Writing Summaries to Faculty

By Ryan Hudgins, Writing Consultant

General Reminders

• • • In Fall 2023 and Spring 2024, Consultants working hourly in the Center write a summary, as well as other Consultants helping a friend or answering a special request. 

    • Once your conference with the writer is finished, fill out the conference summary as soon as possible

    • If the writer opts into sharing with the professor, fill out the conference summary with their professor’s name 

    • Refer to the professor as “you” in the summary

    • Use “Dr.” in front of the faculty member’s name when applicable

    • If the writer opts out of sharing with the professor, write Dr. Essid’s name in the “Professor’s Full Name” section  

    • Use the writer’s name rather than “the writer” in the summary

    • Check the spelling of the writer’s and professor’s names in the campus directory and the course title in the course catalog

    • The length of the summary is not as important as the content of the responses

What to Do, Where to Type It In The Summary 

(online form is here and info to collect here)

• • • We changed forms in 2023 to make it simpler  and easier to assess, in terms of what writers asked for v. what they still need.

    • Check all boxes applicable, then fill out any additional details at the bottom. 

Ethics & Professional Language

• Avoid broad judgments of the writer’s work, whether positive or negative. Instead, comment on specific attributes

  • • Ex. “I like how [Name] integrated the quotations with his own ideas”

• Do not comment on how you anticipate the assignment will be received by the professor or what grade you think it merits

• Give concrete recommendations that are specific and contextualized

  • • Ex. “I recommended that [Name] integrate the quotations with his own ideas on x, y, and z”

• If you are unsure about the assignment’s requirements or the professor’s expectations, refer the writer back to the professor to get clarification

  • • Ex. “[Name] had questions about [topic] that I could not answer, so I recommended that he contact you”

• Read your conference summary aloud before submitting the report to catch small errors in your writing 

• As you should not be doing the work for the writer, avoid phrasing that characterizes your assistance in this way

  • •  “I proofread his paper for grammar and spelling errors.” -> I reviewed the draft and highlighted some patterns of error that I noticed, such as . . . “

    • “I helped her come up with a stronger thesis.” -> I suggested that she further specify her claim by using more precise language. I guided her through this process by asking questions about . . .

    • “We developed a new argument” -> I asked questions about the parts of his argument that seemed unclear or contradictory, and I guided him through the process of organizing his ideas into a new outline.