University Writing Center (UWC)

Work With Us

Words of Wisdom

Sometimes I can better describe a person by another person's reaction. In a story in my first book, I couldn't think of a way to sufficiently describe the charisma of a certain boy, so the narrator says, "I knew girls who saved his gum."

— Amy Hempel

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We are currently accepting undergraduate and graduate student applications for writing consultant positions that will start in Fall 2021.

NOTE:
To be considered for this job, you MUST meet both of these criteria.

Be available Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the fall
Be a student through at least Spring of 2022

The University Writing Center (UWC) hires undergraduates and graduate students to work as writing/speaking consultants. The UWC seeks a diverse staff and encourages applications from minorities, first-generation students, and underrepresented groups. Any major may apply.

Undergraduate writing consultants will be paid $10 an hour with the potential to earn up to $13 after additional professional development. Graduate students starting with us will be paid between $13 and $16 an hour, depending on education and experience, with the potential to earn raises after completing additional professional development. (NOTE: Our graduate student positions are paid hourly. We are not currently offering assistantships to new hires.) Consultants are paid for all time spent in training.

Consultants work one-to-one with Aggies on improving their writing and speaking at both locations: Evans Library and the Business Library & Collaboration Commons on West Campus. They consult on-line and in person. They may also work at reception, help develop tutoring materials, conduct classroom workshops, represent the writing center at various functions, and do special projects. Graduate consultants will have additional duties, including helping with programming for graduate students including assisting with writing retreats and writing groups. [NOTE: All operations are online through Spring 2021 due to COVID. Decisions about the continued availability of remote work will be made as we get closer to the fall.]

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 the Saturday 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. The class is listed as a zero-credit course.
Attain tutor certification from the College Reading and Learning Association by the end of the first semester of employment. Certification requires that tutors take our weekly class, attend our weekly staff meetings and orientations, and tutor for at least 25 hours during the semester.

Again, consultants are paid for all time spent in training.

Applications will be accepted beginning in mid-March and interviews will take place during March and April; we occasionally interview students during later periods, but always prior to the start of the fall semester. There is no deadline to apply, but we usually receive over 75 applications for approximately 25 undergraduate positions, and we have a very limited number of graduate positions. We therefore encourage applicants to apply sooner rather than later.

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?:

Please check this box if you are a graduate student.

GRADUATE STUDENTS: Do you (or will you) have an assistantship (GANT, GAR, GAT) with your department?:

Your Major:

Number of Semester Hours Completed:

Anticipated date of graduation (month and year):

How many hours can you work per week ?:

I can attend the staff meeting and training on Wednesday mornings from 8:15AM to 10AM:

Yes
No

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

Yes
No

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

Undergraduates, list courses you've taken with college-level writing or speaking projects. You may also list other courses (education, linguistics, etc) that might inform your work here.:

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:

What are your career objectives?:

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

What are your preferred pronouns?:

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

What would you 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.

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