• A Brief History of the WIC program at Portland State University

The Writing Intensive Course Program permits faculty teaching regularly offered 300 and 400 level courses in any department to have their courses designated writing intensive (WIC) upon successful completion of a “WIC Proposal Form.” Presently in its tenth year, the WIC program will offer 20-25 courses during the 2006-2007 academic year. Faculty teaching WIC are trained through faculty development workshops, and most assistants have taken Teaching and Tutoring Writing, ENG 413/513.

A writing intensive course should require approximately 5000 words (including drafts, ungraded writing, informal papers, and polished papers); 2000 words of this total are polished final drafts, which students have rewritten after receiving revision-oriented feedback from writing assistants. When a course is designated WIC, there should be opportunities for graded and non-graded writing and for time spent on global and sentence level revision.

WIC faculty often notice a significant change in the way their students engage material of the course, and much of the credit goes to the WIC assistants. Assistants will be helping students learn the processes by which writers in the various disciplines develop and disseminate knowledge. The faculty member should not look to the WIC assistant as a paid proofreader, but as someone able to offer some degree of expertise on writing.

• Program Expectations of the WIC Assistant

There are a number of things the WIC professor may ask an assistant to do. The assistant should feel able to do the following: help the professor develop writing assignments; respond to short, in-class ungraded writing; assist with drafts in progress; direct peer response groups; teach how to document and use appropriate citation; lead invention exercises; discuss global revision strategies; and talk about common grammatical errors.

Payment is $10 an hour for undergraduates and $12 an hour for graduates. 15 hours a week maximum.

• Tips for the Initial Meeting Between Faculty and Assistant

It varies how WIC Assistants are incorporated into a class and often depends on the professor. First and foremost, the assistant should call or email the professor to set up a meeting before the term begins in order to get acquainted, get the class syllabus, and discuss mutual expectations for the term. The following are a list of areas to cover in this meeting:

• Exchange contact information and request desk copies of the class texts. Will the WIC be expected to keep abreast of the reading? Is this feasible with the 15 hours/week limit?
• Will the WIC co-facilitate discussions of texts? How involved should the assistant be in class content? Is the assistant to take roll? Make photocopies?
• What standard course tools will be used? (Excel, etc.)
• Discuss clearly the grading system and the criteria used for evaluating informal and formal writing. Is there a rubric in use? Will the WIC be grading the student work? Does the assistant read one half of the papers the professor the other half? Does the professor look over the papers after the assistant has commented on them?
• How is the writing process taught specifically in this course? How will the WIC support this approach?
• What is the WIC’s approach to marking, commenting, and grading papers?
• Have both parties define constructive feedback.
• What is the expected turn-around for returning papers? Write down specific dates, if possible.
• Will the WIC attend every class?
• Will the WIC and the professor have a regular weekly meeting/debrief?
• Go over protocol for signing the time sheet.
• The faculty member and assistant need to be honest with one another, and if during the initial discussion of course expectations, one or the other is uncomfortable about some issue or following some procedure, then an honest and frank dialogue must ensue.

• Tips for Incorporating the WIC Assistant in the Class

There are many ways the WIC Assistant can bring his or her expertise into the classroom. Here are some suggestions:

• Assign students mandatory conferences at some point in the term. Two conferences are more effective: one at the conceptual stage of the draft and one in the drafting process.
• Plan for the WIC to have prescribed class time to give feedback on student writing or do a quick lesson.
• Include the WIC contact information on the syllabus.
• Designate on the syllabus when there will be certain writing instruction units lead by the WIC.
• Discuss the writing specific assignments and their progression. Assistants should suggest how they can be improved or specific lessons/activities they can do to supplement student learning. Are there any assignments for the WIC to add/design?
• If Web CT is used in class, make sure the WIC assistant has access.

• Tips for Working with the Professor

• Get a class roster as early as possible and set up a good system for tracking grades and attendance.
• Have ideas. Don’t be timid. Be ready to stand in front of the class to give feedback or teach a lesson.
• Ask the professor if he or she is considering any impending tasks for the WIC assistant that may or may not be on the syllabus. If the assistant knows what to expect, they can be better prepared. 
• If unsure about something, don’t hesitate to ask the professor about it.
• Clarify what the professor’s expectations are for assignments so you are prepared to answer student questions about the assignment.
• Do not be afraid to ask the professor for a recommendation at the end of term. As an assistant, you’ve worked hard and earned it.

• Tips for Working with Students

• Learn student names as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
• Emphasize your availability and always encourage students to meet with you.
• Set-up regular office hours (at the Writing Center if you do not have a space of your own) and maintain them.
• Set-up a conference system that discourages one or two students from monopolizing your time i.e. limit conferences to 15 minutes during office hours or plan for separate individual meetings (if your schedule allows).
• Ask questions: What was the student’s goal in the assignment? What do they want you to read for? Repeat what you hear them say. Explain whether your comments pertain to global or local changes in the assignment.
• Remember that many of the students you work with may have never received feedback on their writing or written multiple drafts of the same paper. Be prepared to guide them through this process.
• Plug the Writing Center as a resource.
• Think of strategies to encourage students to use a “formal” voice in their academic papers.
• Oftentimes, the WIC assistant is seen as the liaison between the professor and the students. Be prepared to field student frustrations and interpret faculty feedback. 

• Suggested In-Class Activities for WICs to Lead

• Workshops: what writing needs should be addressed?
• Lead freewrites.
• Organize and monitor peer review sessions.
• Prepare a mini-unit on writing invention or global editing.
• Respond to short, in-class, non-graded writing.
• Teach the reverse outline.
• Talk about common and reoccurring grammatical errors.
• Teach how to integrate source material in academic writing, such as using direct quotations and paraphrasing properly.
• Teach MLA, APA, CBE, or some other documentation system.
• Split the class in half. Have the WIC Assistant lead a session with one group, and the professor with the other. Then swap groups.
• Demonstrate in class how to get into research databases from the library’s web page or how to select/find research resources.
• Survey students about their writing needs and respond with a session that answers their questions. 

• Resources for WICS

• Greg Jacob, WIC Coordinator and Associate Professor of English, is always available to discuss and help resolve issues. Feel free to call him any time. His office is 409 Neuberger Hall. Campus extension is 5-3572; email is jacobg@pdx.edu.
• WIC Support Group: One-credit study group for graduate students that offers peer support, guidance, and space to vent.
• Writing Center (http://www.writingcenter.pdx.edu): Check out their library in Cramer Hall and/or the website for information on specific writing concerns or topics.
• Subject Research Librarians: They are found on the second floor of the library. They can be helpful to students and/or WIC assistants who don’t know much about journals or research in a field. The library keeps a list of them at www.pdx.edu/library/appointments.html.
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu: Very helpful website for both students and WIC assistants. Offers online handouts on writing, research, grammar, and documentation.
• http://www.english.pdx.edu/writingstudies: Check out the Instructors Tab for teaching resources about writing.
• http://www.noodletools.com: Helps the student format bibliographies.
• Beth Hedengren, A TA’s Guide to Teaching Writing In All Disciplines
• Andrea Lunsford, The Everyday Writer
• Erika Lindemann, A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers

 

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