you are not over-reliant on AI, particularly Chatbots to write your essays and assignments.

Yes, CWC can address specific queries related to academic integrity and ethics, including how to avoid plagiarism and cite correctly. All incoming undergraduate students will also take a mandatory Introductory Course on Academic Integrity & Ethics. In addition to this course, students can book an appointment to resolve any queries they may have in the area. Please note that CWC cannot help students with a plagiarism check. However, they can support students to learn and practice effective strategies for avoiding plagiarism in their assignments including ethical use of Chatbots.

CWC tutors can provide general advice (and caveats) on the ethical use of AI with your classroom policy on using AI, especially Chatbots.

Yes. You may book an appointment with a CWC instructor for a one-on-one session addressing difficulties you may be experiencing while reading your class-assigned texts. We also conduct academic workshops on critical reading to help students develop the relevant skills crucial to their education at Ashoka.

CWC can provide writing feedback on a piece of work you may want to publish. However, for publication, students need to approach publishing venues on their own.

The centre does not teach course material or edit/proofread your documents for you.

Yes, any faculty member or student society can reach out to the CWC for workshops related to any aspect of interdisciplinary writing and communication.

CWC policy does not allow us to share presentations. But you can ask for reading resources after a workshop. Moreover, if it is an academic writing or critical thinking workshop, you can also schedule appointments with a CWC tutor, who can cover the material with you on an individual basis.