Turn a teaching appointment into a clear workload, responsibility and learning plan
A graduate teaching-assistant appointment letter connects role type, course, duties, hours, preparation, marking, supervision, remuneration or scholarship credit, conduct and acceptance. English matters because a paid appointment, fellowship, assistantship obligation and claimable teaching duty are not automatically the same arrangement. This guide helps graduate students compare the letter with current programme rules and ask focused questions. It is not employment or legal advice and does not alter the appointment.
Choose the route closest to your task, or read straight through for the complete system.
People search for teaching assistant duties, graduate TA appointment letter, teaching hours and university teaching assistant pay because one role can sit inside employment, a fellowship, a scholarship obligation or graduate training.
A careful reader identifies the appointing unit, arrangement type, course, dates, contact hours, preparation and marking, supervision, payment or credited hours, reporting, conflicts, conduct duties and acceptance route.
Clear English protects both teaching and candidature. “Up to ten hours” is a ceiling, not a guaranteed schedule; “GAP hours” are not automatically wages; and a friendly invitation is not the same as a confirmed appointment.
This guide was checked on 14 October 2026. Appointment forms, eligibility, rates, scholarship conditions, teaching-hour rules and claims can change by department, programme and academic year. Use the signed letter and current university rules for the actual role.
Did You Know? The NUS ISEP Graduate Assistantship Programme page, checked on 14 October 2026, says hours clocked under that programme are not remunerated and cannot consist solely of preparation or marking without teaching contact hours. A separate NUS College of Humanities and Sciences teaching opportunity also distinguishes applicant categories and funding status. The useful discovery is that “teaching assistant” describes work, but the letter must reveal the arrangement under which that work counts.
Find the section you need
Identify the arrangement · 2 chapters
Map the work · 2 chapters
Read the exchange · 2 chapters
Protect candidature · 2 chapters
1. Name the legal and programme arrangement
Back to contentsThe same teaching task can be delivered under a paid contract, graduate fellowship, scholarship requirement or developmental assignment.
Locate the appointment heading, appointing entity, funding source and referenced policy. Ask the authorised office when the relationship is unclear.
A student distinguishes paid part-time teaching from non-remunerated GAP hours before counting either.
What to check
- Name arrangement
- Name entity
- Check funding
- Find policy
Apply this chapter to a paid tutorial appointment. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: This guide cannot classify employment or enforceability; seek official or qualified advice.
Learning transfer: Relationship classification supports gig work.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
2. Check eligibility and required concurrence
Back to contentsStudent status, funding, scholarship and supervisor approval can affect whether the appointment may proceed.
Match the letter and opportunity page to the student’s current status. Record approvals still required before accepting.
A funded graduate student checks whether supervisor and department concurrence is required.
What to check
- Check status
- Check scholarship
- Check approval
- Check date
Apply this chapter to a non-remunerated GAP duty. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: Selection or interview does not itself establish final eligibility or appointment.
Learning transfer: Eligibility reading supports applications.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
A title such as “TA” does not reveal module, semester, class size, mode or teaching dates.
Record course code, coordinator, academic period, learner group, location or platform and expected teaching weeks.
The letter covers tutorials for one course in Semester 2, not general department work throughout the year.
What to check
- Name course
- Name period
- Name learners
- Name coordinator
Apply this chapter to a marking-heavy workload. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: A timetable may change; determine how revisions are communicated and approved.
Learning transfer: Scope reading supports project assignments.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
Workload becomes invisible when only classroom time is stated.
Create categories for contact, consultation, preparation, marking, meetings, training and administration. Compare each with the governing rule.
Eight tutorial hours require additional preparation and feedback time that the student schedules explicitly.
What to check
- Count contact
- Count preparation
- Count marking
- Count meetings
Apply this chapter to a role needing supervisor concurrence. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: Claimable hours, expected effort and paid hours may be defined differently.
Learning transfer: Workload decomposition supports jobs.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
“Support teaching” is too broad to plan or evaluate without specific responsibilities.
Translate each duty into an output, standard, owner and deadline: facilitate tutorial, mark script, hold consultation or update records.
The TA must return rubric-based feedback by a stated date rather than “help with marking”.
What to check
- Name output
- Name standard
- Name owner
- Name deadline
Apply this chapter to a paid tutorial appointment. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: Do not assume authority to change grades, policy or curriculum beyond the delegated role.
Learning transfer: Role clarity supports teams.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
The module coordinator, department administrator, teaching mentor and thesis supervisor may own different decisions.
Map who assigns work, observes teaching, approves hours, handles student concerns and resolves workload conflict.
A student question about assessment policy goes to the module coordinator, not an improvised TA ruling.
What to check
- Map assigner
- Map reviewer
- Map escalation
- Protect students
Apply this chapter to a non-remunerated GAP duty. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: A TA’s accessibility and friendliness do not create authority beyond the appointment.
Learning transfer: Authority mapping supports education.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
7. Read remuneration, credit and claims separately
Back to contentsSalary, hourly claim, stipend, fee support and assistantship credit are not interchangeable benefits.
Identify rate or basis, claim form, approval, pay period, credited-hour rule and any non-remuneration clause.
The student records GAP teaching hours but does not expect a separate wage where the policy says none is paid.
What to check
- Name value
- Check claim
- Check approval
- Check pay date
Apply this chapter to a marking-heavy workload. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: A maximum amount or number of hours is not a promise that all work will be allocated or approved.
Learning transfer: Compensation literacy supports employment.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
Teaching develops valuable capability but can collide with experiments, fieldwork, exams and candidature deadlines.
Place teaching obligations on the research calendar and discuss material conflicts early with the appropriate supervisors.
A compulsory training session overlaps a fieldwork departure, so the student seeks an authorised solution before accepting.
What to check
- Check calendar
- Check milestone
- Flag conflict
- Seek approval
Apply this chapter to a role needing supervisor concurrence. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: Personal time management cannot override a required teaching or candidature process.
Learning transfer: Capacity planning supports careers.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
9. Read conduct, confidentiality and student-data duties
Back to contentsTAs may handle grades, attendance, accommodations, private questions and unpublished course materials.
Find the referenced conduct, data, assessment and communication rules. Use approved systems and escalate sensitive cases.
The TA keeps grade files in the authorised platform and does not discuss a student in a group chat.
What to check
- Check data rule
- Check assessment rule
- Use platform
- Escalate concern
Apply this chapter to a paid tutorial appointment. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: A teaching appointment does not authorise reuse of student work or disclosure of personal information.
Learning transfer: Confidentiality supports professional trust.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
Unclear hours, location, cancellation, substitution or deliverables become harder to resolve after teaching begins.
Quote the exact clause, state your understanding and ask one decision-ready question through the named office.
The student asks whether the stated weekly limit includes preparation and marking.
What to check
- Quote clause
- State reading
- Ask question
- Keep answer
Apply this chapter to a non-remunerated GAP duty. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: An informal verbal answer should be recorded when it materially affects the appointment.
Learning transfer: Clarification writing supports contracts.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
The role begins through an acceptance and onboarding sequence, not merely through enthusiasm.
Complete the required acceptance, payroll or programme forms, training and access. Track actual work, feedback and approved hours.
The TA signs through the stated route, completes orientation and maintains a weekly hours log.
What to check
- Accept formally
- Complete training
- Track hours
- Verify claims
Apply this chapter to a marking-heavy workload. Write the purpose, reader, verified facts, uncertainty, boundary and next action before polishing the language.
Create an ordinary case, a difficult case and a missing-information case. Preserve the governing meaning while changing detail, tone and support for the situation.
Ask an independent reader or listener to explain what they understood, what they would do next and where they hesitated. Revise, keep the evidence and compare both versions.
Boundary: This article cannot resolve a pay, workload or status dispute; use the institution’s formal route and qualified help if needed.
Learning transfer: Record keeping supports career evidence.
Write one sentence that states the evidence, one that states its limit, and one that states the next responsible action. Then test each noun, number, condition and source against the current task and verified source. Replace vague confidence with a traceable reason.
How to build this kind of English before the job title arrives
Back to contentsStudents do not need professional authority to practise the underlying language. They can learn to define scope, annotate conditions, compare versions, rebuild a timeline, match a number to its unit and explain uncertainty without embarrassment. Parents can ask calm questions: What decision is this document supporting? Which sentence carries the strongest claim? What would make that claim false? Which source would you open next?
Use a three-pass routine. First, map the document: title, owner, audience, date, sections and decision. Second, trace one claim from source to conclusion. Third, explain the limit and next action. This routine strengthens comprehension, science, mathematics, humanities and workplace readiness because it turns English into an evidence tool.
A student should never imitate professional authority. The useful goal is to recognise when a text needs a qualified reviewer, current rule or official decision. Knowing when to pause is part of literacy.
Arrangement
Paid appointment distinguished from GAP obligation.
Scope
Course, semester, learners and coordinator recorded.
Workload
Contact, preparation, marking and meetings mapped.
Exchange
Rate or credited hours and claim route identified.
Candidature
Research conflicts checked before formal acceptance.
Entity
University unit making the appointment.
Arrangement
Employment, fellowship or programme duty.
Eligibility
Status and approvals required.
Course
Module and teaching population.
Period
Start, end and teaching weeks.
Contact
Tutorial, lab or class hours.
Preparation
Planning and materials.
Assessment
Marking and feedback duty.
Supervision
Coordinator and escalation route.
Value
Pay, stipend relationship or credited hours.
Conduct
Data, assessment and communication rules.
Acceptance
Method, deadline and onboarding.
Use this roadmap to see how the chapters connect. Each decision names a purpose, action, observable example and limit rather than repeating a generic language rule.
1. Name the legal and programme arrangement
The same teaching task can be delivered under a paid contract, graduate fellowship, scholarship requirement or developmental assignment. The practical move is to locate the appointment heading, appointing entity, funding source and referenced policy. Ask the authorised office when the relationship is unclear.
Test the chapter through this example: A student distinguishes paid part-time teaching from non-remunerated GAP hours before counting either. Keep the boundary visible: This guide cannot classify employment or enforceability; seek official or qualified advice.
2. Check eligibility and required concurrence
Student status, funding, scholarship and supervisor approval can affect whether the appointment may proceed. The practical move is to match the letter and opportunity page to the student’s current status. Record approvals still required before accepting.
Test the chapter through this example: A funded graduate student checks whether supervisor and department concurrence is required. Keep the boundary visible: Selection or interview does not itself establish final eligibility or appointment.
3. Identify course, period and teaching population
A title such as “TA” does not reveal module, semester, class size, mode or teaching dates. The practical move is to record course code, coordinator, academic period, learner group, location or platform and expected teaching weeks.
Test the chapter through this example: The letter covers tutorials for one course in Semester 2, not general department work throughout the year. Keep the boundary visible: A timetable may change; determine how revisions are communicated and approved.
4. Separate contact, preparation and marking hours
Workload becomes invisible when only classroom time is stated. The practical move is to create categories for contact, consultation, preparation, marking, meetings, training and administration. Compare each with the governing rule.
Test the chapter through this example: Eight tutorial hours require additional preparation and feedback time that the student schedules explicitly. Keep the boundary visible: Claimable hours, expected effort and paid hours may be defined differently.
5. Read duties as observable outputs
“Support teaching” is too broad to plan or evaluate without specific responsibilities. The practical move is to translate each duty into an output, standard, owner and deadline: facilitate tutorial, mark script, hold consultation or update records.
Test the chapter through this example: The TA must return rubric-based feedback by a stated date rather than “help with marking”. Keep the boundary visible: Do not assume authority to change grades, policy or curriculum beyond the delegated role.
6. Understand supervision and escalation
The module coordinator, department administrator, teaching mentor and thesis supervisor may own different decisions. The practical move is to map who assigns work, observes teaching, approves hours, handles student concerns and resolves workload conflict.
Test the chapter through this example: A student question about assessment policy goes to the module coordinator, not an improvised TA ruling. Keep the boundary visible: A TA’s accessibility and friendliness do not create authority beyond the appointment.
7. Read remuneration, credit and claims separately
Salary, hourly claim, stipend, fee support and assistantship credit are not interchangeable benefits. The practical move is to identify rate or basis, claim form, approval, pay period, credited-hour rule and any non-remuneration clause.
Test the chapter through this example: The student records GAP teaching hours but does not expect a separate wage where the policy says none is paid. Keep the boundary visible: A maximum amount or number of hours is not a promise that all work will be allocated or approved.
8. Check workload against research milestones
Teaching develops valuable capability but can collide with experiments, fieldwork, exams and candidature deadlines. The practical move is to place teaching obligations on the research calendar and discuss material conflicts early with the appropriate supervisors.
Test the chapter through this example: A compulsory training session overlaps a fieldwork departure, so the student seeks an authorised solution before accepting. Keep the boundary visible: Personal time management cannot override a required teaching or candidature process.
9. Read conduct, confidentiality and student-data duties
TAs may handle grades, attendance, accommodations, private questions and unpublished course materials. The practical move is to find the referenced conduct, data, assessment and communication rules. Use approved systems and escalate sensitive cases.
Test the chapter through this example: The TA keeps grade files in the authorised platform and does not discuss a student in a group chat. Keep the boundary visible: A teaching appointment does not authorise reuse of student work or disclosure of personal information.
10. Clarify ambiguous terms before accepting
Unclear hours, location, cancellation, substitution or deliverables become harder to resolve after teaching begins. The practical move is to quote the exact clause, state your understanding and ask one decision-ready question through the named office.
Test the chapter through this example: The student asks whether the stated weekly limit includes preparation and marking. Keep the boundary visible: An informal verbal answer should be recorded when it materially affects the appointment.
11. Accept, onboard and keep an accurate record
The role begins through an acceptance and onboarding sequence, not merely through enthusiasm. The practical move is to complete the required acceptance, payroll or programme forms, training and access. Track actual work, feedback and approved hours.
Test the chapter through this example: The TA signs through the stated route, completes orientation and maintains a weekly hours log. Keep the boundary visible: This article cannot resolve a pay, workload or status dispute; use the institution’s formal route and qualified help if needed.
The completed route should let another person reconstruct what the communication is for, what evidence supports it, what remains uncertain and what happens next.
Each case asks the learner to compare a quick response with a version another person can actually use.
Case 1: Name the legal and programme arrangement
Start with the worked situation: A student distinguishes paid part-time teaching from non-remunerated GAP hours before counting either. Write the most tempting shortcut, then mark the missing reader or listener need, condition, source, authority or next action.
Repair the communication by applying this method: Locate the appointment heading, appointing entity, funding source and referenced policy. Ask the authorised office when the relationship is unclear. Finish by stating why this boundary still matters: This guide cannot classify employment or enforceability; seek official or qualified advice.
Case 2: Separate contact, preparation and marking hours
Start with the worked situation: Eight tutorial hours require additional preparation and feedback time that the student schedules explicitly. Write the most tempting shortcut, then mark the missing reader or listener need, condition, source, authority or next action.
Repair the communication by applying this method: Create categories for contact, consultation, preparation, marking, meetings, training and administration. Compare each with the governing rule. Finish by stating why this boundary still matters: Claimable hours, expected effort and paid hours may be defined differently.
Case 3: Read remuneration, credit and claims separately
Start with the worked situation: The student records GAP teaching hours but does not expect a separate wage where the policy says none is paid. Write the most tempting shortcut, then mark the missing reader or listener need, condition, source, authority or next action.
Repair the communication by applying this method: Identify rate or basis, claim form, approval, pay period, credited-hour rule and any non-remuneration clause. Finish by stating why this boundary still matters: A maximum amount or number of hours is not a promise that all work will be allocated or approved.
Case 4: Clarify ambiguous terms before accepting
Start with the worked situation: The student asks whether the stated weekly limit includes preparation and marking. Write the most tempting shortcut, then mark the missing reader or listener need, condition, source, authority or next action.
Repair the communication by applying this method: Quote the exact clause, state your understanding and ask one decision-ready question through the named office. Finish by stating why this boundary still matters: An informal verbal answer should be recorded when it materially affects the appointment.
A parent, tutor, teacher or colleague can ask questions, but the learner should make the final revision in their own words and keep evidence of what changed.
Clear English is reliable when the reader can see not only what the sentence says, but also where it stops.
Boundary 1: Identify course, period and teaching population
A title such as “TA” does not reveal module, semester, class size, mode or teaching dates. Before treating the wording as complete, identify an exception, missing fact, reader who may need another route and change that would force revision.
Apply the observable signal—The letter covers tutorials for one course in Semester 2, not general department work throughout the year.—and underline the exact words carrying scope, time, permission, comparison or uncertainty. A timetable may change; determine how revisions are communicated and approved.
Boundary 2: Understand supervision and escalation
The module coordinator, department administrator, teaching mentor and thesis supervisor may own different decisions. Before treating the wording as complete, identify an exception, missing fact, reader who may need another route and change that would force revision.
Apply the observable signal—A student question about assessment policy goes to the module coordinator, not an improvised TA ruling.—and underline the exact words carrying scope, time, permission, comparison or uncertainty. A TA’s accessibility and friendliness do not create authority beyond the appointment.
Boundary 3: Read conduct, confidentiality and student-data duties
TAs may handle grades, attendance, accommodations, private questions and unpublished course materials. Before treating the wording as complete, identify an exception, missing fact, reader who may need another route and change that would force revision.
Apply the observable signal—The TA keeps grade files in the authorised platform and does not discuss a student in a group chat.—and underline the exact words carrying scope, time, permission, comparison or uncertainty. A teaching appointment does not authorise reuse of student work or disclosure of personal information.
Boundary 4: Accept, onboard and keep an accurate record
The role begins through an acceptance and onboarding sequence, not merely through enthusiasm. Before treating the wording as complete, identify an exception, missing fact, reader who may need another route and change that would force revision.
Apply the observable signal—The TA signs through the stated route, completes orientation and maintains a weekly hours log.—and underline the exact words carrying scope, time, permission, comparison or uncertainty. This article cannot resolve a pay, workload or status dispute; use the institution’s formal route and qualified help if needed.
A bounded statement is useful because a reader can test it, ask a focused question and act without treating confidence as proof.
Audience adaptation changes emphasis, vocabulary and next steps; it does not authorise a different truth.
Learner
The same teaching task can be delivered under a paid contract, graduate fellowship, scholarship requirement or developmental assignment. This person may need a different level of detail or next action.
Preserve name arrangement, name entity, check funding, find policy while adapting examples and support. Do not change the underlying fact, decision or limit simply to make the short version easier.
Teacher or adviser
A title such as “TA” does not reveal module, semester, class size, mode or teaching dates. This person may need a different level of detail or next action.
Preserve name course, name period, name learners, name coordinator while adapting examples and support. Do not change the underlying fact, decision or limit simply to make the short version easier.
Parent or colleague
“Support teaching” is too broad to plan or evaluate without specific responsibilities. This person may need a different level of detail or next action.
Preserve name output, name standard, name owner, name deadline while adapting examples and support. Do not change the underlying fact, decision or limit simply to make the short version easier.
Authorised reviewer
Salary, hourly claim, stipend, fee support and assistantship credit are not interchangeable benefits. This person may need a different level of detail or next action.
Preserve name value, check claim, check approval, check pay date while adapting examples and support. Do not change the underlying fact, decision or limit simply to make the short version easier.
Future reader
TAs may handle grades, attendance, accommodations, private questions and unpublished course materials. This person may need a different level of detail or next action.
Preserve check data rule, check assessment rule, use platform, escalate concern while adapting examples and support. Do not change the underlying fact, decision or limit simply to make the short version easier.
Successful transfer preserves identity, source, status, uncertainty, boundary and responsible action while making the route easier for this reader to follow.
A polished paragraph or fluent conversation can still conceal an unclear purpose, missing condition, invisible assumption or stale source.
Purpose test
State in one sentence what the other person should understand, decide or do. Delete a detail only if its removal does not change that outcome or a necessary boundary.
Write the expected interpretation, the reader’s or listener’s actual interpretation, the difference and one precise revision. Keep the earlier version so the learning remains visible.
Condition test
Circle words such as if, unless, before, after, may, must and only. Add the missing role, date, version or exception beside each one.
Write the expected interpretation, the reader’s or listener’s actual interpretation, the difference and one precise revision. Keep the earlier version so the learning remains visible.
Independent-person test
Give the communication to someone who was not present. Ask what they think is true, what is still unknown and what action they would take next.
Write the expected interpretation, the reader’s or listener’s actual interpretation, the difference and one precise revision. Keep the earlier version so the learning remains visible.
Change test
Imagine that a deadline, interface, source, role or policy changes tomorrow. Mark every sentence needing review and name who will update it.
Write the expected interpretation, the reader’s or listener’s actual interpretation, the difference and one precise revision. Keep the earlier version so the learning remains visible.
Close reading is practical care: it keeps language from outrunning the audience, evidence or authority behind it.
Answer each prompt in a complete sentence tied to the current task, source, reader or authorised clarification. Write “unknown” when the available information does not support an answer.
- Name arrangement? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Name entity? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Check funding? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Find policy? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Check status? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Check scholarship? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Check approval? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Check date? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Name course? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Name period? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Name learners? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
- Name coordinator? State the evidence, limit and narrow next action it supports.
Read or rehearse it aloud
Listen for sentences that postpone the answer, hide the actor, overload one step or imply certainty the source does not provide. Revise for meaning before tone.
Ask a real reader or listener
Invite a learner, parent, colleague or mentor to identify the purpose, strongest claim, important condition and next action. Treat hesitation as useful evidence.
Keep a small revision note
Record the source, date, change and reason. A short history helps the next writer avoid restoring an earlier ambiguity.
Is every graduate teaching-assistant role paid?
No. The letter and governing programme must show whether the work is paid, part of a fellowship or credited under a non-remunerated assistantship requirement.
Do preparation and marking count as teaching hours?
Rules differ. NUS ISEP currently limits how preparation and marking may be claimed and does not allow them to stand alone without contact hours.
Should I ask my thesis supervisor before accepting?
Check the current appointment and scholarship rules. Some opportunities require supervisor or department concurrence, and workload should be tested against candidature milestones.
Can a TA change a grade?
Only within the delegated assessment process. Follow the module coordinator, rubric and university policy rather than improvising authority.
What if actual hours exceed the letter?
Keep a factual record and raise the variance early through the authorised coordinator or administrator.
Can AI explain whether the contract is fair?
It can organise clauses, but it cannot give legal advice or determine rights. Use the university and qualified professional support where needed.
- NUS ISEP Graduate Assistantship Programme
- NUS CHS Teaching Opportunities
- NUS ISEP GAP and Teaching Hours
- Why English? Preparing for a Graduate Research Supervisor Meeting
- Why English? Explaining a Timetable Clash to Course Coordinators
Cycle-sensitive facts were checked against current official pages on 14 October 2026. Always reopen the authority’s live page before a real decision.