University Writing Center

Work With Us

Words of Wisdom

My bursting heart must find vent at my pen.

— Abigail Adams

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August 2017 -- we are currently accepting applications for GRADUATE STUDENT writing consultants to start in Fall 2017.

The University Writing Center hires undergraduate interns and graduate students to work as writing and speaking consultants. Any major may apply.

Undergraduate interns are paid $9 an hour with the potential to earn up to $12 with additional professional development. Graduate students are paid between $12 and $15 an hour, depending on experience and background, with the potential to earn up to $20 (NOTE: Our graduate student positions are paid hourly. We are not currently offering assistantships to new hires). Consultants are compensated for time spent in professional development activities.

Consultants work one-to-one with Aggies on improving their writing and speaking at both our Evans Library and West Campus Library locations. They consult on-line and in person. They also work at reception, help develop tutoring materials, conduct classroom workshops, represent the writing center at various functions, and do special projects.

Candidates must be highly responsible and mature, and must possess excellent writing skills, interpersonal skills, and oral communication skills.

All writing and speaking consultants will be required to:

Attend an 8-hour professional development session in the week before school starts in the fall.
Attend a weekly staff meeting on Wednesdays from 8:15 am to 9:00 am.
Take a one-hour professional development class in the first semester of employment, which meets weekly, Wednesday mornings 9:00-9:50. For undergraduate interns, the class is a zero-credit internship; for graduate students, it is non-credit bearing.
Attain tutor certification from the College Reading and Learning Association by the end of the first semester of employment. Certification requires that tutors take a weekly class, attend weekly staff meetings and orientations, and tutor for at least 25 hours during the semester.

In addition, classes are available at both the graduate level (non-credit bearing) and undergraduate level (zero-credit) to increase certification and responsibility levels and earn raises.

Applications will be accepted beginning in March and interviews will take place in mid to late April. There is no deadline to apply, but we usually receive over 75 applications for approximately 20 undergraduate positions, and we have a limited number of graduate positions.

All consultants begin work in the fall semester. No summer work will be available for new hires.

To Apply for a Student Position

Fill out the application below to apply for the position. We recommend that you complete your answers in a word processor and then paste them into this form for submission. That way, in case of an error, your information is saved and available for another attempt.

Consultant Application

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Phone (### - ### - ####):

Street Address:

Address Line 2:

City:

State:

ZIP Code:

Are you:

a graduate student
an undergraduate

Your Major:

Number of Semester Hours Completed:

Anticipated date of graduation (month and year):

GPA in your major:

OverallGPA:

Do you qualify for work/study through the Financial Aid Office?:

yes
no

How/where did you hear about this job opening?:

Indicate courses you have taken that are relevant to consulting about writing.:

Describe any teaching, tutoring, or other relevant experience you’ve had.:

Describe your experiences with diverse populations ( for example--non-native speakers, underrepresented groups, non-traditional students):

Describe your most recent work experience (give dates and names of references).:

What are your career objectives?:

What are three or four necessary qualities of a good tutor?:

What else would you like us to know about you?:

What would want to accomplish in a session with Karl?:
A student wrote his first essay on divorce. The teacher has told the student, Karl, that his paper does not have a main point and does not meet the assignment requirement to take a stand on an issue and write a persuasive paper. When Karl sits down next to you, he tells you the teacher does not understand because she has never been through a divorce, and she has no right to criticize him.

First paragraph of Karl's paper:

The subject of this paper is divorce. My parents finalized there divorce when I was sixteen years old. Divorce is something that affected their lives, but it affected the lives of me, my sister, our friends, and neighbors, and relatives. Many scars were left that I do not wish to talk about. The way the divorce happened caused a lot of tension for everyone.

As the consultant working with Karl, what topics would you address in the consultation? What strategies would you use? What would be your goal(s) for the consultation?—that is, what would you want to accomplish in a half-hour session with Karl?

Suppose a student, Krista, came to the Writing Center and asked you, the consultant, for help. The paper that she brought in has teacher’s notes about many different errors, including problems with spelling, a main point, organization, and sentence fragments. Krista is feeling very defeated and says to you, “I just can’t write. I’ll never get it the way my teacher wants it. What should I change in this paper? Please tell me what I should write.”

What would you do at the beginning of Krista's consultation? Why?

File:

Please upload a file with a sample of your writing.

Faculty Recommendation

Once we have received your application and your writing sample,we will consider you for an interview. If you are contacted for an interview, we will ask you to submit a letter of recommendation from an instructor who is familiar with your writing. (Have them send the letter to the UWC mail stop: 5000 TAMU or email it to uwc@tamu.edu.)