Graduate Writing Consultant

Graduate Writing Consultant Position Description

AY 2026 – 2027 

(8/17/26 – 5/23/27)

The Graduate Center Graduate Writing Lab supports the development of student writers throughout their graduate career at the University of Arizona. The Graduate Center Office of Fellowships follows a Grant Lifecycle Model, ensuring support is available from the initial "spark" of an idea to writing applications to the final post-award compliance. Graduate Writing Consultants support both entities through meeting with graduate students to offer helpful feedback on any kind of writing at any stage in the process. Writing Consultants conduct sessions and workshops both in person and online. This is a student-friendly, on-campus position with no prior writing consultant experience required. 

Writing Consultants are expected to work approximately 10 hours a week, attend weekly trainings, and work towards CRLA (College Reading and Learning Association) certification. Applicants are expected to commit to an academic year-long position. All training is paid, and our team works with consultants’ schedules to determine work hours. Writing Consultants engage in mentoring, lead writing groups, and can lead workshops. Writing Consultants report to the Graduate Writing Lab Associate Director. 

Compensation is $32.07/hour. Writing Consultants are hourly positions, not GA or TA positions. Applicants should have no more than an additional 0.25 GA position. 

In this position, Writing Consultants will: 

• Cultivate a deeper knowledge of writing practices across genres and academic disciplines 
• Gain leadership and mentoring experience 
• Refine interpersonal communication skills 
• Develop public speaking and presenting abilities 
• Have the opportunity to engage in research and training development 

Responsibilities 

• Provide one-on-one writing consultations 
• Occasionally lead Writing Efficiency Sessions
• Assist with writing workshops 
• Provide feedback to asynchronously submitted materials
• Engage with training materials to inform and improve writing consultation practices 
• In consultation with administration team, commit to a weekly work schedule for the semester (approximately 10 hours a week) 
• Participate in pre-semester training and weekly meetings 
• Abide by University of Arizona Code of Conduct and Academic Code of Integrity 

Qualifications 

• Current UA graduate student 
• Ability to collaborate with student writers to help them identify strengths and areas for improvement, prioritize their concerns, and make a plan for moving forward with their writing 
• Willingness to engage with a variety of writing, regardless of disciplinary field
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills 
• Commitment to creating a welcoming and positive environment for all students 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Applicants who are reflective, empathetic, curious, and can carefully communicate complex information. 
• Prior experience submitting a fellowship or grant application
• Background in Engineering, Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physics, or Astronomy
• Experience working with a Graduate Writing Consultant and/or participating in Writing Efficiency Sessions 
• Graduation in Fall 2027 or later 

Questions? 

Please contact the Associate Director of the Graduate Writing Lab, Shelley Hawthorne Smith (shellh@arizona.edu) and Graduate Scholarships and Grants Management Coordinator, Kerry Cowen (kcowen1@arizona.edu) 

Please submit the following required documents by May 22, 2026. 

• CV or resume demonstrating relevant educational, employment, or volunteer experiences
• Writing sample of your choice (preferably a submitted fellowship or grant application)
• Separate document responding to the questions below
  1. Name
  2. Department or Graduate Program:
  3. Degree you expect to receive:
  4. Graduate program start date:
  5. Expected graduation date:
  6. What interests you about the Graduate Writing Consultant position? Considering your career goals, what would you gain from the position? (Approximately 200 words)
  7. Please describe your experience writing a fellowship or grant application (< 350 words)
  8. You have a zoom session with a student applying for a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. She is working on her personal statement and is having a hard time moving from her outline (below) to a narrative. She clearly seems anxious and frustrated about writing the personal statement. How would you approach the 45-minute session?

Student outline associated with question #8: 

• Short term goals: Become an independent researcher, contribute to scientific literature in hypersonic work, develop practical engineering skills of design, testing, integration, data analysis, etc. 

• Long term goals: As an engineer, contribute to national defense and push forward the boundary of scientific knowledge. After industry experience I also want to teach and mentor the next generation of students.

• Foundation for goals so far
  • Engineering skills: Prototyping, design and integration, testing, and hands-on work
    • Propulsion Lab at Washington University as undergrad
    • A year as a Mechanical Engineer at Boeing 
    • Graduate Research Assistant in Turbulence and Flow Control Laboratory at the University of Arizona 
  • Research 
    • Learning about hypersonic flows through literature 
    • Building test plans, designing wind tunnel models, hands-on work of instrumenting models and running test campaigns
  • Collaboration
    • Interdisciplinary experience throughout school and industry: work with technicians, machinists, and multiple types of engineers
    • Interpersonal strengths from tutoring and leadership experience such as being a Campus Academic Mentor and organizing an engineering competition in undergraduate years
  • Teaching
    • 6 years tutoring experience has solidified my love for teaching and learning. I enjoy communicating my own understanding of complex problems but also learn from those I tutor as the way they see problems can offer new understanding for myself. 

• How fellowship fits: Helps keep me on track with pushing forward personal research, also contributes financially to research and my education.