For Students

Anyone who communicates in more than one language is multilingual. In the Writing Center, the Coordinator of Multilingual Writing Support works with writers whose first or home language is not English. You may be more familiar with terms like ESL, EFL, or L2 writers. The experiences and identities of these students vary widely—we support international students, immigrant and refugee students, and domestic students.

We offer a variety of services for students wanting to strengthen their academic writing:

• Drop-in appointments in the Writing Center (dependent on availability),
• One-time appointments in the Writing Center, 
• One-on-one meetings with the Coordinator of Multilingual Writing Support, Kristen Vogel, and 
• Regular meetings with a peer consultant in the Term-Long Program (apply here)

Kristen loves to work with students, and you can meet with her regularly each week or as-needed to work on everything from brainstorming to refining complete drafts.

The Term-Long Program (TLP) pairs you with one of our peer writing consultants for an entire term. Once you apply and are assigned, you and your consultant make your own schedule for meeting one or two hours a week.

You can discuss your classes and assignments, get feedback on ideas or drafts, receive support in setting writing goals, and likely make a new friend! Some writer/consultant pairs continue working together over multiple terms. 

The program is a commitment and works best for students taking writing rich courses or who otherwise expect to be writing on a weekly basis. If you are interested in learning more about the program or being paired with a peer consultant for term-long writing support, please stop by Libe 420D to speak with the Coordinator of Multilingual Writing Support, Kristen Vogel, send an email to kvogel@carleton.edu, or apply.

The Writing Center is for all Carleton students. You can come to discuss your writing at any stage and for any class, application, or creative project. 

Multilingual students (international and domestic whose first or home language is not English) may also work one-on-one with the Coordinator of Multilingual Writing Support.

Yes. All Academic Support Center services are covered by regular tuition and fees—students have no extra cost to participate.

It depends on the service and our availability, but here are some general guidelines:

• Writing Center: Two 25-minute appointments per day
• Term-Long Program: Two hour-long sessions per week
• Coordinator of Multilingual Writing Support: Unlimited, depending on availability 

We provide writing support and guidance to Carleton’s multilingual (also known as ESL, EFL, L2, or SLW) students to help them develop as independent writers and thinkers in a U.S. academic context. Our consultants work as facilitators, collaborating with students at any stage of the writing process, and provide feedback on content, form, and language.

If you would like to meet with Kristen or set up recurring meetings with a peer consultant, please stop by Libe 420D to speak with the Coordinator of Multilingual Writing Support, Kristen Vogel, send an email to kvogel@carleton.edu, or apply for the Term-Long Program.

Check out our Writing Resources page for an extensive list! Here are some of our favorites:

• UNC Chapel Hill’s Writing Center Website An excellent collection of pages, handouts, videos, and samples on all things writing.
• Khan Academy Grammar Courses A curation of instructional videos on various grammar topics, including parts of speech, punctuation, syntax, and usage & style.
• Purdue OWL for Multilingual Students The menu on the left offers resources on many different writing topics particularly helpful for Multilingual writers.
• Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries Definitions and phrases in context, tailored to language learners
• Manchester Academic Phrasebank Academic English phrases organized by language function
• English Grammar Guide A list of grammar topics, including all parts of speech, and a 15-minute grammar test to check your understanding.