What Your Partner WA Wants You to Know

Writing Associates act as informed readers of student work in progress. WAs encourage students to look at “higher order concerns,” such as content, organization, structure, thesis, analysis, and transitions, and also to develop a plan for revision of written work. WAs partner with professors and students to examine the broader elements of an assignment and through conversation allow students to reevaluate their critical reading and writing processes.

The following suggestions have been prepared by WAs for their partner professors:

Remember, if your students are first-years, their writing may not meet college level standards.
The College Writing Program asks that a WA meet with each student four times per semester, for thirty-minute conferences.
A copy of the syllabus will help us prepare better for conferences with students and ensure we have an understanding of the professor’s expectations.
A copy of the assignment sheet for a paper allows us to become familiar with the topic prior to conferences, helping us work more effectively with your students.
Open lines of communication between a WA and their partner professor are important. Meetings, or written communication, prior to and just following a set of conferences allow the professor to share their thoughts on the progress of students with the WA so that we can better meet requirements of the professor and the course.
Individual professors have their own preferences when it comes to writing. If you have any pet peeves or special expectations, let us know! This is includes any policies you have about students using AI for their assignments. With these in mind, we can help students produce papers that meet your quality and personal standards. Our goal is to work with our partner professors to help them meet their expectations.
Moodle Scheduler works best for scheduling conferences. It provides both student and professor with an immediate means of contacting the WA; sends automatic email reminders to the students; provides students with a complete list of available conference times and the ability to change times easily if necessary.
It is beneficial to students to provide approximately one week after a conference to revise an assignment before that assignment is due. Time to revise an assignment allows a student to take what they have discussed with a WA and use it to revise their paper.
Students who are required to attend WA conferences benefit more than students who are not. Therefore, establishing consequences for missing WA conferences is strongly encouraged.
Keeping a set due date for an assignment will increase the chances that a student not only shows up for their conference, but actively participates as well. If the due date for an assignment is changed, please let your WA know as soon as possible.
If you collect assignment drafts (either hard copy or electronic versions) and give them to the WA, students will be more likely to complete the drafts in a timely fashion and come prepared to their conferences.