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Many of our offices will close at 3 p.m. today for the long weekend. Services will resume Monday April 1st.

The Founding College of the University of Toronto

Getting Started Early

The following free sessions are designed to help ease your transition to U of T and to introduce you to the UC Writing Centre. Both the one-on-one and group sessions will provide valuable guidance on meeting the expectations of university writing. All incoming UC students are welcome to participate.

Early June to mid-August: One-on-one writing consultation

Book a one-on-one appointment with one of our skilled writing instructors to go over a previous piece of writing, e.g., a high-school essay. Use the session as a diagnostic tool to see how your current expectations, practices and skills match up with the expectations and skills required in university courses. Then, explore strategies to help you develop your skills as a writer for the coming year and beyond.

Appointments in the first term go till June 21. Appointments for term two will be between July 12 and August 15. You may choose from a mix of face-to-face and online sessions.

    • Book an appointment any time.
    • Open to all incoming UC students.
    • Please cancel your appointment at least 24 hours ahead of time if you decide to give it up. To cancel, use the online booking system.
    • Students who cannot book a one-on-one appointment in August may book an appointment at the UC Writing Centre at the start of fall term. To find out more about how to use the centre starting in the fall, visit our home page.

    Mid-August: Group workshops on writing

    These workshops teach essential study skills for university essay writing. There are two workshops each morning on Aug. 16, 17, and 18. Workshops will be offered online via Zoom. Choose to attend whichever topics you like. Join workshops just before the starting time on the UC 101 Quercus page.

    • Understanding the Assignment, August 16, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. Make sense of your assignment instructions and get a head start.
    • Thesis Statements, August 16, 10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Unify your paper around a coherent, forceful argument.
    • Research Strategies, August 17, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. Situate your paper as part of a scholarly debate by finding the most relevant sources.
    • Using Sources, August 17, 10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Integrate the work of others into your own writing using paraphrase, summary, and quotation.
    • Revising an Essay, August 18, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. Hone your editing skills to produce a clear and polished paper.
    • Writing In the Sciences, August 18, 10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Learn the conventions of the lab report and other scientific genres.
    • Open to all incoming UC students.
    • The college writing centres also offer a full lineup of skills sessions, titled Writing Plus, in the fall. Check this web page for details. Students who are unable to attend Getting Started Early can attend similar sessions early in the fall.

    These sessions are sponsored by the UC Writing Centre and the Registrar's Office.

    Other sources of help

    If your first language isn't English, consider enrolling in one of the English Language Learning Mini-Courses offered in August. Students entering university are given priority in registration.

    For more information on the English Language Learning program, visit the ELL website.