College Writing Program
Graduate Student Employment Opportunities
JOB TITLE:
Instructors for "Reasoning and Writing" in the College, WRT 105
(available fall 2010)
Please note: WRT 105 and WRT 105E were formerly CAS 105 and CAS 105E. WRT 571/ENG 571 and WRT 572 /ENG 572 were formerly CAS 571/ENG 571 and CAS 572/ENG 572.
Teaching Positions for New Instructors Receiving Department Stipends:
The Writing Program has several renewable teaching fellowships for those interested in designing their own version of Reasoning and Writing in the College [WRT 105], a theme-based first-year writing course. All instructors accepted into our program will teach one section of WRT 105 in Fall and the same course in Spring, and attend the Program Orientation at the end of August. Compensation for teaching two sections per year is a graduate stipend from the graduate student’s home department/program plus $3,500 from the Writing Program. Any instructor who has taught successfully in the Writing Program and continues to receive department/program support may renew this teaching arrangement. In subsequent years, the add-on stipend is $4,000.
Important Information for New Instructors:
New instructors must participate in a summer training course, WRT 571/ENG 571, as well as a year-long practicum, WRT 572/ENG 572, for which they receive a summer stipend of $2000. WRT 571/ENG 571 involves approximately five 3-hour meetings between May 15 and June 15** and three 3-hour meetings between August 15 - August 31. WRT 572/ENG 572 consists of monthly meetings during the Fall and Spring (though there may be more meetings toward the beginning of the academic year and fewer toward the end).
To apply to teach Reasoning and Writing in the College, please complete and submit the application for new WRT 105 instructors by January 31, to Deborah Rossen-Knill at the College Writing Program Main Office, Rush Rhees G-121. Please submit one original and two additional copies of your application materials. Do not staple. EMAIL SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
** exact dates will be finalized by mid-April
The application review committee for all teaching positions is made up of a subset of the College’s interdisciplinary writing committee. Standing members of the selection committee include the Writing Program Director and the Instructor Training Coordinator.
The review process for teaching positions: Each committee member independently ranks each application based on the applicant’s statement of teaching philosophy, writing sample, evaluations, letter of recommendation and any other supporting material the applicant chooses to submit.
- Committee members assign a single ranking that accounts for the extent to which each candidate seems likely to
- use writing to explore and express ideas and balances process and product,
- teach argument as a means to analyze, formulate and test ideas,
- teach invention, revision and editing (and understand the difference,)
- seriously consider whether students learn principles of academic writing and how to make choices as a professional writer,
- use a student-centered approach,
- allow students to fully investigate student ideas,
- communicate a love of language and writing and teaching,
- create a positive learning environment for students, and
- offer a course that many undergraduates would find interesting.
Committee members then discuss their rankings and collectively determine who will be offered a teaching position, who will be waitlisted, and who will not be offered a position.
APPLICATION FOR NEW WRT 105 INSTRUCTORS
- Part A: Personal Information
- Name:
- Student ID number:
- Graduate Department or Program:
- Email:
- Local Address:
- Local Phone Number:
- Part B: Supporting Materials
- C.V.
- A brief statement: please explain in one or two pages why you would like to teach writing and what you believe you can contribute to the College Writing Program.
- A WRT 105 course description: please provide a potential course description for WRT 105 (See On Writing a WRT Course Description for more information).
- Teaching or Tutoring Evaluations: if applicable, please submit a set of evaluations from previous teaching or TAing experiences, or a letter of recommendation that can speak to any past tutoring or teaching experience.
- Faculty recommendation: please ask your recommender to comment on your writing and speaking abilities, your interpersonal skills, and your ability to meet deadlines.
- A sample of your academic writing.
- At the end of your application, please include the following statement in quotation marks, along with a signature from your Graduate, Department, or Program Chair: “(Name of your Graduate Department or Program) supports this application for teaching in the College Writing Program and is aware of the workload and compensation for this position.”
- Please indicate by signing on the line below, that you will be available between May 15 - June 15 and two weeks before classes begin in August (August 15 - August 31 ) for the required Pedagogy Course:
On Writing a WRT Course Description
Teaching WRT 105 is a unique experience because it allows you to pick a topic/theme/issue of your choice and use it to teach writing. However, make sure that your course description clearly communicates that writing is the primary focus. Before you begin writing your description, we highly recommended that you familiarize yourself with the general description of WRT 105 at: http://writing.rochester.edu/courses/WRT105.html. As the general description might suggest, one of the goals of your course description should be to show your audience how writing will be used to explore your topic. Some of the pitfalls in choosing your topic are limiting it to your own research interests, using language that is highly technical to describe it, and making it seem as if your course has two topics, writing and your theme.
One way to approach the course description, and your course in general, is to come up with a few guiding questions that outline the broad focus of your class. You also want to give prospective students a sense of what kinds of texts they will be working with (Note: you don’t have to list the exact texts at this point. You can just say various films, works of fiction, or philosophical tracts, for example, or mention authors’ names).
Before you begin writing your course description, take a look at a variety of current course descriptions at: http://writing.rochester.edu/ (once there, click on “Writing Courses” and then “Course Description”). Take note of what’s similar across disciplines, find one that you like, and decide what it is you like about it.
In writing your course description you should imagine undergraduates as your primary audience; their parents, College faculty, and administrators as your secondary audiences.
- For the sake of multi-section uniformity, your course description should:
- Emphasize the learning objectives outlined at: http://writing.rochester.edu/courses/WRT105.html.
- Involve a theme that allows students to make connections across course readings and develop a basic understanding of your theme.
- Model the kind of writing you’d like to receive from your students.
- Appeal to freshmen.
- Be about 150 words.
- Indicate that your course includes peer feedback, self-assessment, revision, and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper.