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Become a Writing Assistant

                            

If you are interested in becoming a Writing Assistant, contact Dr. Brian Johnson, Director of the Honors
College Writing Center, at 325-0711 or Brian.Johnson-1@ou.edu.  Students wishing to be considered for the position need to:

• Take and earn an “A” in an “HON 2973: Perspectives on the American Experience” course.
• Submit a one page “Letter of Interest” explaining why you want to become a Writing Assistant.
• Submit one writing sample which exemplifies your skill with the written word.
• Take and earn an “A” in the “HON 3970.001: Writing Workshop” course (taught only during the spring semester).

HON 3970.001: Writing Workshop

This course introduces students to the field of rhetorical theory and helps them continue developing their own unique writing skills.  The course operates on the assumptions that writing is essentially a social act, and that writing should be produced with an audience in mind.  "Writing Workshop" is a space for students to learn more about the craft of writing, the nature of academic discourse, and the expansion of audience awareness.  The course also serves as an introduction to good tutoring practices and prepares students to become Writing Assistants within the Honors College Writing Center.  Key questions addressed in the class: What is “good writing?”  How can we develop our own rhetorical skills?  How can we help others to become better writers?

                                  

Throughout the semester students read, write, observe, and discuss in order to better answer these and related questions.  At the end of the semester, students will know more about themselves as writers and will be much more qualified to provide feedback to others who are struggling to write well.  Obviously, the course helps prepare students to work in the Honors College Writing Center, but it also serves those who intend to teach or to otherwise guide would-be writers at any level or in any discipline.

Contact Dr. Brian Johnson to find out about required texts and major assignments.

Help Me Now!

Additionally, you'll find a wealth of helpful materials at the University of Oklahoma's Conoco Phillips Writing Center, St. Cloud State University's The Write Place, and The OWL at Purdue

-A-

Active Voice

• Active and Passive Voice

Argument

• Understanding Argument

• Evaluating Arguments

-C-

Citation

• Citation Machine

Commas

• Oh, Commas            

-D-

Dash

• Dash

-E-

Evaluation

• Evaluating Arguments

-G-

Grammar

• Active and Passive Voice

• Oh, Commas

• The Dash

-O-

OWL, at Purdue

-P-

Paragraphs

• Paragraph Construction

Passive voice

• Active and Passive Voice

-R-

Response Paper

• Recognizing a Personal Response

Research Paper

• The Rhetorical Situation and The Research Paper

-T-

Thesis

• Thesis Construction

-V-

Voice

• Active and Passive Voice

-W-

Word choice

• The Wonderful World of Word Choice

• Appropriate Word Choice

• Wordiness