First determine whether you would like an in-person appointment or a virtual appointment.
In-person appointments during weekdays (Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p. m.) take place in the writing center, which is located in the Center for Student Success in the basement of the Student Center. There are also evening in-person appointments; these take place in the library Sunday through Thursday from 5:15 – 9:00 p.m.
Virtual appointments follow the same schedule as in-person appointments, but the student may take their appointments from any location, as long as they have a wifi-connected electronic device. There are two types of virtual appointments: synchronous and asynchronous.
A synchronous appointment takes place in real time via a Zoom session. You will meet at the appointed time for 30 minutes with a writing assistant via your electronic device.
An asynchronous appointment takes place offline. You still make an appointment with a writing assistant via Accudemia for a specific date and time, but then you submit your paper to eCampus and await written feedback from the chosen writing assistant.
In deciding between an in-person vs. a virtual appointment, it is best to consider your schedule and your own preferred learning style. In-person appointments offer the greatest capacity for interactivity and close engagement, while convenience is one of the greatest features of the virtual appointment.
If you opt for a virtual appointment, you should make a synchronous Zoom appointment if you do not yet have a full or even partial draft of your essay. Synchronous is also best if you would like to brainstorm ideas with your writing assistant on how to approach the assignment. If you have a completed draft of the essay then you can still arrange for a Zoom meeting, but you might also consider offline feedback from a writing assistant via the asynchronous option.
Making an in-person appointment.
First, go to the Accudemia homepage: accudemia.monmouth.edu and sign in with your Monmouth username and password.
Next, select the blue link titled “New Appointment” and you will be taken to the New Appointment screen.
Under “Writing Services CSS” select the appropriate service for you. You will have a few choices here: select either “Graduate” or “Undergrad” and then select which formatting you are using for the course or assignment: MLA or APA (if you are unsure which format style you need, that’s ok… just pick one of them). You will also need to select the location that you would like for your in-person appointment: either in the writing center (basement of the Student Center) or at the library. So, for example, if you are an undergraduate student who would like an in-person meeting in the library for an assignment that requires APA formatting, you would select the service that is circled in red below.
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Next, you will have to select your “Subject Area.” You should see your courses populate automatically on the screen. Just click the class that the assignment is for.
Then pick the date and time for your in-person appointment that best fits your schedule.
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Then, simply click “Confirm”
Finally, arrive at your appointment (prepared with your assignment and whatever work you have completed for the assignment) at the appropriate time and place. Try to be a few minutes early if possible
Making a synchronous virtual appointment
Follow all the same directions for making a synchronous Zoom appointment as you would above for the in-person appointment. The main difference is when you select your service. Be sure you select a service that indicates a “Synchronous Zoom meeting.” So, for instance, if you are an undergraduate student who would like a Zoom meeting with a writing assistant for an assignment in MLA format, then you would select the service that is circled in red below:
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Once you have selected your service, then you would follow the same succeeding steps as for synchronous appointments: Choose the appropriate class from your lists of courses, and then pick a date and time that is convenient for you.
Then, simply click “Confirm.”
Once your appointment is confirmed, you will receive an email from Accudemia confirming the details of your appointment.
You then have two options as to how to access your Zoom appointment with your writing assistant: (1) Return to your Accudemia home page within ten minutes of your appointment time and click “Join session”; or (2) Go back to your email confirmation and, within ten minutes of your appointment time, click the “Join session” link from the email.
Finally, simply wait for your writing assistant to admit you into his or her Zoom private meeting room. While you wait, be sure to have your assignment with you, and, if you have made it to this stage, a draft of your essay. It is up to you and your writing assistant how you would like to view your paper and assignment together: you may either use the “Screen Share” function in Zoom or simply email the paper and assignment documents.
Making an asynchronous virtual appointment
To make an asynchronous virtual appointment, follow once again all the same directions as you would for the in-person appointment or the synchronous Zoom appointment. The main difference is when you select your service. For asynchronous, be sure you select a service that indicates “Asynchronous eCampus.” So, for instance, if you are an undergraduate student who would like to submit a paper in APA format and receive written feedback for that paper, then you would select the service that is circled in red below:
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Once you have selected your service, then you would follow the same succeeding steps as for synchronous appointments: Choose the appropriate class from your lists of courses, and then pick a date and time that is convenient for you. Note: by picking a date and time for an asynchronous appointment, you are essentially choosing the time when you would like the writing assistant to review your paper. You do not have to be “present” in any way at the time you select.
Click “Confirm” and your appointment is booked. You will receive a confirmation email from Accudemia with the details.
Next, you must go to ecampus.monmouth.edu and click on the community titled “Online Writing Services for Undergraduates.” Click on “Assignments.”
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Then find the appropriate formatting folder for this assignment: MLA or APA. Note: Be sure the folder you select here matches the formatting style you chose when you made your appointment on Accudemia.
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Once you click on the appropriate folder, you will need to submit your assignment and your essay draft; go to “Submit Assignment” and add the necessary files.
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You must also fill out some information to go along with the documents. When you click on the formatting folder, you will see “Assignment Information Sheet.” To the best of your ability, please fill out the necessary information you see there in response to the six prompts listed.
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When you are done, click “Submit” at the bottom of the page. Important note: please be sure to complete these steps before the appointment time you selected on Accudemia.
Finally, simply await feedback from your writing assistant. Check back in the same “Assignments” folder that you dropped your assignment in. You should allow at least a few hours for the writing assistant to review your paper thoroughly and provide useful feedback.
