Student Employment Opportunity – Cal U Writing Center
The Cal U Writing Center currently has an available work-study position for an undergraduate writing consultant. To apply, students must be available to work eleven hours per week.
Position Summary & Description
The Cal U Writing Center is seeking applications from dedicated, community-minded undergraduates who possess exceptional literacy skills (writing, reading, speaking, and listening) to work as writing center consultants. Under the supervision of the Writing Center Director and Graduate Assistant Director, consultants primarily hold one-on-one conferences with undergraduate and graduate students, with the goal of empowering writers to begin editing and revising on their own for success in future writing projects.
Consultants employed at the Cal U Writing Center support writing across the disciplines, and they must be ready to discuss strategies for writing in a variety of discursive modes, including papers for humanities, business, and science-related academic courses; masters and honors program thesis chapters; personal essays for job, grad school, law school or med school applications; articles for publication; projects and proposals; and creative writing. In addition to consultations, undergraduate employees of the CUWC must complete reports, conduct orientations and workshops, and attend mandatory professional development sessions.
Applicants must have completed at least 15 hours of university credit and have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better. A recommendation of an instructor who can attest to the applicant’s literacy skills is also required.
Position Qualifications
Consultants must:
• Be knowledgeable about writing and skilled in communicating with others.
• Communicate with directors and fellow tutors about sessions, providing and receiving constructive feedback.
• Maintain professional conduct and appearance.
• Show up to work on time and attend scheduled staff meetings.
• Work independently and manage shift duties responsibly.
• Assist students from a variety of backgrounds and whose first language is not English.
• Lead workshop presentations about the Writing Center, APA and MLA, the writing process, and other topics.
Our staff has included undergraduates from the College of Education and Human Services, College of Liberal Arts, and Eberly College of Science and Technology, with majors in accounting, education, communication disorders, English, fisheries and wildlife management, and psychology; many of our consultants have double majors and a broad range of interests/experiences.
The Cal U Writing Center seeks candidates who have communication skills and cross-cultural abilities necessary to maximize their effectiveness with a diverse group of student writers, colleagues, and community members.
Essential Functions
Writing Center consultants read papers aloud with student writers, in thirty minute or hour-long sessions, as they discuss organization, style, and grammar. They don’t “fix” students’ work, nor do they write on students’ papers. They do, however, assist writers in many different stages of writing: pre-writing, brainstorming, outlining, drafting, organizing, and revising. Consultants assist students with challenges as small as using a reference book or as large as organizing a research paper.
After consultants become familiar with their primary work, they will be asked to lead short presentations and whole class instruction to student groups who come to the Writing Center with their professors. All tutors conduct workshops; they also update them and create new workshops. Workshop presentations are rehearsed and follow a standard outline. In addition, tutors visit classes to make brief presentations about the Writing Center.
Application Process
To apply, complete the online application and submit it, along with two writing samples, to writingcalu@calu.edu. If you have difficulty opening or viewing the online application, open the printer-friendly application, print it out, complete it and return it with two writing samples to the Cal U Writing Center in Noss Hall, Room 110.
For more information about the application process, contact Dr. Brent House, Writing Center Director, at house@calu.edu or 724-938-4585.