Instructional Design & Copywriting
University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida is a regionally-accredited, preeminent research university in Tampa, Florida, serving over 50,000 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students from over 120 countries. Within the University of South Florida’s English and Tutoring & Learning Services departments, I took on many roles, including teaching, curriculum development and consulting.
ROLES
Instructor of Record
Subject Content Specialist
Writing Consultant
DATE
2012–2015
Writing Studio: Educational Resources
Together with the University of South Florida English and Tutoring & Learning Services Departments, I created educational resources for students, faculty and staff to assist them in the writing process. The following sample is a reference sheet on citation styles commonly distributed during research-focused consulting sessions. When clients understood why the citation styles were different, rather than viewing format as a barrier, they reported seeing it as part of the writing process.
Tutoring & Learning Services: Blog Post
The university Writing Studio, housed within the Department of Tutoring & Learning Services, faced the issue of users misinterpreting the purpose of our services. Often, students made appointments the day their paper was due, only to become frustrated and overwhelmed when a consultant focused on concrete steps to improve their writing long-term. Students were expecting the consultant to edit the paper for them, which, as part of the university’s Tutoring & Learning Services, was not in alignment with our mission.
To solve the issue, we took into consideration our limited budget and logistical feasibility, and I wrote this blog post. We posted the link to the Writing Studio Twitter, where the majority of students made their appointments. We also made hard copies of the post as a handout for any client making a grammar-focused appointment in person, and we sent the blog post link to students making grammar-focused appointments online in their confirmation email. We then presented the information to librarians, freshmen advisors, and some writing professors, to prevent the misperception from resurfacing.
Within three months of implementation, consultants reported a noticeable decline in clients misperceiving the purpose of the Writing Studio’s services.
