GWI Writing Consultations
One-with-one writing consultations are a great way to get feedback on your writing, brainstorm ideas for writing, plan writing projects, and learn more about the writing process and the conventions of a genre of writing. All of our one-with-one appointments are scheduled through RooLearning+. If you are unfamiliar, please review how to make an appointment in RooLearning+ by clicking the dropdown below.
How to make an appointment
Schedule your 30- or 60-minute, one-with-one consultations through RooLearning+ by downloading the app from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android). A website version is also available at umkc.tedu.app/student. You'll see all Writing Studio consultants in this schedule. We will update this page with the names of incoming GWI GTAs soon, so that you can choose a graduate writing consultant specifically.
You can also email Graduate Writing Specialist Dr. Annie Lowe (annie.lowe@umkc.edu) if you'd like to schedule a writing consultation with her. If you're having any troubles at all, feel free to email Dr. Lowe.
Graduate Writing Initiative consultants
All GWI consultants are trained to assist graduate students in any field using a rhetorical/genre studies approach to tutoring writing. This means they will help you better understand the rhetorical conventions of the genre in which you’re writing (theses, dissertations, conference proposals, grant proposals, etc.), as well as assist with process, organization, grammar and style, brainstorming, or anything else that’s writing related.
Annie Lowe, Ph.D. - GWI Graduate Writing Specialist
Dr. Annie Lowe (annie.lowe@umkc.edu) earned her B.A. in English at the University of Central Missouri, an M.A. in English from the University of Kansas, and her Ph.D. in English from Rice University. Annie has extensive experience teaching university courses and working with undergraduate and graduate students across the curriculum. She has presented her research at national and international conferences, funded her research with numerous fellowships and awards, and published her research in a variety of journals and edited collections. Before joining UMKC, Annie served as the founding director of the Lamar Writing Lab at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas, where she established a peer writing consultant program and taught writing for the past three and one-half years. She is excited to be back in Kansas City as a Roo and is enthusiastic about supporting graduate students in pursuit of their academic and professional ambitions at UMKC and beyond.
Wesley Malvini - GWI Graduate Assistant
Wesley Malvini is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. A first-generation and non-traditional student, he earned his M.S. in Psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and his B.A. in Psychology from Idaho State University. Throughout his academic training, he has developed extensive experience in academic writing, research, and scholarly communication across a variety of psychological and interdisciplinary topics.
Wesley is passionate about helping students develop confidence in their writing, critical thinking, and research skills. He enjoys working with students from all academic backgrounds and supporting them through every stage of the writing process, from brainstorming ideas and organizing papers to refining arguments and strengthening clarity. He strives to create a supportive and collaborative environment where students feel comfortable asking questions, exploring new ideas, and developing skills that will serve them throughout their academic and professional careers.
In his free time, Wesley enjoys reading, attending concerts, exploring new music, watching films, and enjoying artisanal cocktails. He is always eager to learn from others and enjoys conversations about psychology, research, writing, and the many different paths people take through higher education.
Lanie Siems - GWI Graduate Assistant
Lanie Siems (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology. She earned her M.A. in psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her B.S. in psychology from Southern Nazarene University. Lanie’s current research interests are broadly in the area of positive psychology, and specifically in factors that enable individuals to experience wellbeing in everyday life. She is also a researcher in the Global Immigrant and Refugee Wellbeing and Equity (GIWE) lab on UMKC’s campus. Additionally, her clinical interests are in psychological assessment and anxiety treatment.
Lanie enjoys working with research-related writing, including the structural, organizational, and planning elements of the writing process. Lanie worked as an undergraduate writing tutor for three years and a research writing consultant for the McNair Scholars Program’s Summer Research Intensive for one year. Lanie is passionate about assisting students in processing their own work to better understand their goals and ideas within each writing project. In her own writing, Lanie enjoys the reflective stage in which ideas about what to write and how are curated.
Lanie’s favorite pastimes are sitting outside, listening to audiobooks, crocheting, watching vlogs, and playing board games.
UMKC Writing Studio Consultants
For more consultant options, check out the wonderful staff at the UMKC Writing Studio.