RESPONSIBILITIES

GTAs assisting in Writing in the Disciplines (WID) courses are typically assigned to support courses in their home departments. There they may be asked to serve the writing portion of the course exclusively or the writing mission as well as other aspects of the course. Occasionally WID GTAs may be asked to serve in departments other than their own. In this case, their responsibility is likely to be limited to the writing component of the course. In any event, the faculty member should remain the principal authority in matters of writing as well as the subject matter for the course; the WID GTA should not be asked simply to take over the entire writing component of the course. Instead, it should be shared, with the faculty member retaining ultimate authority for evaluation and grading.

WID GTAs serving courses in their home departments may be asked to perform any of the usual duties of a GTA, as follows:

• Locate and prepare materials or activities relevant to the teaching of a topic;
• Lead discussion or lab sections within a faculty-taught course;
• Hold review sessions before exams;
• Grade homework assignments and exams;
• Hold office hours to consult with individual students;
• Assist faculty members in the teaching of lower-level undergraduate course sections.

WID RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES

In addition, GTAs assigned to support WID courses may also be asked to:

• Confer with or “coach” individual students to help them formulate topics for essays and generate appropriate bibliographic sources;
• Review outlines and/or rough drafts for coherence, clarity of purpose, argument, and other “global” concerns;
• Evaluate and grade written assignments such as essays, lab reports, research papers, and provide appropriate feed-back (not simply editing) with an eye toward substantive revision;
• Provide in-class writing instruction, in the form of remarks or brief presentations, on the conventions of writing in the designated discipline.

QUALIFICATIONS & AWARDS

GTAs assisting in WID courses will be expected to show a good command of English and evidence of reasonably proficient writing in their own discipline. Awards are made by the Dean's Office of the appropriate school or the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs.

ORIENTATION AND EVALUATION

New GTAs assigned to support WID courses are required to complete the following:

• Review all information about the University Writing Program, and the WID Program in particular, on the UWP website;
• Attend a WID orientation session at the beginning of the semester.
• Make a site visit to the University Writing Center and review the Center's statement of purpose and policies, including appointment policy, with the goal of being able to inform students about this service.

ASSIGNMENT OF DUTIES

Before the semester begins, each WID GTA should be informed of his or her specific course assignment and faculty mentor. The faculty mentor, in turn, should communicate clearly to the GTA, preferably in writing, the specific responsibilities expected of the WID GTA. Faculty mentors should be aware of the time commitment implied by a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (viz., no more than 20 hours per week) and assign tasks that can reasonably be completed in the time available.