Opportunities for Purdue Undergraduate Students, 2008-2009
The Writing Lab is accepting applications for undergraduate tutoring training courses for the 2008-2009 academic year. Applications are due February 15th. For more information about undergraduate tutoring positions, please see the information below or contact Tammy Conard-Salvo, Writing Lab Associate Director.
Any undergraduate student, regardless of major or minor, may take either of these courses before being considered for employment. Only students who have taken English 390A or English 390B will be eligible for a tutoring position.
Students interested in tutoring First Year Composition should take English 390A. Students interested in tutoring Professional Writing (i.e. business or technical writing) should take English 390B.
See below for application materials and course information.
English 390A
English 390A is a course offered each fall semester that will teach you to become a peer tutor of writing for ENG 106 and 108. This course will help you acquire both skills and experience to prepare you for your career after graduation. ENGL 390A is an opportunity to improve your writing, develop strong interpersonal communication skills, acquire organization and agenda-building strategies, sharpen counseling skills, and develop professional areas of interest to you. Many of our former tutors have found that their unique experience in the Writing Lab set them apart from other candidates when interviewing for jobs in both business and academia.
In ENGL 390A, you will review writing processes and rhetorical approaches for traditional print-based writing projects as well as multimedia-based projects which students in ENGL 106 and 108 will be producing. The course also covers tutoring strategies, tutoring theory, and basic grammar. ENGL 390A can be taken for two or three credit hours, either for a grade or with a pass/no pass option.
Prerequisities: Be a freshman, sophomore, or junior; have taken English 106 or 108; 3.0 GPA
Once you complete ENGL 390A, you will be considered for a paid tutoring position--as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA)--for the Spring 2006 semester. If selected as a UTA, you will spend a set number of hours in the Writing Lab each week (to be determined by your schedule), you will attend a weekly meeting with your fellow UTAs, and you will be expected to participate in Writing Lab projects and on-going training.
English 390B
English 390B is a course offered each fall semester that will teach you to become a peer tutor of professional writing. This course will help you acquire both skills and experience to prepare you for your career after graduation. ENGL 390B is an opportunity to improve your writing, develop strong interpersonal communication skills, acquire organization and agenda-building strategies, sharpen counseling skills, and develop professional areas of interest to you. Many of our former tutors have found that their unique experience in the Writing Lab set them apart from other candidates when interviewing for jobs in both business and academia.
In ENGL 390B, you will review writing processes and rhetorical approaches for traditional print-based writing projects as well as multimedia-based projects which students in professional writing will be producing. The course also covers tutoring strategies, tutoring theory, and document design. ENG 390B can be taken for two or three credit hours, either for a grade or with a pass/no pass option.
Prerequisites: Be a sophomore or a junior; have taken either ENGL 203, ENGL 306, ENGL 420, or ENGL 421; 3.0 GPA
Once you complete ENGL 390B, you will be considered for a paid tutoring position as a Business Writing Consultant (BWC) for the following semester. If selected as a BWC, you will spend a set number of hours in the Writing Lab each week (to be determined by your schedule), you will attend a meeting with your fellow BWCs every other week, and you will be expected to participate in Writing Lab projects and on-going training.
What will English 390A or English 390B require?
- Attend a one-hour weekly class and complete reading and writing assignments.
- Spend additional hours in the Writing Lab each week for observing and working on class projects.
- If you plan to take the course for 3 credits, you will complete an additional writing project.
How to Apply for Either English 390A or English 390B
You may pick up application materials from the Writing Lab or download application materials here:
- English 390A Application in PDF Format or English 390B Application in PDF Format: You may print out the application and fill it out or you may type your responses using Adobe Acrobat.
- English 390A Instructor Recommendation Form in PDF Format or English 390B Instructor Recommendation Form in PDF Format: You must ask an instructor to fill out this out for you.
- For English 390A, include a graded writing project from any course. The sample can be a research project, essay, or a multimedia project that incorporates text and some other form(s) of media.
- For English 390B, include a resume and a cover letter explaining why you would like to take the course, your professional goals, and your strengths and weaknesses as a potential tutor. Please contact Tammy Conard-Salvo at 494-4102 or tcsalvo@purdue.edu if you have any questions about these application materials.
For more information, contact Tammy Conard-Salvo.