Peer Tutor Corner
Prospective Tutors I Training & Development I Publications & Presentations I Writing Fellows Program I Internship Opportunities
Interested in becoming a peer tutor or a writing fellow?
To become a peer tutor, you must complete Tutoring Writing (WRTC 345), a course that includes an internship in the University Writing Center. After completion of the course, students can apply for a peer tutoring position and go through the interview process. Enrollment in the course does not guarantee employment at the Writing Center.
Peer tutors get to work with students from many different disciplines. They also get to travel to conferences, conduct research with faculty, and work on cool projects like motion comic videos. Our tutors use their skills in writing, photography, screenwriting, video production, musical composition, or other creative and technical fields to support the work of the center.
If you want to help your peers with their writing, to enhance yourself professionally and to join an elite community of creative, innovative professionals, consider becoming a writing tutor!
Peer Tutor Training & Development
The University Writing Center created the following videos for tutor training. The first video demonstrates effective strategies for helping students with grammar and mechanics, particularly the passive voice. The second video illustrates how to use reverse outlining to help students organize their ideas. These videos are intended for public, educational use.
Publications & Presentations
Writing tutors write too! Primarily through publications and presentations, our peer tutors contribute to disciplinary conversations.
Examples include:
Publications
- Loman, Paul, Martin Steger, Andrea Smith, and Jared Featherstone. "IWCA Talk Time: We Really Like it Here." International Writing Centers Association. Feb. 3 2011.
- Schick, Kurt, Olivia Mankowski, Karen McDonnell, Tiffany Bryant, Alicia Wendt and Michael Moghtader. "The Idea of a Writing Center Course." The Writing Lab Newsletter 34 (Sept. 2010).
Conference Presentations
- Steger, Martin, Andrea Smith and Karen McDonnell. "Shifting Seas: Relationships between Peer and Professional Tutors." National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing. Baltimore, November 2010.
- Kern, Mike and Laura Schubert. "Taking Tutors out of the Center: Shaping Peer Tutors into Professional Participants in the Discipline." Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association's Conference. Newark, April 2010.
Undergraduate Writing Fellows Program
James Madison University's Writing Fellows Program pairs advanced undergraduate writing tutors with courses in a variety of disciplines. In these classes, writing fellows help lead writing workshops, deliver mini-lessons, hold individual student conferences, and collaborate on assignment design.
Students, instructors and writing fellows all benefit, since the Writing Fellows Program enhances teaching and learning. Writing fellows act as liaisons between professors and students but hold no grading responsibilities. Students, in particular, value the peer interaction, the increased feedback, and the unique perspective a seasoned tutor can provide. Simultaneously, the writing fellow's perspective on assignments and general course progress enriches the instructor's pedagogy. This dynamic exchange between multiple classroom authorities boosts the level of instruction.
In 2010, Lead Peer Tutor Mike Kern piloted the writing fellows program with WRTC 211: Written Argumentation, a class composed primarily of writing majors and minors. Mike participated in one class per week, acting as a peer mentor and peer educator. Through hands-on experiences in the classroom and discussions with the course instructor, he gained experience in assignment design, grading practices, and classroom management. The participating faculty member found the experience to be enlightening: she was able to create more effective assignments based on Mike's feedback, and she gained a new perspective on students' needs and interests.
Last year, three writing fellows who brought several years of tutoring and writing experience worked with classes across campus. Senior SMAD major Martin Steger served as a writing fellow in WRTC 322, a Service Learning course; Senior history major Olivia Mankowski worked with one section of GHUM 200: Capitalism, a course in the History department; and Junior WRTC major Paul Loman worked with students in GWRTC 103: Critical Reading & Writing.
During class, writing fellows draw on their own writing expertise to teach mini-lessons, facilitate workshops, and consult individually with students.
To learn more about the Writing Fellows Program or to request a writing fellow, faculty can contact Writing Fellows Coordinator Laura Schubert at schubelk@jmu.edu.
Internship Opportunties
The Univeristy Writing Center offers tutoring internships and non-tutoring internships for students majoring in Writing, Rhetoric & Technical Communication or a related field. Check out the following flyers for more information:
