The George Washington University
Contact Information
2100 Foxhall Road, NW (Ames Hall 226) 316 N. Oxford Street, #1
Washington, DC 20007 Arlington, VA 22203
(202) 242-5176 (703) 307-3635 jessmcc@gwu.edu jessica@jessicamccaughey.com
RESEARCH AND W RITING INTERESTS
Social Media and Composition
Professional and Technical Writing Pedagogy
Creative Nonfiction and Narrative in the First-Year Writing Classroom
Digital Media and Multimodal Compositions
EDUCATION
M aster of Fine Arts, Creative W riting, Concentration in Creative Nonfiction
Thesis: Velcro These Snakes Close to Your Head: A Personal and Scientific History of Fear
May 2011 – George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
M aster of Arts, English, Concentration in Professional W riting and Editing
Thesis: Application Fees, Survivor Guilt, and Dance Lessons: A Look at What’s Keeping First-Generation
College Students Down
May 2005 – George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Bachelor of Arts, English
May 2001 – Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia
ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPM ENT/TRAINING
Digital M edia and Composition Institute (2014) – Ohio State University
Instructor Training in Teaching Online and Hybrid College-level Courses (2011) –
Northern Virginia Community College
M aster’s Certificate in Project M anagement (2006) – Academic Partnership of ESI International
and The George Washington University School of Business
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Assistant Professor of W riting Fall 2013 – Present
THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY – Washington, DC
• University W riting 1020, Please Like Us: Selling with Social Media
Four-credit, first-year writing course (two hybrid sections per semester)
• Designs and leads workshops in business, professional, and technical writing for departments and organizations internal and external to the university
• Assists professors in outside departments, through the Writing in the Disciplines (WID) program, to develop writing-intensive courses
• Oversees WID Teaching Assistant in the School of Business
• Leads WID workshops for faculty (Fall 2013: “Teaching Writing with Technology,” Spring 2014:
“Writing in the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)”)

• Co-teaches writing-focused career development workshops for international students through GWU’s
Center for Civic Engagement
• Consults with Business School TAs and university Writing Center tutors on matters related to teaching multi-lingual writers
• Redesigns WID resources Web site, as well as writing and revising new and existing materials for the site, created for faculty and graduate assistants teaching writing-intensive courses
• Guest Lecturer, GW School of Business, seven sessions (Spring 2014)
Adjunct Lecturer in W riting Fall 2011 – Summer 2013
THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY – Washington, DC
• University Writing 1020, Telling True Stories: Truth and Memory in Creative Nonfiction
Four-credit, first-year writing course: Fall 2011 (two sections), Spring 2012 (two hybrid sections),
Summer 2012 (one section), Fall 2012 (two hybrid sections)
Sample Texts: Autobiography of a Face , by Lucy Grealy, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion, and A Writer’s Reference , 7 th
Edition by Diana Hacker, various essays
• Conducted a series of workshops focused on writing process improvement and grammar for the university’s Academic Technology analysts (Fall/Spring 2012).
Instructor, ESL Specialist, Outreach Coordinator, and Tutor
Spring 2008 – Summer 2013, Summer 2014
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTITUTE AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY – Arlington, Prince
William, and Fairfax campuses, Virginia
• Served as ESL Specialist for the GMU Writing Center, tutoring multi-lingual students, managing the ESL
Opt-In program, and working to expand services for international students (Spring 2013).
• Led Grammar , Idioms, Pronunciation, Writing, and Conversation Skills workshops for multi-lingual members of the George Mason University community, including faculty, staff, students, visiting scholars, and their families.
• Operated as outreach coordinator, creating and implementing marketing plan for the ELI as we expand resources to serve the university’s Prince William Campus.
• Provided individual and group tutoring for undergraduate and graduate students in speaking, listening, writing, and study skills, as well as job interview preparation.
• Taught High-Advanced Speaking (Summer 2011), an academic, three-credit course with the goal of preparing multi-lingual students for academic and business-related meetings, classroom discussions, and presentations.
• Taught High-Advanced Writing (Fall 2010), an academic, three-credit course focused on helping new international students understand and adhere to American academic standards.
• Mentored and educated students in the Summer Bridge Project (Summer 2010), an ELI program that helps incoming freshman ESL students who attended at least one year of high school in the United States transition to college by teaching them study strategies, academic standards, and how best to utilize university resources.
Adjunct Instructor Summer 2011
NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE – Annandale, Virginia
• English 112: College Composition II (two sections)
Texts: Reading Literature and Writing Argument, 4 th Edition and Rules for Writers ,
6 th Edition by Diana Hacker
• English 241: Introduction to American Literature (one section)
Texts: The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 7 th Edition, Volumes A and B
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Graduate Instructor Fall 2009 – Spring 2011
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY – Fairfax, Virginia
• English 101: First-Year Composition (one section each: Fall 2009 and 2010; two sections: Spring
2011)
Texts: The Curious Writer by Bruce Ballenger and Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Eherenreich
• English 396: Introduction to Creative Writing (one section: Fall 2010)
Texts: The Art and Craft of Storytelling: A Comprehensive Guide to Classic Writing Techniques by Nancy Lamb, All-American Poem by Matthew Dickman, and Best Creative Nonfiction, Volume 3 edited by Lee Gutkind
• English 201: Reading and Writing about Texts – “The Literature of Disaster” (two sections:
Spring 2010)
Texts: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Hiroshima by John Hersey, The Road by Cormac McCarthy,
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and additional selected short stories, essays, and poems
RELATED W ORK EXPERIEN CE
Contract W riter/Editor January 2003 – Present
Creates and edits Web and print content for organizations and individuals on a contract basis. Recent projects have included resumes, bios, Web copy, marketing materials, white papers, and corporate style guides. Additionally, consults with organizations on improving print and multimedia communications.
Private Tutor Fall 2008 – Summer 2013
Provided both individual and group tutoring to multi-lingual clients in writing, speaking, and job interview skills, as well as in preparation for the TOEFL examination.
Freelance Curriculum Developer, Editor, and Instructor February 2012 – August 2012
CURIE LEARNING – Herndon, Virginia
Developed grammar and writing curricula and taught three sections of SAT/PSAT preparation courses.
W riting Center Interim Assistant Director/Tutor August 2008 – December 2009
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER, Fairfax, Virginia
As Assistant Director (Fall 2009), trained incoming tutors, developed and implemented marketing and branding plans, and created and updated university writing resources. Tutored undergraduate, graduate, and law students, as well as faculty and alumni in George Mason University’s nationally recognized Writing Center. Led workshops on the research and writing process. Mentored undergraduate peer tutors.
W eb and Communications Associate September 2007 – July 2008
THE BUSINESS-HIGHER EDUCATION FORUM, Washington, DC
Served as communications manager for this advocacy-based, education non-profit organization. Relayed policy, research, and advocacy information to an 80-member base made up of Fortune 500 CEOs and research university presidents. Ghost wrote op-ed pieces for chairman and vice-chair on national education issues for The Wall Street
Journal and other publications. Wrote, edited, and designed newsletters and press kits and releases. Managed all
Web, grant writing, and fundraising communications.
Assistant Production M anager/Copywriter February 2002 – August 2007
(Earlier positions within the organization included Student Affairs Coordinator and Instructor Development
Specialist)
ESI INTERNATIONAL, Arlington, Virginia
Managed Web writing, marketing e-mail distribution, branding, and style guides for this international training organization focused on improving competencies in project management, contract management, business analysis,
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September 2008 to Present

and general business skills. Collaborated with senior management to develop, implement, and communicate global messaging strategy, both internally and externally. Ghost wrote executive articles for a variety of trade publications.
Edited internal and external publications, and researched and wrote ESI’s white papers. Wrote and edited catalog copy, postcards, letters, flyers, and other publications, and managed a variety of new product marketing.
ACADEM IC SERVICE
• Eckles Prize Committee (student writing award), GWU (2014)
• Curriculum Committee, University Writing Program (2013 – present)
• Volunteer for middle school participants of D.C.-based non-profit Higher Achievement during visit to GW (Summer 2013)
• Faculty advisor of the GMU Creative Writing Workshop, an undergraduate campus organization
(2010 – 2011)
• Mentor to incoming graduate teaching assistants (2010 – 2011)
• Assistant Nonfiction Editor of So To Speak , a feminist literary journal (2008 – 2010)
• Reader for The GMU Review , and undergraduate writing journal (2009 – 2011)
• Volunteer for GMU’s annual book festival, Fall for the Book (2008 – 2011)
PUBLICATIONS
• “Bealton,” Gulf Coast (forthcoming)
• “What the Websites Tell Me to Do,” April 22, 2014 The Rumpus
• “Because it is 1997,” December 2013 issue of Toad
• “Diplomacy, Tone, and Emphasis in Business Writing,” Writing Commons , a “free, global, peerreviewed, open-education resource for college-level writers, college faculty, and the everyday writer,”
October 2013
• “Sleep in the Week that Follows,” October 2013 issue of Ayris
• “Teetering,” October 2013, issue 11 of The Superstition Review
• “I Tell You Something,” Redux Journal (reprint)
• “Imaginary Sons,” December 2012 issue of The Citron Review
• “Things You Cannot Do with a Baby,” Boston Globe Sunday Magazine , September 30, 2012
• “Compulsion without Recourse,” Fall 2012 issue of The South Loop Review
• “An Inn on the Coast of Kerry County,” Summer 2012 issue (Theme: “Aberration”), Composite Arts
• “Don’t Hug Them: Dealing with Student Crises,” May 1, 2012 issue of The Chronicle of Higher
Education
• “In a Relationship With:” February 1, 2012 issue of Forty-Ounce Bachelors: An Electro-Literary
Playground
• “Deleting a History: From Resume to CV,” December 1, 2011 issue of The Chronicle of
Higher Education
• “Excuses for Late English 112, Section 004 Papers from a Large, Unnamed Community College in
Virginia,” August 2011 issue of Defenestration
• “Scramble,” Summer 2011 issue of Silk Road
• “I Tell You Something,” Summer 2011 issue of Adanna Literature
• “On the Music of Distraction,” Spring 2011 issue of Phoebe
• “Aligning the Internal Compass,” March 2010 issue of The Colorado Review (later published in Best
American Travel Writing of 2011 )
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• “Sink,” Fall 2009 issue of Hot Metal Bridge
• “Reading Shame,” Summer 2009 issue of Alalitcom
• “Arlington,” Summer 2009 issue of flashquake
AW ARDS, RESIDENCIES, AND SPEAKING ENGAGEM ENTS
• Pushcart Prize Nominee, 2014
• Alumni Reading, George Mason University, October 2013
• Panel Discussion: “Retreats, Residencies, and Other Getaways,” George Mason University,
New Leaves Conference, April 2013
• Lecture: “Career Change: A Different Kind of Success,” The George Washington University’s Career
Development Summer Institute, June 2012
• Essay selected for Best American Travel Writing, 2011, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as part of the “Best American” series, October 2011
• Outstanding Graduate Student Award, George Mason University English Department, May 2011
• Outstanding Mentor Award, George Mason University English Department, May 2011
• Winner, Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Narrative Flashpoint Contest, April 2011
• Runner-Up, Phoebe Nonfiction Contest, April 2011
• Residency: Vermont Studio Center (Johnson, Vermont), August 2010
• First prize, GMU/Mary Roberts Rinehart Award for Nonfiction, May 2010
• Nominee, Iron Horse Literary Review , Discovered Voices Award, Spring 2010
• First prize, Humor Writing, Alabama Writers Conclave Writing Contest, Summer 2009
PROFESSIONAL MEM BERSHIPS
National Council of Teachers of English
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
Association of Writers and Writing Programs
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