What can a Writing Fellow do with and for my class?
As experienced student writers who attend the classes they are paired with, Writing Fellows are uniquely positioned to support the work of writing instructors from across disciplines by reinforcing the ways foundational writing abilities taught in First-Year Writing Seminar may be called upon in discipline-specific writing situations throughout students’ college careers and beyond. Writing Fellows are prepared to work with their assigned class in a variety of ways, including facilitation of in-class peer revision workshops, short presentations on writing-related topics, early feedback on essay drafts, one-on-one conferencing, and more.
Faculty and Writing Fellows are encouraged to work together closely to plan the exact role that the Writing Fellow will play in the class, and throughout the semester to ensure effective communication and collaboration to support the development of students’ writing abilities.
What qualifications do Writing Fellows have?
All Writing Fellows complete a half-unit training course, ENGL 213.2: Working with Student Writers: Theory and Praxis. This course covers an important writing studies theories and practical strategies for assisting students with text-based and multimodal compositions.
Writing Fellows are not trained in disciplinary writing conventions—for classes beyond First-Year Writing classes, we encourage faculty to select students who already have a strong understanding of the genres and disciplinary writing that students will be working with.
How is a Writing Fellow different from a Writing Center Tutor?
Though many students work as both Writing Fellows and Writing Center Tutors, the two roles have distinct responsibilities and possibilities.
Writing Center Tutors hold a fixed number of hours per week for one-on-one appointments in the Writing Center. Writing Center Tutors are available to work with any student on any piece of text-based or multimodal writing, though students writing for a particular discipline often seek out tutors with some experience writing in that same discipline.
Writing Fellows, on the other hand, are assigned to work with specific individual classes. Writing Fellows typically attend most class meetings and are available to work with only the students in that class. Ideally, a Writing Fellow will have previously completed the course to which they are assigned, though this is not strictly necessary for students who are familiar with disciplinary genre and subject matter conventions.
How can I request a Writing Fellow for one of my classes?
To nominate a Writing Fellow to work with an upcoming class, contact Meg Mikovits at mikovitsm@moravian.edu. Ideally, nominations should be made by midterm of the semester prior to the course; nominated students who have not already completed training will receive further information about enrolling in and scheduling ENGL 213.2.