Wolfson Writing Centre on a typewritten page

Wolfson Writing Centre

Welcome to the Wolfson Writing Centre! Our goal is to help Wolfson undergraduates and postgraduates with their writing projects at any point in the writing process. We offer one-to-one and group sessions to help students become more confident and practised writers.

 

Wolfson Writing Centre on a typewritten page

Contents:

One-to-one support

Writing Consultants 

Writing consultants hold bookable surgeries so that you can get support for the writing process: brainstorming ideas, thinking through the structure of an essay, considering flow and clarity, and other matters related to the mechanics of writing. Please note that the Consultants will not be proofreaders, nor will they address the academic content of your writing; that is for supervision. 

What Can Writing Consultants Do? 

  • They can help students in their pre-writing planning. This includes brainstorming ideas, considering the best way to approach a paper or prompt, and thinking about the organisation of paper. 

  • They can also read a partial draft of the paper and comment on the paper’s organisation, both at a global or paragraph level, the flow of ideas or argumentation, and the use of textual evidence by the writer. 

  • They can make suggestions for how to revise a paper for greater clarity, coherence and persuasiveness. 

  • They can spot mechanical errors in a student’s prose and can help the student identify and correct these errors. 

  • They can signpost students to further academic support available in WolfWorks. 

What Writing Consultants Cannot Do 

  • They do not interpret course readings or content for students. 

  • Do not edit or proofread students' work. 

  • Provide support with PhD applications

  • Meet with students outside of the Writing Consultant’s available tutoring hours.

 

Book a Writing Consultation

To book a 45-minute appointment, please use this booking link: Book a Writing Consultation.

Meet the Writing Consultants 2025/26

 

Min-Kyoo Kim 

Hi, my name is Min, and I'm a fourth-year PhD student in Film Studies, writing up my thesis on the visual representations of nuclear violence and its entanglement with international networks of imperialism and racism. I previously studied for a BSc in International Relations at LSE, before moving to Cambridge for a MPhil in Film Studies. Having written and published across different subject areas, I'm particularly sensitive to the demands of interdisciplinarity in producing coursework and dissertations. I’m looking forward to returning as a Writing Consultant, and continuing to share my experiences and explore the challenges - and rewards! - of writing with you. Beyond Film Studies, you can find me on the rugby pitch, attempting to improve my French, or baking.

 

Charlotte Rendina

Hello! My name is Charlotte, and I am a second-year PhD student at the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge. My research focuses on strengthening canine rabies surveillance and control using a One Health Approach. I completed my undergraduate degree in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Milan in Italy, and my MSc at the University of Edinburgh. I have previously developed online courses on infectious animal diseases for Veterinary Services in different parts of the world. My favourite part of writing is the sometimes challenging but very rewarding journey of transforming an initial draft into a final piece of work. I look forward to supporting you with your writing during your time at Wolfson!

 

Keane Farley

Hi, my name is Keane, and I’m a second-year PhD student in Philosophy writing on the aesthetic appreciation of nonhuman animals. I received my BSc in Philosophy, Logic, and Scientific Method at the LSE and my MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science here at Cambridge. As a Writing Consultant, I want to convince you that writing should be fun and help you figure out a simple and intuitive writing process that works for you. While philosophy is my day job, literature is the most important thing in my life. I moonlight as a fiction writer and, when not researching, can mostly be found amongst birds or books.

 

Ditta Demeter

Hi, I'm Ditta, a first-year PhD student in Film and Screen Studies, researching contemporary queer French cinema. I already hold a BA in Modern and Medieval Languages and an MPhil in Film and Screen Studies from Cambridge, so I'm intimately familiar with the challenges of academic writing by now. I also worked as a content marketing manager in London for several years, which taught me how to polish my writing, keeping it jargon-free and accessible regardless of the topic. I know how daunting it can be to write coursework when this is something you have never done before, or indeed if English is not your first language (mine is Hungarian!). In consulting sessions, I want to help you write clearly and confidently while using your own voice. My motto is that academic style does not have to result in sounding like a robot! I look forward to supporting you to make your drafts shine.

 

John Henning

Hi there! My name is John. I’m a second-year PhD student in the English Department working on lines of literary connection between South Africa and Ireland. Before coming to Cambridge, I studied BA and MA degrees in South Africa and worked as a secondary school teacher. My goal as a consultant is to be a fresh pair of eyes and ears for your work. I look forward to helping you along with the process of converting thoughts and drafts into pieces of writing that communicate your ideas clearly. Outside of PhD life, you’ll find me knocking around on a Sunday league football pitch or enquiring about the availability of Wolfson's tennis court.

 

Mi Jin Kim

Hello! My name is Mi Jin, and I am a second-year PhD student at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. My research focuses on the history of institutions for children deemed “abnormal” in colonial Korea, exploring how the government and society of the time perceived youth delinquency and disability. I began my writing journey while completing my undergraduate honours thesis in evolutionary genetics at the National University of Singapore. My path later led me to the humanities, where I completed an MA in Japanese Studies. My favourite part of writing is seeing my research come to life as a story — whether it is the story of discovering the genetic diversity of mosquitoes, or of children in the past resisting the authorities that sought to change them. I hope to draw on my experience writing across the sciences and humanities to help fellow students at Wolfson on their own writing journeys!

 

 

Royal Literary Fund Fellow

Whether you’re struggling and stumbling or confidently sure-footed, RLF Writing Fellows make your needs their starting point, providing guidance specific to you. Get detailed feedback from a professional writer on timing, planning, structure, argumentation, register, flow, punctuation, referencing and more.

Why not make an appointment and bring along two copies of something you are working on? You won't receive grades, but many students who work with us soon see their grades improve. You can book a 50-minute appointment. Support is free of charge, confidential and available to all Wolfson students and researchers in all subject areas. It is aimed as much at scientists, engineers and mathematicians as at historians, law students or philosophers. To book an appointment, please email Ruth Padel at ruth.padel@rlfeducation.org.uk.   

Please note that you must

  • be a current student at Wolfson College
  • resident in the UK at the time of the appointment

- these are the requirements of the body that funds this service.

Please note that RLF Writing Fellows do not undertake proofreading or EAP tuition. 

 

Group sessions

Write Here, Write Now at Wolfson

Need some help finding some time to work on your writing in a quiet, distraction-free environment? We offers workshops to provide structured writing time for both undergraduates and graduates. We discuss our aims, write in silence for an hour, have a refreshment break and then do it again! See below how one student has described the experience:

"One might imagine that battling with your own creative or academic wits, while a group of fellow students typed intensely around you, would be an off-putting experience. Not a bit of it. We seemed to encourage each other tacitly to get on and produce. The hours flew by. It was a temple of silent work, leavened by tea and biscuits!"

Upcoming Dates

Write Here, Write Now will take place in the Wolfson College Library on Wednesdays from 10:00-12:30 starting on 8 October. Refreshments will be provided, but please bring your own cup for tea or coffee. We look forward to seeing you there.

Proofreading

The library works with volunteer proofreaders, offering a service for postgraduate students planning to submit a Master's dissertation or PhD thesis. Our proofreaders can help with issues related to spelling, grammar, word usage, syntax and formatting.

Students will be matched with appropriate proofreaders based on subject, where possible, and are advised to provide as much time as possible prior to their submission deadline. It often takes 2.5 weeks to find a suitable/available reader, for them to read and mark up the document, and to give you time to make corrections.

Get in touch with Connor at academic-skills@wolfson.cam.ac.uk for more information.

 

Downloads