The RVU Writing Center employs collaborative discussion and writing instruction to guide writers through all stages of the writing process and to equip writers from all backgrounds with the agency and writing skills necessary to enhance their careers and lives.
Writing Center
The Rocky Vista University Writing Center assists writers in the development of effective written communication, assignments, and professional documents. The RVU Writing Center offers guidance all the way from brainstorming and outlining to revising and editing. Through audience and genre centered instruction, specific feedback, and access to resources, the RVU Writing Center supports faculty and students alike.
Mission
Values
- Writing as a means to communicate, advocate, and understand ourselves and the world.
- The autonomy that comes from education and empowerment of students.
- Collaboration with students and faculty to improve writers not simply writing.
- Respect for students, faculty, and the writing process, which develops through practice and commitment.
- Diverse ideas and the impact of individual life experiences on one’s perspective.
- Dedication to achieving excellence in all aspects of writing.
Vision
- Facilitating achievement of competencies related to attitudes, skills, knowledge, and behavior
- Leading the way in osteopathic medicine curriculum in writing incorporation and assessment
Schedule an Appointment Below
The Writing Center offers two versions of writing support: Asynchronous, email-only feedback + real time, synchronous meetings.
For asynchronous, emailed feedback, students can schedule timeslots for their writing to be reviewed on the email-only feedback schedule. We ask that students allow four business days for emailed feedback.
Synchronous Writing Center services are available online (virtual) or in-person on the Colorado campus, in the Frank Ritchel Ames Memorial Library, room L103. Appointments can be scheduled in either 30-minute or 60-minute increments. Students are limited to 60 minutes of WC appointments per day. Real time, virtual or in-person meetings can be scheduled on the synchronous meetings schedule.
To access your virtual synchronous appointment, login to WCOnline, navigate to your appointment, open the pop-up window, and click “Start or Join Online Consultation.”
Appointments are all in Mountain Time, regardless of where you are when you schedule the appointment. Please plan accordingly. All services are accessible and will be facilitated through WCOnline.
What to expect
Students
- 1-on-1 or small-group meetings
- 30–60-minute appointments
- Writing instruction to apply to future texts
- Access to resources designed to enhance learning and understanding
- Specific feedback on the text
- Audience and genre centered instruction
- Focus on higher order concerns like analysis, organization, and synthesis
- Lessons on lower order concerns: grammar, punctuation, and proofreading
Faculty
- Creating effective rubrics and methods for writing assessment
- Individual appointments for assistance with grants, publications, abstracts, and responding to student writing
- Guidance on crafting writing assignments for comprehension, reflection, communication, and professional development culminating in portfolio development
- Support with:
- Developing the necessary components in a writing assignment/assessment
- Incorporating written components across the curricula of RVU programs
- Scaffolding writing assignments
Writing Guides
Writing in the Sciences
Paraphrase and Scientific Writing (PDF)
Writing a Research Manuscript (PDF)
Professional Documents
Medical School CVs and Example Template (PDF)
Student Doctor Letter of Interest 1 (PDF)
Student Doctor Letter of Interest (PDF)
Writing Mechanics
Composing a Cover Letter (PDF)
FAQs
Do I need an appointment?
To keep things running smoothly, the Writing Center operates on an appointment system. You can schedule an appointment by going to https://mywco.com/rvu
I don’t have anything written yet; should I cancel my appointment?
The Writing Center can help at all stages of the writing process, whether you’ve got a solid draft or are still in the brainstorming stage. Plan on bringing any notes, feedback, or ideas you’d like to incorporate into your writing.
I have class during all the available appointments; how can I get help?
If you are unable to attend a face-to-face session but you still want your paper reviewed, your best option is to schedule a timeslot on our email-only feedback schedule. This will reserve time to have your paper looked at even though you aren’t available. After your appointment, you will receive an update to your appointment. The update will include your paper with comments and explanations.
I have some writing I’d like to work on, but it’s not for an assignment; can I visit the Writing Center?
Absolutely! The Writing Center is available to help with all types of writing, whether that is personal communication, professional documents, or creative writing done for fun. Students and faculty should feel free to bring in any writing they want feedback on, regardless of the impetus for writing.
What’s the best way to improve my writing?
In short, practice! Good writers aren’t born that way; writing is a skill that can be developed and improved with practice. Reading a lot is also a great way to get familiar with what good writing looks (and reads) like. The Writing Center has many resources available to students: books to check out, handouts to refer to, and example papers from different genres. Students looking for general writing tips are also encouraged to bring in old writing to sessions to get tailored, specific feedback and instruction.
Why should health science students care about writing?
From a professional standpoint, writing skills are necessary to obtain grant funding, propose and publish research, and even communicate with patients and office personnel via emails and memos. Writing is also a knowledge-transforming activity; to write well about a topic, students need to really understand it, and the writing process itself helps students to engage in metacognition and transformative learning. Reflective writing promotes lifelong learning, helps curb burnout, and improves professionalism and patient care. Additionally, because most medical students’ undergraduate careers do little to provide them with writing instruction and practice, students who don’t engage with writing during medical school may never develop the skills they need to communicate or reflect in a meaningful way. Writing, like any other skill, must be developed and maintained with practice and support. Traditionally, students with a biology/premed background weren’t assigned much, or any, writing in their undergraduate careers. Fortunately, good writing comes from good practice; the Writing Center is here to empower students to communicate effectively.
Editorial Policies for Authors
Authorship Criteria and Guidelines
Authorship signifies credit for published work and contributes to professional development in academia. It also carries a responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of published work. Authorship and contributions should be determined prior to submission of any work based on the Authorship Guidelines published by the Office of Research at Rocky Vista University and recommendations from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Briefly, authorship should be based on the following four criteria from the ICMJE1:
- “Substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
- Final approval of the version to be published; AND
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.”
All authors should meet each of the four criteria. The order of authorship can be determined by consulting the Office of Research Authorship Guidelines. The corresponding author takes primary responsibility for communication with editors during the submission, peer-review, and publication process. Any change in authorship after submission or publication requires a written rationale and signed statements of agreement from all authors, including any authors to be removed or added.
Non-author contributors include contributors who meet fewer than all four criteria listed above. Examples of non-author contributors are included in the Office of Research Authorship Guidelines document. Acknowledgment of non-author contributors is appropriate in manuscripts and descriptions may be included (e.g., served as an advisor, contributed technical editing for manuscript, etc.). Including individuals in acknowledgments implies endorsement of the work and therefore, written permission from non-authors contributors should be obtained prior to submission. Non-human authors, such as ChatGPT, should not be included as authors; please see the policy section on artificial intelligence for more details.
- Recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journals. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors website. http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/. Updated May 2022. Accessed April 21, 2023.
Artificial Intelligence
Non-human contributors, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, or similar technology, do not qualify for authorship. The use of these systems is not encouraged but may be permitted if this specific technology is part of the study question. Use of artificial intelligence must be included in the acknowledgement section if used in part to write the manuscript, or in the methods section if part of the study. Findings from previous publications cannot be reproduced, and authors have the responsibility of ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the writing or content generated by artificial intelligence systems.
This policy is consistent with statements from the Committee on Publication Ethics regarding the use of artificial intelligence in research publications.
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest exist when an author’s professional judgement and actions may be influenced by secondary interests, primarily financial, although this category can also include conflicts from personal and professional relationships. The latter may be seen as a perceived conflict of interest, which should still be acknowledged.
All authors are asked to submit a conflict of interest form upon submission. Previous conflict of interest statements already completed for the work under review, for example any IRB-approved research, must be included upon manuscript submission.
Conflicts of interest among peer reviewers and editors will be addressed by asking editors to recuse themselves from any decision involving manuscripts where they have a preexisting conflict of interest. Those manuscripts will be assigned to an alternate editor or reviewer in those cases. Peer reviewers and editors are prohibited from using information obtained from submissions for their own gain.
Dual Submissions
Authors should not submit the same work to more than one journal at the same time. Upon submission, all authors agree that the work is not currently submitted for review at another journal, and conversely, once under review, all authors agree not to submit to a different journal until a decision is reached or the manuscript is withdrawn.
Originality
Duplicate publication is publication of the same or nearly same work without reference to the previous publication. Duplicate publication of original work is not allowed, and a cover letter should be submitted with any submission that overlaps significantly with previously published work to notify editors. This policy does not include compilation of previously published works into a larger anthology with referencing the original publication (e.g., publishing a collection of poetry and including a previously published poem), publication of work presented in abstract or poster form, and expansion of previously published preliminary studies. If an author is including work previously published in manuscript or abstract form, those studies should be cited within the article.