Center for Speaking, Writing, and the Image (CSWIM)

About the CSWIM

The Center for Speaking, Writing, and the Image (CSWIM) offers free, one-on-one consultations with CSWIM Partners to all students enrolled in Pomona College courses. CSWIM Partners are peer mentors who talk with students about writing, speaking, and multimodal communication projects and provide feedback at any stage, from brainstorming to outlining to preparing a final draft.

CSWIM Partners are trained to think deeply about communication, helping with everything from ID1 papers and lab reports to presentations and senior theses. They can also help students develop strategies for reading across genres and engaging more confidently in class discussion.

The CSWIM is located on the first floor of Smith Campus Center in Suite 148. During the academic year, the CSWIM is open for appointments Sunday–Friday, in person. Students are welcome to use the CSWIM as a study space everyday from 9AM–10PM. To enter the CSWIM after 5PM, students must swipe in with their ID cards. 

Follow the CSWIM on Instagram—@cswimstagram—to learn more about upcoming events!

What happens during a CSWIM consultation?

When you visit the CSWIM, you will meet with a CSWIM Partner for a consultation up to 50 minutes long. You don't have to have anything written down. If you are just beginning, bring your prompt and any ideas that you have. If you have a rough outline or a polished draft, bring that work with you, in addition to your prompt or assignment.

At the start of your appointment, your CSWIM Partner will ask you about your project and what you'd like to focus on. During the consultation, you will work collaboratively to identify and discuss potential areas of improvement. CSWIM consultations are question-driven and collaborative. They focus primarily on higher-order strategies like argument and organization but can also touch on more granular details like grammar and syntax. Although CSWIM Partners do not edit or proofread, they can show you techniques for addressing sentence-level patterns. At the end of the session, you'll work together to develop a plan of next steps.

Please know that your CSWIM Partner will not know exactly what your professor expects and is not allowed to predict your grade.

Who are the CSWIM Partners?

CSWIM Partners include students majoring in almost every department. They are "expert non-experts": they work with writing and multimodal projects from all disciplines. Every Partner is trained to listen, read, and think deeply about multimodal assignments and projects across genres and disciplines. They partner with their peers to ask thoughtful, generative questions that push student writers and speakers to deepen their thinking, refine their argumentation, and find their voice. 

The Writing Program and CSWIM also oversee and support the Attached Partner Program. Attached Partners are trained peer mentors who help their peers with multimodal assignments in a specific course for a semester. There is no application to become an Attached Partner. All Attached Partner assignments are made at the request of a Pomona faculty member.  

Interested in working as a CSWIM Partner? Learn more about the application process here. 

Upcoming Events at the CSWIM

Friday, September 4 @ 3:00PM: Fulbright Write-In

Join Dr. Felton, Assistant Director of College Writing and a two-time Fulbright recipient to learn about composing a clear and convincing Fulbright application. We will discuss strategies for answering the essay questions and writing the Statement of Grant Purpose. We'll also look at how the application differs for ETA, Research, and Study grants. After the presentation and workshop, CSWIM partners will be available to meet with anyone who wants to brainstorm or get feedback on drafts.

Wednesday, September 9 @ 4:30PM: Welcome Back Open House

Celebrate the start of the semester with the CSWIM staff over snacks, refreshments, and music.