FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is the Office of English Language and Writing Support (ELWS)?
Eligibility
Can I take courses offered by ELWS if I am a post-doctoral fellow?
Can I take courses at ELWS if I am an undergraduate student at U of T?
Can I take courses at ELWS if I am not a student at U of T?
Can I take courses at ELWS if I am an International Visiting Graduate Research Student?
Course Information
Who can I contact if I need help choosing courses?
Will there be a lot of homework assignments for the courses I take?
Will the courses I take at ELWS be included in my transcript?
Will I receive a grade for the courses I take?
What should I do if I have to miss a class?
What should I do if I have to drop a course?
Where is the location of the course I am taking?
Workshops
What are the main differences between the workshops and the courses?
One-on-One Writing Appointments
What kinds of help can I get at a 1-on-1 writing appointment?
Does the ELWS provide proofreading services?
Are there other resources available to help me improve my writing?
What exactly is the Office of English Language and Writing Support (ELWS)?
ELWS is a program within the School of Graduate Studies that assists graduate students at U of T in improving their academic writing and speaking skills. This program offers free non-credit courses, workshops, and individual writing consultations to both native and non-native speakers of English from most disciplines.
Eligibility
Can I take courses offered by ELWS if I am a post-doctoral fellow?
Post-doctoral fellows are not eligible to apply for our courses, but they are welcome to attend our single session workshops. Postdoctoral fellows wishing to take English language courses should contact the Postdoctoral Office (sgs.postdoc@utoronto.ca or 416-946-5254), or the School of Continuing Studies (learn@utoronto.ca or 416-978-2400).
Can I take courses at ELWS if I am an undergraduate student at U of T?
You are not eligible to take our courses if you are an undergraduate at U of T. Undergraduate students who wish to take English language courses should check the web for information on resources available to undergraduate students.
Can I take courses at ELWS if I am not a student at U of T?
You are not eligible to take our courses if you are not a student at U of T, nor do we have a fee schedule for students who are not registered graduate students at U of T.
Can I take courses at ELWS if I am an International Visiting Graduate Research Student?
You are not eligible to take our courses if you are an International Visiting Graduate Research Student. Only students who are registered in graduate programs (M.A. or Ph.D.) at U of T may take our courses.
Course Information
Who can I contact if I need help choosing courses?
If you need any help in choosing the course that is best suited to your needs, you can contact Dr. Rachael Cayley either by e-mail (rachael.cayley@utoronto.ca) or by phone (416-946-0645). Dr. Cayley is also available for in-person consultations; please call to make an appointment.
Will there be a lot of homework assignments for the courses I take?
We understand that you are busy with assignments and deadlines in your regular graduate program, and thus we keep homework to a minimum. That said, we cannot help you improve your writing/speaking unless we see your work. Wherever possible, we base “homework” assignments on the writing/speaking that you are currently completing in your department. In the Oral Presentation Skills course, for example, you are invited to give a presentation that you will actually be giving in a course or at a conference. In the writing courses, instructors provide you with valuable individualized feedback based on the writing errors they see in the writing samples you submit: samples that may consist of proposals, course papers, or thesis chapters that you are working on as part of your graduate study.
Will the courses I take at ELWS be included in my transcript?
No, the non-credit courses you take at ELWS will not be included on your transcript; however, if you would like your supervisor to know that you are taking our courses, we would be happy to contact him or her.
Will I receive a grade for the courses I take?
No, you will not receive a grade for any of our courses, but you will receive detailed, constructive feedback on written and oral work.
What should I do if I have to miss a class?
Please contact your instructor by e-mail and inform him or her of the reason for your absence before class. Please note that the ELWS has a strict attendance policy. Students who do not attend regularly will be blocked from registering in the following course session.
What should I do if I have to drop a course?
If you wish to drop a course before it starts, please e-mail the office at register.elws@utoronto.ca. In the event that you must drop a course after it starts, please be aware that unless you inform your instructor about your reason, students who miss a class without a legitimate reason will be blocked from registering in the first session of the next term.
Where is the location of the course I am taking?
Most of our courses and workshops are located in the following buildings:
AB – Astronomy & Astrophysics Building, 50 St. George Street
BA – Bahen Centre for Information Technology, 40 St. George Street
BF – Bancroft Building, 4 Bancroft Avenue
BL – Claude T. Bissell Building, 140 St. George Street
GB – Galbraith Building, 35 St. George Street
GRAD ROOM – Grad Room Lower-Level, 66 Harbord Street
HA – Haultain Building, 170 College Street (rear of)
IN – Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue
OI – Ont. Inst. for Studies in Education/U of T, 252 Bloor Street West
RT – Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, 105 St. George Street
SGS – School of Graduate Studies, 63 St. George Street
SS – Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George Street
UC – University College, 15 King’s College Circle
WO – Woodsworth College Residence, 321 Bloor Street West
WW – Woodsworth College, 119 St. George Street
Please visit the campus map to find out exactly how to get to your course.
Some of the courses are offered to students in Divisions 1, 2, 3, or 4. How do I find out what Division I'm in?
The School of Graduate Studies has four Divisions. Division 1 is the Humanities. Division 2 is the Social Sciences. Division 3 is the Physical Sciences. Division 4 is the Life Sciences.
Workshops
What are the main differences between the workshops and the courses?
Courses require more commitment and they provide more help than single-session workshops do. You must register for the courses before they start, but you can show up at any workshop without registering in advance. During a six-week course, your teacher will provide you with feedback on your written or oral assignments in order to help you to identify and address specific problems in your oral/written communication. The workshops, on the other hand, provide only limited opportunity for individual feedback. Each workshop focuses on a particular writing challenge, and the teacher provides examples, guidelines, and exercises designed to help students meet that particular challenge. (If the workshop is on the use of articles, for example, then the teacher will examine the sorts of problems graduate students might encounter with articles and provide exercises to enable students to apply what they are learning.) Many students who register for courses also choose to attend specific workshops relevant to their needs.
One-on-One Writing Appointments
What kinds of help can I get at a 1-on-1 writing appointment?
Students are invited to bring pieces of academic writing at any stage. Instructors can help you to get your ideas into the form of an outline, to assess the effectiveness of your paper’s structure, to evaluate the clarity of your writing, or to identify and avoid stylistic and grammatical errors. The writing appointments are not a proofreading service. They are designed to help you to learn how to evaluate and improve your own writing.
Does the ELWS provide proofreading services?
ELWS is not a proofreading service. Our mandate is to teach students to improve their own writing and speaking. In our courses, workshops, and consulting appointments, students are taught to identify and address the problems in their writing. While we recognize that this process takes much longer than a quick copy edit, we also know that students are not well served by becoming dependent on our writing skills instead of developing their own.
Are there other resources available to help me improve my writing?
Numerous online resources are available to assist you as you continue to improve your writing/speaking. Check the Resources: Writing and Speaking page on the ELWS website for lists of both off- and on-campus resources.