GA Pre-Professional - Writing Fellow - Graduate School - Fall​/SP

Title: GA Pre-Professional
- Writing Fellow
- Graduate School
- Fall 2026/Spring 2027 (SP)

Division Name: Academic Affairs

Department: Graduate School

Campus

Location:

Normal, IL

Provide writing support and professional development for graduate students, following a holistic, writing center pedagogy.

• Provide one‑on‑one and small group writing support to graduate students using a holistic model based in writing center pedagogy.
• Study best practices for supporting graduate writers and implement them in sessions.
• Staff and promote Community Writing Spaces to the campus community.
• Interact with graduate students to assess and collect information about graduate student needs for writing and other academic skills.
• Work with the Coordinator of Graduate Writing Services on specific interventions based on the graduate fellow’s areas of research and professional goals.
• Assist Thesis and Dissertation Associate in student success projects as needed.
• Offer feedback and conduct campus research to improve thesis and dissertation submission process.

• Meet with students individually and in small groups to support graduate students in achieving their writing goals.
• Listen more than talk, making clear the writing fellow does not serve as a proofreader or an editor.
• Use questions to determine writing goals and concerns.
• Balance practical encouragement with constructive criticism, admit when unable to answer a question, and direct the student to further resources.
• Work with the student to determine needs and goals, providing guidance for the student through any steps of the writing process.
• Disclose and/or recuse themselves from conflict‑of‑interest situations arising from intellectual property, funding competition, or other issues.
• Refer the student to the Coordinator of Graduate Writing Services when needed.

• Writing that is part of a class or take‑home examination, either for a course or a degree requirement. Fellows may assist with comprehensive exams, but only with a faculty member’s stated permission.
• Writing for which the student is not the author (e.g., another student’s work).
• Writing for coursework in violation of explicit course and university policies about receiving assistance.
• A student outside the writing fellow’s scheduled work hours.
• A student who is not in the appointment schedule.
• Discussions or predictions about grades, committee approval of thesis/dissertation proposal, or outcome of final defense.

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.

$1510

• Eligible for appointment as per the requirements in the Graduate Assistant Handbook.
• Must be a degree‑seeking graduate student at Illinois State University in one of the following programs:
  English;
  Communications; STEM related fields;
  Education.
• An overall graduate GPA or last 60 hours undergraduate GPA (if a first semester graduate student) of at least 2.8 for incoming students and an overall graduate GPA of 3.0 for continuing students.
• Interest in promoting the academic, professional, and life goals of students.
• Interest in working with diverse students.
• Sensitivity to and interest in the academic, social, and cultural needs of minoritized and international students.
• Excellence in oral, written, and interpersonal communication.
• General competence with computers.

20 hours per week; set schedule, with some evenings and weekends.

August 2026

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Reference List – please provide…