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Brown Faculty Members

Applications for faculty members interested in working with Writing Fellows in Spring 2024 courses will open in November 2023. For questions about the Writing Fellows Program, please email [email protected].

Why should I use Writing Fellows in my courses?

The Writing Fellows Program was established in 1982 to help integrate the study of writing into courses throughout the university. This Program trains selected undergraduates as writing consultants and makes them available to work with students taking courses in a wide variety of disciplines. 

The Writing Fellows assigned to a given course comment on students' written work and hold individual conferences with students where they discuss these comments and revision strategies. By reinforcing writing skills across the curriculum, the Program helps students learn to adapt to different modes/genres, audiences, and rhetorical situations. Writing Fellows also play an important role in helping students satisfy the undergraduate writing requirement at Brown

Additionally, faculty who have worked with the Program in the past report that (1) it has allowed them to emphasize high-quality writing in their courses without increasing their workload and (2) that they receive more readable, organizationally sound, and stylistically sophisticated papers, allowing them to devote their energy to evaluating their students’ comprehension of the subject matter.

How do I use Writing Fellows in my course?

Writing Fellows are embedded within courses that include at least two writing assignments. These assignments should be scaffolded in your syllabus so that writers in your course: 

  • submit their papers to Writing Fellows,
  • receive feedback from Fellows,
  • attend a meeting with Fellows, and 
  • revise their drafts before submission.

What are the selection criteria for assigning Writing Fellows to courses? 

Faculty requests for Writing Fellow support will be reviewed by a committee of staff members in the Writing and English Language Support Hub. Selections will be made according to the following criteria:

  • Completion of Faculty Writing Fellow request form;
  • Robust descriptions of at least two (2) major writing assignments; 
  • A course schedule that allows time for students to revise and resubmit their assignments after receiving Writing Fellow feedback;
  • Clear due dates for all major writing assignments; 
  • Expectations for the estimated number of hours that Fellows would need to support course assignments (Writing Fellows usually work 4 hours per week during a 15-week semester); 
  • Potential benefit for Writing Fellows (professional, academic, interpersonal, etc.) from working with you and your students; and
  • Shared investment in the Writing Fellows Programs’ mission to promote equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist approaches to writing.

Additionally, we strive to provide Writing Fellow assignments equally across disciplinary units (STEM, humanities, social sciences). 

What happens if I don’t get assigned Writing Fellows this semester? Are there any additional writing supports available for my course?

The Writing Center will work with you to create a suite of embedded writing support options catered specifically for your course, which may include:

  • Pre-scheduled Writing Center appointments: Students secure individual writing consultation appointments near the beginning of the semester, based on writing assignment due dates listed in your course syllabus; 
  • Facilitated Writing Peer Response Workshop: In-class workshops providing small group or individual peer-to-peer writing feedback; 
  • Specialized Writing Workshops: Up to three (3) writing workshops on writing processes, revision strategies, overcoming writer’s block, annotations, citations, and more; and 
  • Introduction to the Writing Center: In-class presentation and Q&A about writing support services at Brown.

Please contact us at [email protected] to schedule an appointment to discuss writing support options for your courses. 

 

Brown Undergraduate Students: Apply to Become a Writing Fellow

What is a Writing Fellow?

Writing Fellows are trained peer tutors who partner with faculty and teaching assistants to provide one-on-one writing support in courses across the curriculum. Every year, Writing Fellows are chosen from applicants who have completed ENGL 1190M: The Teaching and Practice of Writing. Writing Fellows typically work with 5-9 students per semester, responding to first drafts of papers and then meeting with writers in face-to-face conferences to discuss their plans for revision.

New and returning Fellows receive a $1,200 stipend per semester for their work. Returning fellows are also eligible to apply for additional paid leadership opportunities within the program. 

A full list of Writing Fellows’ responsibilities can be found in the Writing Fellows Job Description

Why become a Writing Fellow?

  • You love to write yourself and want to continue growing and developing as a writer.
  • You enjoy reading others’ writing and you’re excited about the opportunity to talk about and work with other writers on their writing.
  • You're committed to anti-racist practice. 
  • You’re interested in pursuing leadership roles within the program by becoming a Student Assistant Director or a Diversity and Inclusion Outreach Coordinator.
  • You want to be a member of one of the oldest writing fellows programs in the country.
  • You're invested in our community values.

How can I become a Writing Fellow?

Students interested in becoming a Writing Fellow must first complete ENGL 1190M: The Teaching and Practice of Writing. This course introduces students to writing theory and pedagogy, best practices to support revision habits for experienced and inexperienced writers, and effective methods for responding to writing in synchronous and asynchronous formats. Toward the end of the Fall semester, students who successfully complete the course will have the opportunity to apply to become Writing Fellows for the following semester and beyond.

Community Values, Writing Fellows Living List 

A living list is a set of community guidelines, outlining our expectations for each other and putting into concrete words our collective values as peer mentors and guides. These are considerations we will hold ourselves accountable for in our interactions and communications. As it is living, this is an always in-process list. 

  • Listen to receive and do not respond.
  • #Leanonme, we are resources for one another.
  • Recognize forms of labor.
  • Trust, ask. We all still have things to learn.
  • Be generous (listeners, humans).
  • Asking questions is important :).
  • Throw sunshine, not shade. 
  • Hold people accountable respectfully.
  • Be conscientious of communication.
  • Respect & lean on writers' vulnerability. 

Questions? Email [email protected]