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Title: GA Pre-Professional - Writing Fellow - Graduate School - Spring 2025
Division Name: Academic Affairs
Department: Graduate School
Campus Location: Normal, IL

Job Summary

Principle Duties and Responsibilities: Through an interactive and collaborative learning process that builds upon students’ strengths in which both the student and the writing fellow work together to maximize understanding, graduate writing fellows will:
1. Meet with students individually and in small groups to help with the writing process
2. Listen more than talk, making clear the writing fellow does not serve as a proofreader or an editor
3. Interactively help determine writing goals and concerns
4. Use guiding questions that assist students to think critically thus helping the student understand how to improve their writing
5. Offer honest, practical encouragement, and constructive criticism. Admit when unable to answer a question. Direct the student to appropriate resources.
6. Determine needs, providing explanation and guidance for the student through:
7. Resources specific to needs such as grammar, punctuation, appropriate citation style(s), and plagiarism
8. Common elements or components of a thesis/dissertation such as annotated bibliography, abstract, literature review
9. Glitches in the writing process: prewriting (including brainstorming and outlining), drafting, revising, proofreading, and self-editing
10. Developing a writing plan, tips for scheduling dedicated writing time
11. Disclose and/or recuse themselves from conflict-of-interest situations arising from intellectual property, funding competition, or other issues.

Graduate Writing Fellows are excluded from:
1. Writing that is part of a class or take-home examination either for a course or a degree requirement, including comprehensive exams.
2. Writing for which the student is not the author (for example, another student's work)
3. Writing for coursework that is in violation of explicit course and university policies about receiving assistance
4. Work with a student outside the writing fellows scheduled work hours
5. Assisting a student who is not in the appointment schedule
6. Engaging in discussion or predictions about grades, committee approval of thesis/dissertation proposal or outcome of final defense

Additional Information

In keeping with the core values delineated in Illinois State University’s Strategic Plan, Educate, Connect, Elevate, Graduate Writing Fellows foster a holistic approach to developing writing skills related to academic and professional purposes; to appreciate writing as an aspect of an active and lifelong process.
Academic writing development utilizes organization, critical thinking, argument, and coherence. This includes but is not limited to, sentence and paragraph structure, grammar rules, argument logic, critical analysis, citation formatting, and forms of academic and professional writing i.e., writing within the chosen academic discipline.

Salary Rate / Pay Rate

$1746

Required Qualifications

1. Eligible for appointment as per the requirements in the Graduate Assistant Handbook which can be found at http://hr.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/GA_Handbook.pdf
2. Must be a degree seeking graduate student at Illinois State University in one of the following programs: English, Communications, STEM related fields; Teaching; reading; or education
3. An overall graduate GPA or last 60 hours undergraduate GPA (if a first semester graduate student) of at least 2.8
4. Interest in promoting the academic, professional, and life goals of students.
5. Interest in working with diverse students
6. Sensitivity to and interest in the academic, social, and cultural needs of minoritized and international students
7. Excellence in oral, written, and interpersonal communication
8. General competence with computers

Work Hours

20 hours per week; mostly evenings and some weekends

Proposed Starting Date

January 2025

Required Applicant Documents

Resume, Cover Letter, Writing Sample

Please Note: These documents are required to be submitted online in order to complete the application process. Please have these documents ready prior to clicking on "Apply"

pecial Instructions for Applicants

Note: If you have not yet been assigned a University ID, but are interested in applying for this graduate assistantship, please proceed with the graduate assistant application process. For the first question regarding your University ID, simply enter in nine (9) zeros (e.g., 000000000).

You must be eligible for employment in the United States and at Illinois State University and/or for the number of hours required for the position.

Illinois State University student employees are restricted to no more than 28 hours per week of on-campus employment for all positions held. International students are restricted by their visa status to no more than 20 hours per week of on-campus employment when the university is in session but may work up to 28 hours per week when the university is not in session. Please contact the Office of International Student and Scholar Services for guidance on visa restrictions on work hours. The University cannot grant exceptions to visa status rules/laws.

Contact Information for Applicants

John Hawkins, jchawk2@ilstu.edu

Important Information for Applicants

This position is subject to a criminal background investigation and if applicable, an employment history review, based on University Policy 3.1.30 and any offer of employment is contingent upon you passing a satisfactory criminal background investigation and/or an employment history review. You may not begin work until the criminal background investigation results have been received and cleared by Human Resources.

Illinois State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or other state or federal law you may request an accommodation by contacting the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at (309) 438-3383. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access will hold any confidential information you provide in confidence.

If you are having difficulty accessing the system, please call Human Resources at (309) 438-8311.