Writing Fellows Program Guidelines for Fellows
All Fellows must successfully complete the three-credit seminar, Tutoring Writing: Theory and Practice. They participate in an initial orientation and ongoing supervisory meetings each semester. They may work up to 4 hours per week, or 56 hours over the course of the semester. Our philosophy is centered on the theory that writing is a recursive process, one which involves ongoing practice, feedback, and revision.
Regular communication between the faculty member and Fellow is essential for a productive collaboration. Your responsibilities in this partnership as follows:
· Some things to consider in preparation for your initial meeting with the faculty member:
o Your contact info. Some Fellows prefer to create a separate email account solely for correspondence with students.
o Your hours. You are not expected to answer emails 24-hours a day, but students may email you with that expectation. Make clear when they can reach you, and how long they can anticipate waiting for a response.
o How do you want to be introduced to the class? Consider creating a handout that includes your contact info and philosophy.
o How will students sign up for meetings with you? On a sheet distributed in class by the professor? Via email? How long will each meeting last? The average is 15-20 minutes.
o Where will you meet with students? In the CWAA? In another public place?
· Specific questions for the faculty member
o Has your information been added to the eLearn site?
o Will students be required to meet with you, or encouraged? Considering the class size, is this manageable? If enrollment is higher than 16 students, meetings should not be required.
o What is the policy for students submitting late papers or not showing up for consultations?
o How long will each paper be?
o Is there an assignment sheet designed for the papers yet? A rubric?
§ Is this assignment clear to you as a student?
§ Is there a copy of a recent paper that successfully met the assignment objectives?
§ Will the Fellow provide feedback on drafts electronically or on hard-copy?
§ Will the faculty require students to submit the Fellow’s feedback with their final drafts?
· General questions for the faculty member
o What is the professor’s attitude towards the writing process?
o What are the professor’s goals for the class? For each assignment?
o If disciplinary conventions are required for the class, will the faculty member provide instruction to the class in those conventions?
· Other general info:
o Be on the lookout for “interesting” papers we could use in training. Send an email to the student asking their permission to use the paper anonymously for training purposes.
o Look for general trends among the whole class that could be a potential topic for an in-class workshop.
o If you find that you are repeating the same feedback in your comments, keep a cheat sheet that you can quickly copy and paste from.
o Be sure to recap with the professor after you have read everyone’s papers, and again after the professor has graded all the papers.