Writing centre

You can come to a writing consultation at any time, regardless of how far along you are with your writing process, i.e. with your text. We will talk to you about initial ideas, give you feedback on examples of texts, look at outlines together or develop revision strategies. You can also prepare with us for the lecturer interview that you should have about your academic work.

You are welcome to bring anything you have already worked on - from handwritten notes and mind maps to a finished text. However, this is not absolutely necessary. It is most important to us that we can talk about your writing project in a cosy atmosphere. Even if you don't have a specific writing project, you are very welcome if you would like to find out more about what academic writing is, how best to plan your writing project or if you would like to find out how to write a term paper or essay. And for now, we just need you! :)

Yes, of course! Our programmes are aimed at students who are just starting out in academic writing as well as very experienced writers who know that texts always improve through feedback. The exchange about texts and writing is professional and an important part of scientific communication. The sooner you integrate this exchange into your own writing process, the faster you will improve your writing skills.

Yes, many of the peer tutors speak two or more languages very well. Just ask directly if we can help you in this case.

Depending on the field of study, chair and lecturer, there are different requirements regarding the formalities and the way in which a citation should be given. Some lecturers have indicated their wishes regarding citation or formalities on the homepage of their chair. You should follow these. Please check there first.

If you cannot find anything on the respective homepage, ask your lecturers whether they have any guidelines regarding citation and adherence to a certain form of academic work and what these look like.

If you want to choose the form of the citation, you can use the worksheets of the Writing Centre (as copies in AB 115 and a small selection online here). It is important that you remain consistent. So if you use references in footnotes, you must stick to them and cannot switch to references in brackets in the middle of the paper.

We would be happy to help you at the writing centre and discuss the form and citation of your academic paper.

A good question helps you to approach the topic of your academic paper in a targeted manner and to be able to refer to a specific problem. The more detailed and precise your question is, the easier it will be for you to find, analyse and structure material. Sometimes it can also be the case that the question is further elaborated and concretised during the writing process, especially if you do more research and gather more information. This shows that writing is always a somewhat unpredictable process. However, you should try to define the question before starting the rough draft so that you don't stray from the topic while writing.

A research question is required in term papers and final theses. It gives you and your readers (lecturers/students) an orientation and determines the central theme of your text. In other papers, instead of a research question, there may simply be an objective (short term papers) or a thesis that is discussed (essays).

Tip: In the writing consultation, you can try out methods to help you develop a research question. Discuss your research question with the lecturers before you start writing!

For many people, getting started with writing is a hurdle. Create a ramp that gently leads you to the height of the obstacle, making it easier to jump over it. Prepare the introduction to writing with intermediate steps, e.g. by jotting down key points for a section of text or visualising the possible content of a section of text with a mind map. When you read and evaluate sources that you need for your text, don't just summarise their content in writing, but also note down your comments on them (what does this source mean in relation to your topic, what do you find important about it and why?) Produce text before you start writing your text.

Tip: You can also discuss other (writing) methods for finding a pleasant introduction to writing with us in the writing consultation.

Many writers understand „editing“ to mean a few beauty corrections shortly before submitting or finalising the text. Professional writers, on the other hand, see the revision phase as the phase in which the text is actually created on the basis of a rough draft. They define the ratio of first draft to revision as roughly 1:3 or even 1:4.

In order to revise efficiently, it is advisable to proceed in several revision loops from the macro to the micro level of the text. This means first checking whether the text contains everything that needs to be included or whether repetitions, redundancies or irrelevancies can be deleted. This is followed by the question of structure, the question of whether everything is in the right place. Only when the text is coherent in terms of content and structure is it worth revising the language and style. After all, if you start by tweaking the language of a section that you later have to delete or move for reasons of content or structure, you will have tweaked it for nothing. Finally, work on the micro level - the word and letter level - with classic proofreading for spelling and grammar.

The Long Night of Writing was first launched in 2010 as the "Long Night of Postponed Term Papers" by the Viadrina Writing Centre team and now takes place every year on the first Thursday in March at various universities around the world.

The "Long Night", as it is known for short, allows writers from all Faculties and disciplines to work together on their term papers or other writing projects in a concentrated and productive atmosphere.

It is characterised above all by the fact that the writers are supported by trained writing tutors in all phases of their writing projects. Programme items such as creative writing games, night walks, desk yoga, mini-workshops and writing consultations get writers through the night.