Each fall, UCCS offers English 480/580, Peer Tutoring Writing Across the Curriculum. This course introduces students to writing center theories and practices and trains students to work as consultants in the campus writing center. Although this course emphasizes practical issues related to writing consulting-- how to set priorities, conduct productive sessions, and work with peers who have special writing concerns-- the course will also help students develop a theoretical foundation for addressing these issues and gain a basic understanding of composition pedagogy.

Throughout this course, students reflect critically on their consulting practices by keeping a consulting log, contributing to classroom discussions, and taping (video or audio) one consulting session. Students also write a short mid-term paper, 5-6 pages in length, on their philosophy of writing center theory and practice, and a final research paper, 8-10 pages in length (students taking this course at the 500- level with be expected to submit an 18-20 paged paper), on a topic related to writing consulting, training, the writing needs of college students, or faculty perceptions of student writers. Students are encouraged to submit abstracts of their final papers to one of the local writing center conferences.

In addition to attending class and completing assignments, students spend 2-4 hours each week observing consulting sessions in the writing center, meeting with their mentor or the Director, attending staff meetings, and, by mid -semester, consulting with student writers. Those students who successfully complete the semester's coursework may apply to join the staff of the writing center the following semester.

For more information about English 480/580, please contact the Director by email or at 255-4335.