Guidelines for Instructors
Responsibilities of CI-H Writing Advisors
The primary responsibility of the writing advisor is to help the instructor
improve the students' writing. A writing advisor will do some combination
of the following (but will not necessarily do everything on this
list):
- Meet individually with students, or in small groups, to advise students on writing for specific assignments
- Read and comment on essay drafts, and conference with individual students
- Make in-class presentations and/or participate in class discussion about writing and speaking
- Develop subject-specific pedagogical materials to help students learn to write disciplinary genres
- Advise on assignment design
- Advise on writing and communications pedagogy
- Attend some or all of the class meetings, and become familiar with the class content, in order to help students learn to analyze and write about the course material
An advisor should not be asked to assign formal grades to students' work, although an instructor may choose to consult with advisors about grades. The most useful work an advisor can do is to meet with students one-on-one to discuss essay drafts before they are handed in.
An advisor is expected to spend 100 hours total, or an average of about 7-8 hours a week, on work for the class. Some weeks, such as those before papers are due, will require more hours; instructors and advisors should work together before the beginning of the semester to develop a schedule that works for all concerned.
Responsibilities of Instructors Working with Writing Advisors
- Meet with your advisor before the beginning of the semester to
agree on the advisor's specific responsibilities, using the "Responsibilities
of CI Writing Advisors," above, as a guide. Remember the time commitment
for an advisor is 100 hours for the semester, which should average out to 7-8 hours per week. Depending on the advisor's responsibilities, some weeks
may require more of the advisor's time than that—for example,
the weeks when papers are due. A heavier workload during such
times should be balanced by a lighter workload at other times.
- Keep in touch with your advisor periodically throughout the semester.
- Be willing to evaluate your advisor's performance at the end of
the semester.
How to Request a Writing Advisor for a CI-H Class
If you will be teaching a CI-H class and would like a writing advisor
assigned to it, contact Suzanne Lane (stlane@mit.edu) for details. |
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