VCU Writes: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing

Email is frequently the best way to get in contact with your professor or instructor outside of regular class time. You can use email to ask your professor questions about any aspect of class from writing assignments to readings to discussions, or to make appointments to meet with them. You should also email your professor whenever you are absent or have missed a deadline or check-in for an online class, unless they have asked you to contact them another way.

Your professor’s contact information should be listed on your syllabus or course guide document, and you can email them directly from your VCU email account (please do not email instructors from private, non-VCU accounts). If your professor uses Canvas, you may also be able to email your professor by logging into your course Canvas site. Once in Canvas, go to the “Inbox” using the left menu bar, and then click on the “compose” icon. Select your course, and then select your instructor’s name under “Teachers.”

When emailing, include your name and a clear statement of your question, issue, or request. Remember to give enough information that they will clearly understand what you need!

Office hours, sometimes called walk-in or drop-in hours, are times your professor or instructor has set aside specifically for you to use to come talk to them one-on-one. In general, you do not need to make an appointment for office hours, so you can attend whenever in that time frame works for you. Office hours are your time to discuss any aspect of class with your instructor, from specific assignments or readings to general strategies for succeeding in the course. Your professor or instructor should list their office location and hours on the top of their syllabus or course guide document. If your professor uses Canvas, they may also list their office hours on the course Canvas site. Your professor should also have a sign with their office hours on or near their office door. If you do not know when your professor’s office hours are after checking your course documents, try emailing them this question.

Go to canvas.vcu.edu and log in when prompted with your VCU ID. You can also find a link to Canvas from your myVCU page (http://my.vcu.edu) once you’ve logged in there. Once in Canvas, look under the Dashboard or Courses page to find your current courses. If you don’t see the link, but know you are enrolled in the course, contact your instructor. For more information on using Canvas, including a list of FAQs, see VCU IT’s Canvas help page or contact VCU IT directly.

As a VCU student, your Google account gives you access to Google Drive, a place to store documents and files that you will use for class. Many instructors and professors prefer students to store content in Google drive rather than Canvas. Here is a tutorial explaining how to use Google drive. When using Google Drive in your FI class, remember to always use your VCU Gmail account. For more specific help on using Google Drive in your class, check your course syllabus or policy documents, email your instructor, or attend their office hours. If you encounter problems accessing your VCU email or Google Drive, contact VCU IT services.

Click here for VCU IT’s Email help page, and click on “Student email.”  When prompted, log in with your VCU ID. For more help, contact VCU IT directly.

Many of the most common resources needed by VCU students are listed on VCU Writes!’ Campus Resources page. If you have specific needs that are not addressed in this list, or are unsure how to reach out to the listed resources, contact your professor or instructor in class, by email, or by attending their office hours. Your advisor can also direct you to helpful resources.

In person, you can find help in Cabell Library by going to one of the front desks and explaining the kind of help you need. When you are not in the library, you can find library help via text, chat, phone, or making an in-person appointment to meet with a librarian. Students who are currently enrolled in a UNIV 111, 112, or 200 course also have a designated librarian assigned to their specific class. You can ask your instructor for contact information for your class’ librarian, or learn more about the library’s resources for UNIV students here.

If this is your first semester at VCU and you have not attended college before, your advisor is a University College advisor. If you are a second year or transfer student and have joined your major program, your advisor is a member of your major program. You can look up your advisor and make an appointment with them here. The advising department has a suggested list of topics to discuss with your advisor including coursework, opportunities outside class, and career planning. In particular, first-year students should plan to meet with their advisor before class registration opens to plan their course schedules.

Most of your professors and instructors will assume that you have regular access to a computer or other device that will allow you to create documents, submit work online, and similar activities. However, we all know that sometimes this isn’t the case; maybe you don’t have your own laptop, or your computer gets lost, damaged or stolen. What should you do? The good news is that there are several places on campus where you can get access to a computer, other than borrowing one from your roommate (although sometimes that also works!). Here are a few options for you:

1. Go to a campus library. There you will have two options:

• There are numerous desktops available for student use. They are in high demand, but there is regular turnover.
• Go to the front desk, and check out a laptop.

Bonus tip: they have a lot of other technology available for you to use as well (for free, if you are a VCU student). Click here for more info on tech available at the Cabell library; Click here for tech available at the Tompkins-McCaw library.

2. Go to the Focused Inquiry Learning Lounge (aka the FILL). They have a few desktops you can use, and also have a select number of laptops available for 24-hour loan (or longer: if you check it out on a Friday, you get to keep it until Monday!). You have to be a current FI student to be eligible for this service.

Don’t own a printer? Out of printer ink? Need to get that essay turned in asap? Not to worry. If you have some $$ loaded on your VCU ID, there are options for you! There are pay-for-print options at both campus libraries, as well as the Focused Inquiry Learning Lounge (aka the FILL). (Bonus: the FILL is in the same building as most FI classes (Harris Hall), so if you realize you need something printed right before class begins, there’s still a chance you can get it turned in on time!)

Approach reading a text just like you would approach a conversation. Good conversations achieve a balance between listening and responding. When reading, engage with the text, ask it questions, respond to its ideas by annotating it. For some critical reading strategies, click here.

Just like any text, an image has an argument. Also like any text, the first thing to consider when breaking down, or analyzing, an image is the rhetorical situation: the audience, context, and purpose. See the post called “Breaking Down an Image” on the Critical Reading page for more on this topic.

There are a number of links with useful info about grammar, punctuation, proofreading and editing your writing on the Writing & Argument page of VCU Writes.