The History Writing Center is open for Spring 2026. Please see the available hours and schedule an appointment or drop in to get assistance with any of your history course assignments. 

The Department of History Teaching and Writing Center was founded in 1997 to help undergraduate students improve their history writing skills. Staffed by several graduate student advisors every semester, the Center offers all kinds of help.

We can:

  • Help you to brainstorm ideas for papers and presentations.
  • Help you to polish the rough ideas you already have.
  • Help you to organize outlines and papers.
  • Help you refine a draft.
  • Help you create a strong historical argument.
  • Help to demystify the ways that historians talk about history.
  • Help you turn in the best paper you possibly can.

To give you the best help we can, we ask that you provide the following:

  • A copy of your assignment sheet.
  • Any brainstorm diagrams, rough work, or writing you have completed for the project.
In-person Appointments Online Appointments Zoom Drop-in

Contact us

E-mail: historydept@uiowa.edu
Phone: 319-335-2584
Location: 303 Schaeffer Hall (SH)
 

Writing center staff

Supervisor

  • Ashley Dorn

Staff

  • Samuel Boucher
  • Nathan Chaplin
  • Laurence Florio-Roberts
  • Haseeb Haroon
  • Adrian Gronseth
  • Hongqiao Li
  • Jinghan Liu
  • Ashley Maempa

HWC Spring 2026 Hours

Online Hours

Monday, 10:00 a.m. - Noon
Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Friday, 9:00 a.m. - Noon & 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

In-Person Hours

Monday, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. 
Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. 
Thursday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Friday, 10:00 a.m. - Noon & 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Explore History Writing Center guides

The writing center has a number of resources that can help you with your writing. We can offer advice to get you started, help with refining a draft, and give tips on taking an examination.