Writing Center

West Chester University

Dr. Karen Fitts
Associate Professor of English
214 Lawrence Center
610-430-5664
kfitts@wcupa.edu


Training and Opportunities

Susy and Group

Graduate Student Writing Consultants

Graduate-student writing consultants come from a variety of disciplines--English of course, but also other fields in the humanities and social sciences such as Communications, Philosophy, Psychology, and Counseling. The variety of backgrounds and disciplines enables the writing center to meet the needs of a wide variety of students because writing consultants can share information with each other about discourse communities and technical requirements in their disciplines. Graduate students are hired in the spring prior to starting consulting and take ENG 600, the training course for writing consultants, consecutive with their first semester working in the Writing Center.

Undergraduate Writing Consultants

Undergraduate writing consultants are English Majors who have been trained in ENG 397. Many, but not all, undergraduate consultants are pursuing the BSEd in English and intend to become secondary-school English teachers. Undergraduate consultants are required to complete ENG 397 before starting their work in the center.

The undergraduate training course for writing consultants, ENG 397, is a course in the English Major Writing Track and counts as a cross-over course for students in the English Major Literature Track.

TheTraining Course for Writing Consultants: ENG 397 or ENG 600

The training course is usually taught in a combined section, evenings, in fall only. Students may access MyWCU from the WCU home page to obtain current information on course offerings. Please contact Dr. Karen Fitts if you are interested in seeing a sample course syllabus. kfitts@wcupa.edu

Graduate Assistantship Application Process

Obtaining a position as a graduate tutor in the writing center is a highly selective process. Applications are accepted in the spring semester, and assistantships are offered for the following year. Preference is given to first-year students entering the university. The writing center Graduate Assistantships are funded through the generosity of the Provost's and the CAS Dean's offices. If accepted for a GA Tutor position, you will be required to enroll in ENG 600 (Tutoring Composition) this coming fall as part of your training in the writing center.

Please complete the application below and submit it to Dr. Karen Fitts, Writing Center Director (kfitts@wcupa.edu). Your application should be in ONE .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf file (append documents to the file using page or section breaks).

  1. Cover page stating
    • Your name
    • Your e-mail address
    • Your phone number
    • Your department and program of study (to be eligible for GA must be matriculated into an MA program, not post-Baccaluareate in teacher education)
    • Your year in your program (first, second, etc.)
    • Your expected date of graduation
  2. 500-word statement of intent: Why do you want to work in the writing center? What attributes, strengths, and skills will you bring to the job? What do you hope to learn as a tutor?
  3. Academic writing sample (an essay from a class)
  4. Resume
  5. Three telephone references
  6. Your name and phone number both in the e-mail and in the body of the file.

Other Opportunities to Assist Writers
The Learning Assistance Resource Center (LARC) is a peer tutoring option for undergraduates or graduate students. LARC does not offer tutoring for writing courses, with the exception of tutoring in the Academic Development Program (ADP) sections of ENG Q20 and WRT 120. ADP runs in the second summer session as well as fall and spring. In past years, undergraduate students who have taken ENG 397 have some advantage when applying to serve as a tutor in the summer ADP program. See LARC's web site for details on their application process.

Writing Zones is a college access program that sends WCU undergraduate students to be writing mentors in Kennett High School and at other sites. See the Writing Zones web site for details on their application process. All English BSEd students have an opportunity to tutor in Writing Zones when they take ENG 392, Writing and Teaching Writing after formal admission to teacher education. Writing Zones also hires "core mentors" who may or may not be in the BSEd program. Having taken the training course writing consultants, ENG 397, is a benefit when applying to Writing Zones.