The Writing Center employs undergraduate and graduate students from different majors who are interested in helping others improve their writing skills. Tutors work with students in one-on-one sessions to provide helpful suggestions and teach students good writing principles that they can then apply to their work in the future. 

Upon hiring, each tutor will go through an intensive training process that includes an orientation, onboarding training, and continuing professional development.

Job description

Title: Writing Tutor

Hours: 5-20 hours per week

Pay: $12.50 per hour (returning tutors receive a $0.50/hour raise)

Role: Writing Tutors help our visitors with any type of written project and at any stage of the writing process in one-on-one tutoring sessions. Their job is not to "fix" the paper; rather, it is to help the writer understand how to improve their written communication, whether that's improving high-level issues like focus and structure or low-level issues like learning grammatical principles. 

Writing Tutors are also assigned to work with students from EN 109 classes. Classroom tutoring involves meeting with each assigned student individually for one hour per week and working closely with the instructor of the assigned course.

Duties and responsibilities

As a Writing Tutor, you will be expected to

  • Support Writing Center services and programs.
  • Contribute to the welcoming and professional nature of the Writing Center.
  • Uphold Writing Center best practices in both in-center tutoring and classroom tutoring sessions.
  • Share principles of good writing with students and provide them the knowledge and resources to carry out those principles in their own work.
  • Participate in a paid training program at the beginning of the fall semester. (Details of the training will be communicated to those who are hired.)
  • Attend monthly staff meetings.

Requirements 

Those wishing to apply as Writing Tutors must       

  • Be current undergraduate or graduate students at NMU
  • Maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA
  • Be willing to help others
  • Show engagement and interest in writing
  • Possess good communication and listening skills
  • Satisfactorily complete the composition sequence or an equivalent agreed upon by NMU’s Director of Composition

Desired qualifications

Additionally, candidates will benefit from having

  • Tutoring or teaching experience
  • Discipline-specific academic writing experience
  • Knowledge of writing center pedagogy and practice
  • Familiarity with common academic paper formats (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)

When to apply

We accept tutor applications for the upcoming academic year from the beginning of March through mid-April each year. (Hiring for the 2024-25 academic year is now closed.)

How to apply

Your application must include two separate Microsoft Word documents: a letter of purpose and a writing sample. The writing sample may be any type of academic paper (such as a literature analysis, research paper, persuasive essay, etc.) or creative work (short story, poetry collection, etc.)

The letter of purpose should be 2-3 pages, double-spaced, and include:

  • Your name, phone number, and NMU email
  • Your academic and professional background, especially any experience in writing centers or other instructional positions
  • Your interest in writing
  • Your perceived strengths and weaknesses in writing
  • Your definition of professionalism in a university environment
  • How you might contribute to the work we do
  • Names, phone numbers, and email addresses of at least two instructors willing to serve as references. (You should let these instructors know you're listing them as your references.) 

Please note that hiring for the coming academic year, 2024-25, is now closed. Questions or concerns about the Writing Center can be sent to Dr. Z. Z. Lehmberg at zlehmber@nmu.edu.