Writing Center Fellows are Princeton undergraduate and graduate students who work one-on-one with student writers. If you’re a strong academic writer who enjoys giving feedback to other writers, especially on macro issues such as developing an argument and organizing ideas, a position as a Writing Center Fellow may be for you. You’ll have the chance to affect students’ academic lives in positive and meaningful ways. Perhaps as important, you’ll get the chance to hone your teaching skills—and your own writing skills—as you serve the University community.

First-year students, sophomores, juniors, and all graduate students are invited to apply. We look for representation from the full range of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering.

Job Responsibilities

• Participate in a series of intensive training sessions over two weekend days at the beginning of the Fall 2023 semester. These sessions usually take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Saturday and Sunday following the second week of classes; training dates for Fall 2023 are confirmed to be Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17.
• Attend one "launch" meeting for scheduling purposes each semester (1.25 hours each).
• Attend a minimum of two professional development (PD) events each semester (1-1.5 hours each). PD events are scheduled at various points throughout the semester on a variety of topics.
• Attend two Mentoring Group (MG) meetings each semester (1 hour each). MG meetings normally take place during Weeks 5 and 10.
• Work with student writers for 30 conference hours during a Fellow's first semester in the Writing Center and 45 conference hours each semester thereafter.
  • Fellows generally work 3 regularly-scheduled conference hours per week while classes are in session and offer 6-12 additional conference hours during periods of peak demand to meet their conference hour commitments.
  • During a typical semester, busy periods include Week 4, Week 6, Week 8, Week 12, and Reading Period.
• Observe another Fellow's conference once per year and complete a brief reflection form (approximately 1.5 hours).
• Complete a report after each conference for the Writing Center’s confidential records within 24 hours (approximately 10-20 minutes per report). Fellows may be asked to respond to feedback on their reports and should respond to such requests in a timely manner.
• Assist with Writing Center publicity efforts, including a short publicity visit to 1-2 Writing Seminars each semester (15 minutes each).

Fellows normally complete between 3-8 hours of work each week, with this commitment representing approximately 60 hours of work in total each semester.

Serving as a Writing Center Fellow is a serious, full-year commitment that requires dedication and time. We ask that prospective Fellows carefully consider how this work will fit in with their other academic and extracurricular commitments before applying.

Pay Rates

Undergraduate Students: The position is compensated at the "Tutor/Manager" level on the undergraduate pay scale ($17/hour).
Graduate Students: The position is compensated at the rate of $20/hour.

All time spent on the Writing Center responsibilities outlined above, including attending workshops and completing conference reports, is compensated at these rates.

Application Process

We are not accepting applications for the Writing Center Fellow position at this time.

For Undergraduate Students: The application deadline was 5 p.m. on Monday, April 3. Hiring for undergraduate Writing Center Fellows for Fall 2023 has been completed and applications are no longer being accepted at this time.

For Graduate Students: The application deadline was 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5. Applications for graduate Writing Center Fellows for Fall 2023 are currently being reviewed and interviews will be conducted through the beginning of August.

We strongly encourage all applicants to use the Writing Center before applying to become a Fellow.

A completed application consists of the following:

1. A one-page resume.
2. A completed diagnostic exercise, based on a sample student paper. (The link for the sample paper is posted here while the application is open.)
3. A one-paragraph abstract for an academic paper you've written. Your abstract should include: the central research question, the methodology employed, and the primary original contributions/findings.
4. A one-page cover letter addressed to the Members of the Writing Center Hiring Committee.

Prospective Fellows should apply via the University's JobX platform, and all documents should be uploaded in PDF format. Check out these helpful guides from the Center for Career Development for advice on completing your resume and cover letter!

Questions? Write to Benjamin Fancy at [email protected].