University Writing Center

Poster for recruiting UWAs

The Undergraduate Writing Assistant Program at Texas A&M University is directed by the University Writing Center (UWC) and supported by cooperating departments. The program is UWC’s front line support available to those teaching W courses.

To hire an Undergraduate Writing Assistant, or to nominate a student for a position as an Undergraduate Writing Assistant, click to Hiring or Nominating a UWA.

Undergraduate Writing Assistants (UWAs) may be from any major in any college. They can be nominated by a faculty member or self-selected. We encourage you to nominate majors from your department, preferably in the sophomore year and no later than the beginning of their junior year. To be hired, they must present a reference from a faculty member in their majors, have a 3.0 GPA or above in their majors, and demonstrate excellent communication skills by means of a writing sample, written application, and personal interview. Before assignment to work in a writing intensive course, UWAs will have accomplished the following:

• worked as a consultant in the UWC for two semesters
• obtained advanced (level 2) tutoring certification through the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA)

After two semesters of training, UWAs must attend a day-long training and a weekly training meeting at the UWC (Wednesdays at 8:15 – 9:00 am) and must complete a third training course. If individuals request it, independent study credit can be arranged for 1-3 credits. In subsequent semesters, UWAs will attend meetings and trainings at the UWC to sharpen their skills and keep them informed of the latest developments.

UWAs are available on a limited basis for hire by departments, programs, colleges, or instructors.  This document describes the goals, philosophy and policies of the UWA program. It also explains what you can expect from a UWA and how he or she will work with your students.

Goals and Philosophy

The goals of the Undergraduate Writing Assistant Program mirror those for W courses at Texas A&M:

• To improve the writing skills of undergraduates at Texas A&M;
• To provide opportunities for Texas A&M students to practice the kinds of writing most commonly associated with their discipline;
• To increase the civic and professional effectiveness of Texas A&M students after they leave the university;
• To acquaint students with various means by which writers achieve their goals;
• To encourage students to actively participate in editing their papers in order to improve their revising skills.

The backbone of UWA training is that a good writing teacher is a coach, not an editor. A UWA will and should resist marking every error on a paper or fixing the students’ work for them. Their comments are more likely to take the form of asking probing questions that encourage clearer communication or better development of content rather than identifying errors. In other words, rather than commenting “unclear syntax” in the margin, a UWA might comment “I can’t follow the meaning here.”

UWAs are fully trained as peer writing consultants; they take two one-credit training courses taught by the UWC, ensuring the UWA has access to writing instruction resources. The courses include certification as a writing consultant (advanced tutor) by the College Reading and Learning Association and instruction on responding to student writing, conducting writing workshops, helping non-native English speakers with writing, and teaching collaborative writing.

UWAs are able to assist fellow student writers at any stage of the writing process. This includes brainstorming and prewriting, outlining and organizing ideas, responding to rough drafts, helping students to learn to edit and proofread their own work or to document and intergate source material. Specifically, UWAs can:

• Meet with students individually at any stage of their writing;
• Meet with students in small groups or online;
• Lead workshops on writing issues;
• Supplement writing instruction;
• Organize and lead peer response sessions;
• Make written comments on drafts;
• Help an instructor see written assignments and evaluation criteria from a student perspective;
• Help students understand an instructor’s goals and expectations;
• Provide input on the syllabus to explain how writing fits into the course objectives;
• Help develop grading rubrics for assignments.

UWAs cannot:

• Grade papers or discuss grades with students;
• Take the place of the instructor in responding to student writing;
• Interpret instructor comments except to clarify those directly related to writing at their own discretion (i.e., if they understand them)
• Edit papers using software such as Track Changes
• Correct all students’ mistakes (line-by line editing)
• Make comments on more papers with less than a one week lead time; it takes an average of 20 minutes to respond to a 6-page paper.

Realistic Expectations

UWAs are in training, especially during their first year. They may not have all the answers, but we have instilled in them particularly useful skills for a writer: they know when to get help, when and where to look something up, or to ask for a second opinion. They are encouraged to send students back to you if they cannot answer a question, even about writing.

The “rules” of writing are quite complex and variable within different rhetorical contexts, so your UWA may not know all the ins and outs of grammar, punctuation, or documentation. Your UWA will, however, know about reference books and Web sites where help is available, and he or she also will be aware that many so-called rules are in flux. One person may consider something an error that another considers appropriate usage.

UWAs are mostly undergraduate students, and they have less flexibility in their schedules than graduate students typically have. They need a minimum of a week to comment on a set of about 25 papers of 6 or more pages. Keep in mind on average it takes about 20 minutes per paper. If you are in doubt, time yourself as you comment on a paper and add five minutes for lack of experience or knowledge about the topic.

Students who are encouraged or required to visit a UWA for individual conferences may be reluctant to comply. Confer with your UWA about strategies that may work best for your students. UWAs, for example, can give a short class presentation on who they are and how they can help students.

Responsibilities

To ensure the best learning experience for students who act as UWAs and for those who take W courses in which UWAs serve, the University Writing Center, the hiring department and supervising faculty member, and the UWA must take on certain responsibilities, described below.

Responsibilities of the University Writing Center

The University Writing Center will hire and train UWAs for a full semester and match UWAs with appropriate departments. Every attempt will be made to match a UWA with a department in or related to his or her major, but this is not always possible. In addition to these responsibilities, the UWC will:

• Maintain information on UWA records of activities, both for assessment and administrative purposes, and make those records available on request to hiring departments.
• Provide training opportunities so that UWAs may reach their certification goals and continue to refine their skills.
• Monitor the UWAs’ performance and provide counseling, training, or disciplinary action as necessary, in consultation with the hiring department.
• Provide ongoing support for the UWAs, ensuring that resources for teaching W courses are readily available.
• Ensure that the UWAs receive continuing employment and a reasonable number of working hours.

Responsibilities of Hiring Department/Supervising Faculty

Hiring departments will pay the UWA’s salary. UWAs will be required to turn time-sheets in to the hiring department. Wages begin at $8 per hour and increase by $1 when the UWA completes Level 2 and Level 3 certification by the College Reading and Learning Association, to a maximum of $10 per hour. As student workers, UWAs do not receive benefits. In addition, the hiring department will:

• Assign UWAs to no less than 5 and no more than 20 hours per week, ensuring a weekly paycheck no matter how work is distributed. UWAs must be hired to work for a full semester.
• Provide an appropriate space for the UWA to meet with students and appropriate resources such as computer access. The exact nature of the resources to be provided will depend on the type of work assigned to the UWA. The UWA will not meet students off campus and will work only in safe areas during reasonable hours.
• Allow the UWA to observe student holidays and breaks.
• Provide a brief assessment of their experience with the UWA by means of a questionnaire, survey, or interviews. There will be ample notification of any requests for assessment. Assessments will be used to improve training and service.
• Honor the UWC’s stipulation that UWAs will not grade or edit student papers. However, UWAs can respond to written drafts of writing. The UWAs are talented writers who can offer helpful advice to their peers, but they are not experienced enough to take on the full responsibility of assessment.
• Report any problems with a UWA’s knowledge, skills, or behavior to the Director of the University Writing Center in a timely fashion.
• Monitor UWA’s performance and provide counseling, training, or disciplinary action as necessary, in consultation with the University Writing Center Director.

Responsibilities of UWAs

• Meet with instructors on a regular basis. Weekly meetings are suggested;
• Attend the class they assist if required by the instructor;
• Attend all trainings required by the UWC;
• Keep records of their activities, including records of one-on-one consultations with students, time spent in the classroom, and time spent responding to student writing. The UWA may share these records with the Director(s) of the UWC.
• Report any suspected incidence of academic dishonesty to their supervising department or to a director of the UWC;
• Discharge their duties ethically and responsibly.

Cost

The cost for training UWAs will be paid by the UWC.  Hiring department will pay the salary dictated by the UWA’s level of College Reading and Learning Association certification. Level two UWAs will be paid $9 per hour; level three UWAs will be paid $10 per hour. UWAs must be guaranteed a minimum of 5 hours per week, regardless of any averaging. They require a bi-weekly paycheck.

Getting the Most from your UWA

1. Meet with your UWA as soon as possible in the semester to inform him of your teaching philosophy and methods, your class’s learning objectives, and how writing fits into your course. Give your UWA a copy of the syllabus, and, if possible, provide access to textbooks or relevant reading. Go over the schedule and your expectations to be sure the UWA will be available at needed times.
2. Introduce your UWA to your class. Better yet, ask the UWA to attend a class and tell the students about what a UWA can do and about the University Writing Center.
3. Spend time before a paper is assigned to review it with your UWA. Discuss your expectations for assessment, using a rubric if possible. Your UWA can help you write a rubric and can also give you feedback on the completeness and clarity of the assignment.
4. Give the UWA a calendar so that time can be planned in advance. If the UWA will need to comment on a set of papers, allow a minimum of one week. If you get behind in your calendar, communicate this to the UWA.  The one-week rule still applies.
5. Encourage or require your students to visit with the UWA in the early stages of writing to discuss approaches to the assignment, assignment requirements, early outlines or drafts.
6. Encourage or require visits with the UWA once a first draft is complete, no less than two weeks before the due date. Students will perform better if they don’t wait until the last minute.
7. De-brief with the UWA after a paper is returned. The UWA may be in a good position to let you know about common student problems or errors, and you may have suggestions about commenting.
8. Ask the UWA to conduct a class. UWAs can conduct rough draft workshops, teach about grammar or documentation, help students understand plagiarism, or work up a class with help from the UWC on a more specific topic.
9. Let the UWA know that you are there to help solve problems, and that you will be evaluating performance.
10. Ensure that your UWA has a quiet place to meet with students.
11. Ask your students to give you feedback on their experiences with your UWA and share the results.
12. Communicate as much as possible with your UWA during the semester.

We would like to thank the following universities and acknowledge information gleaned from their Web sites: the University of Wisconsin/Madison, Brigham Young University, Boise State University, George Mason University, and Bridgewater State College.