Writing Fellows

Michigan Tech’s writing program will launch its new Writing Fellows Program in Fall 2026. This approach embeds trained undergraduate Writing Center consultants directly within First-Year Writing courses. By placing coaches alongside students at multiple stages of the writing process, the goal is to strengthen the connection between writers and writing support, to increase student access to feedback, and to give instructors a reliable partner for writing-intensive activities.

In the age of GenAI as a technology to assist with composing,  the Writing Fellows program will support sustained relationships with a writer over a semester, contextual knowledge of a specific assignment and instructor’s expectations, and questions calibrated to a particular student’s thinking rather than generic output. Fellows are trained to focus conversations on the writer’s own reasoning and choices, regardless of how a draft originated, reinforcing that writing is a process of developing ideas rather than producing a finished text. 

Writing Fellows receive training in several areas: 

• Principles of peer response and non-evaluative feedback
• Genre awareness across UN 1015 writing projects
• Facilitation techniques for in-class writing workshops
• Working effectively with multilingual writers and writers with learning differences
• AI-aware writing pedagogy, including evaluating GenAI-assisted drafts and distinguishing genuine revision from AI substitution
• Professionalism, confidentiality, and the faculty-fellow relationship

• Attend class sessions as an embedded undergraduate writing consultant, 2-3 classes per week as necessary.
• Facilitate in-class peer review,  workshop sessions, and/or other class activities in coordination with the course instructor.
• Hold two office hours per week in the Writing Center (Walker 107), dedicated to students in their assigned section; students are expected to meet with their Fellow at least twice during the semester.
• Participate in monthly cohort meetings with the First-Year Writing Director or Writing Center Director.
• Complete one hour of weekly preparation, including reviewing course materials and meeting with their assigned instructor.
• Complete a reflective portfolio at semester’s end documenting their growth as a Fellow.

Michigan Tech Students who are interested in serving as Writing Fellows should contact FYW director Holly Hassel (hjhassel@mtu.edu) and Writing Center director Matt Seigel (mbseigel@mtu.edu).