CxC Communication Support FAQ

CxC offers writing support, oral project support and visual project support for undergraduate students. If you’re looking for 1-1 services, we offer both real-time online appointments via Zoom for communication projects and asynchronous services (see below for details). If you want to work things out on your own, we also offer self-guided resources.

No. If you are working on another kind of communication-intensive project, you can schedule an appointment with a mentor to assist with visual and oral communication by selecting the appropriate service from the drop-down menu on the scheduling page.

CxC Studios do not collect money from you for writing support or other forms of communication mentoring. This service is part of resources available to you, at no additional cost, as an LSU student.

• Mentors can help you during all stages of the composition process, from planning and drafting to revising. Keep in mind, though, that the most useful conferences happen early in the process.
• Mentors will discuss options to improve various features of a project such as development, organization, audience adaptation, and clarity and coherence.
• Mentors will also work with you to set long-term goals that will transfer to future communication tasks.

• We do not copy-edit or co-create your work. 
• We do not evaluate grades you already received, guarantee grades and will not estimate what grade we expect your paper to get.
• We do not and will not report sessions to your professor or any party outside of the CxC team (except for disclosures related to Title IX reporting.)

Our communication mentors are trained to first help you ensure that you are addressing the overall idea and organizational concerns of your project. Together, you and the mentor will check to make sure the thesis/main argument, support, and overall aspects of the project are in accordance with the assignment and your goals. 

From there, time-permitting, you and the mentor may review some finishing touches like punctuation and grammar to identify patterns of error Most writers make the same types of errors when they write. Once patterns of error are identified, you will learn how to proofread for and correct that error. The mentor will guide you through the first examples to clarify the rules and then encourage you to proofread the rest of the text.

Keep in mind, CxC communication mentors are trained to help you as the communicator rather than to fix a paper or assignment, so that as your communication assignments and goals continue to develop you are setting yourself up for future success.

Visit the CxC Studios Page for more information on self-guided resources related to a variety of communication modes and projects, and to see what resources you can access on-site via one of our three physical locations.

If you’re currently in the early planning stages, please bring/upload any notes, outlines, or ideas you have. If you’ve begun developing your project, please bring/upload a working draft. Always include a copy of the assignment details (where applicable) and bring something to take notes.

Your mentor will first work with you to set limited goals for your session. No one can rethink and rework an entire project in 30 minutes, so you will determine a focus and strategies for making your next draft more effective. You may need to make another appointment depending on how far along you are with your project.

You and the mentor will discuss the following questions:

• Is this project a part of a school assignment? What guidelines have been provided for you?
• Where are you in the process?
• When does your timeline look like, and what deadlines are you working with?
• What are your concerns?

Each session is customized to your needs and will vary depending on what stage you are in with your writing project. The mentor will suggest working first on higher order concerns—content and organization. They may ask these questions to help with content:

• What is your purpose?
• Who is your audience?
• What is your persona as the writer/speaker/designer?
• What tone will be most appropriate and how will you create it?

Once you have a good sense of content and organization, you are ready to focus on the minor details of your project (such as punctuation and delivery style). If you get to this point, your mentor will help you to identify patterns of error or discuss refining stylistic choices.

• Click on the “Schedule a Real-Time Appointment” button above.
• Register for an account, or log in if returning. 
• Select the "1-on-1 Consultations in Real-Time" schedule from either the login page or the top of the main scheduler page.
• Filter the type of consultation by using the "Select Service or Studio" selector.
• Click on the date and time you wish to reserve with the selected mentor.
• Complete the pop-up appointment form to book your appointment.
• Click the "Create Appointment" button and you will receive an email confirming the appointment details.

We use Zoom. Each of our mentors has a personal meeting room used for taking appointments.

You can either follow your meeting URL link provided in your scheduling email from CxC, or you can go to lsu.zoom.us, click “Join a Meeting” then copy and paste the meeting URL link there. Either way, you will receive a pop-up prompt asking for permission to download. Click allow and proceed to your download. 

For additional assistance, review this GROK article.

After scheduling your appointment, you should receive a confirmation email that includes the meeting URL for your session. This information is also available in our mentors’ bios in WCOnline. To start your session, you will need to follow that URL and log in using your LSU information. We recommend doing this a few minutes before your session start time so you can download the necessary components.

Once Zoom is set up, you will see a screen similar to this one until your mentor logs in:

Once they sign in, you will see a screen that indicates you are in their “waiting room.” After they admit you from the waiting room, your session will begin.

You are not required to use the camera (though it is encouraged), but we do ask that you enable your audio. You will rely primarily on the screen sharing and audio exchange functions of Zoom.

Please have whatever materials you plan to refer to during the session already open on your device. This includes but is not limited to any sample materials provided by your instructor, rubric, guidelines/prompts, and (of course) the work you have produced and would like to discuss.

You are expected to interact with the mentor in a professional and respectful manner. As an LSU student, you are also expected to abide by all the same rules and guidelines that govern all enrollees of the university, as outlined within the LSU Student Handbook and the LSU Code of Student Conduct. Any behavior deemed inappropriate will be referred to the Office of Student Affairs or Office of Academic Integrity.

Asynchronous means that you submit your project and information about it to us via the appointment slot that you booked on our Asynchronous Consultations scheduler in WCOnline. After a mentor reviews your materials, we will send notes back to you via email. 

• We hold our asynchronous sessions to the same standards as our real-time ones.
• Each submission will be given the standard 30 minutes for review.
• Mentor feedback will be given in the form of a cover sheet, which will be attached to your appointment session and emailed to you. No changes or comments will be put into your submission file.
• This is NOT an editing service or grammar-check. Our mentors are trained to provide substantive feedback aimed at improving not only the effectiveness of the project you submit but also your communication skills as a whole.

While we make every effort to return feedback within 24 hours, we recommend submitting your document for feedback at least 36 hours before your assignment is due. Forms completed after 3 p.m. on Friday will not be reviewed until the following Monday.

Absolutely! We are committed to ensuring that our online students receive equitable access to our services. Currently, we offer real-time online appointments via Zoom for writing, oral, and visual communication projects. Also, we now offer asynchronous services for students who are unable to attend a real-time session. With this service, you can submit your project draft along with assignment instructions and information about your progress to us via WCOnline, and a mentor will review the materials and return feedback in the form of a cover sheet. Plus, for students who prefer to work things out on their own, we also offer a number of self-guided resources.

As a part of our mission to serve the campus community, CxC is committed to ensuring that all students have equitable access to our services and resources. We work continually to improve the accessibility and usability of our spaces, consultations, and materials to create an environment that is accessible and provides a welcome and rewarding experience to everyone who visits either in-person or online. Here are a few measures we have taken to ensure accessibility:

• All of our public-facing materials and remote services, including video resources, handouts, website, and email communications conform with LSU’s accessibility and ADA standards           
• Our asynchronous mentoring services allow students to receive feedback on their communication projects in an accessible PDF format (compatible with screen readers). 
• Our team is currently working on including real-time closed-captioning for our Zoom consultations. Stay tuned!
• Both the A&D Studio and Studio 151 are wheelchair accessible. Unfortunately due to its location, the Chevron Center is not easily wheelchair accessible. However, our staff members are always available to provide additional accommodations or assistance with any of our equipment. 

If you are seeking additional accommodations, please contact your CxC College Representative. We will work with you to ensure that you are able to secure equitable access to our resources. 

A learner with a disability is entitled by law to equal access to university programs. Two federal laws protect persons with disabilities in post-secondary education: the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. No. 93-112, as amended), the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (Pub. L. No. 101-336) and the ADA Amendments Act (Pub. L. No.110-325). If you want to know more about what accessibility assistance is available to you at LSU, please visit this page. Or, for more general information on LSU’s compliance procedures, you can check out the accessibility page.