Click here for pictures and stories from Jess Watson's study abroad trip
Enjoy--
J
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Mihaela observes Tim L.
Mihaela:
Tim L. and I had a very “interesting” session for the peer-observation assignment (Tim tutored, I observed). The tutee, a senior with a lengthy project, had already met with someone on Monday, after a misunderstanding regarding her scheduled appointment had been resolved, but had not managed to complete reviewing the paper during that session. Thus, she had requested a one-hour appointment on Tuesday, but had been scheduled for 30 minutes with me (my last session) and 30 minutes with Tim (his first session). This raised the question of one-hour appointments again for me, and I realized that I am still not quite clear on whether tutees can be scheduled for a full hour upon request. Considering the scope of this particular project, it seemed to me that it would have been best had the tutee been able to meet with the same tutor again (especially since she had found the previous session productive), but she ended up meeting with me and with Tim instead. Basically (and this is purely my perspective), she was not looking for much more than editing help (and, since she was sick, Tim and I both chose to read out loud as opposed to asking her to read). In retrospect, perhaps this was not the most exciting or apposite session to observe, since “nothing” happened. But as I was thinking this on my way home afterwards, I also thought that perhaps this session was very much like many of our sessions and in that sense was the most appropriate to observe. I also wondered how much Tim’s tutoring was changed by my observing, and wished that I had sat at a table nearby which may (or may not) have allowed for a more organic dynamic, if I can call it that; but this is a question that you could address, Tim, if you feel like it.
Tim:
I honestly felt like the session was exactly how I would handle a session where a student wanted editing help, but was still there to work with me. I had told the tutee before the session started that I would not just simply edit her paper. She agreed that it would be good to work with me on this paper. And I felt like she really was working with me, and I wasn’t simply an editing service.
M:
We didn’t have time to discuss any of my observations because he had a session right after, and I had to leave (but this is perhaps something that other peer-observers should do—sign themselves up for the session right after observing). So, Tim and I decided that I will e-mail him my thoughts (this section of the post) and, once he enters his own, he can post it as our collaborative work. But, to get to my specific thoughts:
1. I have been on prior occasions in passing (my leaving and his starting a session) and was again this time impressed by the balance that Tim strikes instantaneously among soft-spokenness, confidence, alertness, and calmness. In thinking about it, it seems to me a very useful (conscious or unconscious) approach, because it allows access to an array of modes, one of which could be emphasized depending on the tutee and the situation without an abrupt change in attitude.
T:
Thank you Mihaela, that is a very nice compliment!
M:
2. Tim began the session with a few “small talk” questions, which made me think about my own session beginnings and that I rarely do this, when in certain situations it may be quite useful (let the tutee catch her/his breath so to speak).
T:
I find that the small talk helps to get the tutee in their own sort of comfortable situation, especially tutees that have not been to the writing center before. They become more apt to tell me their exact feelings on a paper, rather than just being quiet and general.
M:
3. He asked about goals, which I think is necessary pretty much always (unless the tutee has been to the Writing Center many times and starts the session by discussing goals her/himself), and this opened a brief exchange about editing. The student announced awareness of editing not being the Writing Center’s purpose, and I thought it was productive that Tim elaborated on this by making an explicative note on the difference between editing a paper and working on improving a paper. (It made me wonder if we should all contribute our definitions of this distinction to a collage that we could put up on one of the walls).
T:
Most of the time that I receive tutees that want a strictly editing session, I resort to these definitions of editing and working on a paper. I feel that explaining both definitions gets repetitive and we should probably get a poster in the writing center that states both. Although, this discussion does help a lot as far as clearing the air with editing goes.
M:
4. I especially liked that Tim paused over problematic sentences and allowing the tutee to take a stab at them first, asked for clarification on the ideas expressed, and explained most of the sentence-level suggestions that he was making. I find maintaining all three of these throughout a session to be crucial, if we are not to compromise our position on editing, even though (or because?) they take time and effort. It seems to me that these are also the most critical aspects in terms of the difference pointed out above, in 3 (and wouldn’t it be a clear indication of how a tutee really feels about editing versus working on their paper, if they are not listening or answer questions carefully, or are getting annoyed that it is taking much longer than they expected?).
T:
I find that working on all three fronts will show the student exactly where I am going with their pieces to the big puzzle. Smaller orders of concerns such as the three listed above seem to be most of what I am thinking about when tutoring. The higher orders of concerns such as the general idea of the paper, and the flow of the piece are in the back of my mind, as I feel that smaller order concerns really do affect the piece more than higher order concerns do, because if you didn’t have any small orders, there would not be any large order concerns.
M:
5. In addition, when the tutee seemed uncertain about a sentence revision suggestion, Tim pointed out that it is merely a suggestion, which I find a particularly useful technique for putting a slipping dynamic back on track.
I suppose that I could keep going, but this entry may get a bit too long…
T:
To me, this session seemed to be very routine. The tutee initially wanted me to edit her piece, but I was not going to let that happen. After explaining what us tutors do in the Writing Center, the tutee seemed to be more understanding of the ways in which this session would proceed. When this situation happens, many of times I get a hint that the students eventually lose interest in their small order concerns. However, I refuse to sit back and “edit” their work. It just isn’t right to let the student boss me over and take advantage of tutors as peer editors. It seems as many tutees come in with very high expectations, and leave with a mediocre result. Perhaps the tutees think that appointments are an hour and not simply a half an hour? Or tutees really do believe that we are an editing service…
Tim L. and I had a very “interesting” session for the peer-observation assignment (Tim tutored, I observed). The tutee, a senior with a lengthy project, had already met with someone on Monday, after a misunderstanding regarding her scheduled appointment had been resolved, but had not managed to complete reviewing the paper during that session. Thus, she had requested a one-hour appointment on Tuesday, but had been scheduled for 30 minutes with me (my last session) and 30 minutes with Tim (his first session). This raised the question of one-hour appointments again for me, and I realized that I am still not quite clear on whether tutees can be scheduled for a full hour upon request. Considering the scope of this particular project, it seemed to me that it would have been best had the tutee been able to meet with the same tutor again (especially since she had found the previous session productive), but she ended up meeting with me and with Tim instead. Basically (and this is purely my perspective), she was not looking for much more than editing help (and, since she was sick, Tim and I both chose to read out loud as opposed to asking her to read). In retrospect, perhaps this was not the most exciting or apposite session to observe, since “nothing” happened. But as I was thinking this on my way home afterwards, I also thought that perhaps this session was very much like many of our sessions and in that sense was the most appropriate to observe. I also wondered how much Tim’s tutoring was changed by my observing, and wished that I had sat at a table nearby which may (or may not) have allowed for a more organic dynamic, if I can call it that; but this is a question that you could address, Tim, if you feel like it.
Tim:
I honestly felt like the session was exactly how I would handle a session where a student wanted editing help, but was still there to work with me. I had told the tutee before the session started that I would not just simply edit her paper. She agreed that it would be good to work with me on this paper. And I felt like she really was working with me, and I wasn’t simply an editing service.
M:
We didn’t have time to discuss any of my observations because he had a session right after, and I had to leave (but this is perhaps something that other peer-observers should do—sign themselves up for the session right after observing). So, Tim and I decided that I will e-mail him my thoughts (this section of the post) and, once he enters his own, he can post it as our collaborative work. But, to get to my specific thoughts:
1. I have been on prior occasions in passing (my leaving and his starting a session) and was again this time impressed by the balance that Tim strikes instantaneously among soft-spokenness, confidence, alertness, and calmness. In thinking about it, it seems to me a very useful (conscious or unconscious) approach, because it allows access to an array of modes, one of which could be emphasized depending on the tutee and the situation without an abrupt change in attitude.
T:
Thank you Mihaela, that is a very nice compliment!
M:
2. Tim began the session with a few “small talk” questions, which made me think about my own session beginnings and that I rarely do this, when in certain situations it may be quite useful (let the tutee catch her/his breath so to speak).
T:
I find that the small talk helps to get the tutee in their own sort of comfortable situation, especially tutees that have not been to the writing center before. They become more apt to tell me their exact feelings on a paper, rather than just being quiet and general.
M:
3. He asked about goals, which I think is necessary pretty much always (unless the tutee has been to the Writing Center many times and starts the session by discussing goals her/himself), and this opened a brief exchange about editing. The student announced awareness of editing not being the Writing Center’s purpose, and I thought it was productive that Tim elaborated on this by making an explicative note on the difference between editing a paper and working on improving a paper. (It made me wonder if we should all contribute our definitions of this distinction to a collage that we could put up on one of the walls).
T:
Most of the time that I receive tutees that want a strictly editing session, I resort to these definitions of editing and working on a paper. I feel that explaining both definitions gets repetitive and we should probably get a poster in the writing center that states both. Although, this discussion does help a lot as far as clearing the air with editing goes.
M:
4. I especially liked that Tim paused over problematic sentences and allowing the tutee to take a stab at them first, asked for clarification on the ideas expressed, and explained most of the sentence-level suggestions that he was making. I find maintaining all three of these throughout a session to be crucial, if we are not to compromise our position on editing, even though (or because?) they take time and effort. It seems to me that these are also the most critical aspects in terms of the difference pointed out above, in 3 (and wouldn’t it be a clear indication of how a tutee really feels about editing versus working on their paper, if they are not listening or answer questions carefully, or are getting annoyed that it is taking much longer than they expected?).
T:
I find that working on all three fronts will show the student exactly where I am going with their pieces to the big puzzle. Smaller orders of concerns such as the three listed above seem to be most of what I am thinking about when tutoring. The higher orders of concerns such as the general idea of the paper, and the flow of the piece are in the back of my mind, as I feel that smaller order concerns really do affect the piece more than higher order concerns do, because if you didn’t have any small orders, there would not be any large order concerns.
M:
5. In addition, when the tutee seemed uncertain about a sentence revision suggestion, Tim pointed out that it is merely a suggestion, which I find a particularly useful technique for putting a slipping dynamic back on track.
I suppose that I could keep going, but this entry may get a bit too long…
T:
To me, this session seemed to be very routine. The tutee initially wanted me to edit her piece, but I was not going to let that happen. After explaining what us tutors do in the Writing Center, the tutee seemed to be more understanding of the ways in which this session would proceed. When this situation happens, many of times I get a hint that the students eventually lose interest in their small order concerns. However, I refuse to sit back and “edit” their work. It just isn’t right to let the student boss me over and take advantage of tutors as peer editors. It seems as many tutees come in with very high expectations, and leave with a mediocre result. Perhaps the tutees think that appointments are an hour and not simply a half an hour? Or tutees really do believe that we are an editing service…
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
A Few Observations...
Before the break began, I observed Katie Walsh tutoring a student who wanted help with her research paper. Before I get into the specifics of this particular session, I want to echo what Katie astutely points out in her most recent post: most of us regularly observe each other quite by accident.
I, for one, get restless in the writing center. If I don't have sessions, I tend to talk incessantly, to rearrange the chairs, to disinfect, to make fifteen cups of tea and to push them on anyone around--anything but tend to the "work" I usually have in my bag.
In the backdrop of these practices, I overhear many, many interesting sessions. In Katie's case, here are a few thoughts based on everyday eavesdropping and confirmed through formal observation:
1) Katie has a good number of repeats. I attribute this fact mostly to her strong efforts to relate to and to empathize with her tutees. Repeats are likely also to do with her consistent friendliness and to her skills as an active listener and as a gentle suggester. In fact, I covered one of her shifts last term, and when I "rowed out to meet my ship," the tutee was quite disappointed to see me and not Katie.
2) Katie usually sits more next to than across from her tutees. She also tends to talk with her tutee in a tone that would suggest a friendship that preceeds the meeting, though other information indicates that her tutees are not her friends, at least outside the center.
3) Like many of the tutors reading this post, Katie usually will give her tutees more than 30 minutes if she does not have other sessions scheduled.
4) She is, as most of you already know, a genuinely nice person. I've never seen her be short with or curt to her tutees. She laughs with them and tries to draw them out.
5) Through a casual back-and-forth, she is able to make the tutee feel like an informal conversation is unfolding. Other tutors probably notice, though, that she has an agenda; she is conveying some valuable information on effective writing practices for college writers.
Now, here are some notes from the actual and official observation of her session. I want to say, from the outset, that this session was a tough one. I think she hung in there and tried her best, but the student was not the easiest. This is not to say that the student was recalcitrant or even mildly unlpleasant; the tutee was neither. She was just a bit on the hard-to-figure-out side. Was she tired? Apathetic? I couldn't tell. Confused? What, specifically, did she want from the writing center/from Katie?
Tip: Katie and I have discovered that, if one tutors in the collaboration station room, then a peer can observe undetected from the desk just below the cut-out.
Note: Katie and I talked, afterward, about how this session might have gone better if the collaboration station had been working. It was in the computer hospital in the basement of the library, though, getting its mouth cleaned out with soap, or pepper put on its tongue or whatever the fitting punishment is for naughty computers who've uploaded a lot of porn. Aly, when is that "no porn, no flossing" sign going to be ready?
No more digressions. Here goes:
The tutee wanted help with her thesis statement, so Katie asks about the assignment. Although the tutee does not have an assignment sheet with her, she does try her best to explain the assignment. She seems overwhelmed. Katie asks if she is nervous about the paper. I noticed that Katie as very careful in her efforts to steer the tutee away from concern with the thesis statement and toward a focus on critical researching.
Katie commends the tutee's printed out search results from JStor, suggests a few other databases, and suggests a number of alternate search terms. She also tries to refine the thesis with the student and to get the tutee to clarify her thesis based on the research, but the tutee is reluctant. It seems that the professor has "approved" the thesis, so the tutee does not want to part with her original plan.
Katie is gentle in her approach here: she suggests alternatives, but she leaves the option to stick to the original thesis entirely up to the student. (The tutee wants to find articles that make a specific argument to do with families' incomes and the effects these have on children. Katie notices that the tutee has found more on "working mothers").
In keeping with her conversational style, Katie says things like "So, you know what your thesis statement is, right?" and "This source looks useful/less useful" and "Does any source strike you as the strongest?" "Can you tell me what the argument is in this one?" "If you are focusing on dual income families, then you should probably decide what you want to focus on within that topic."
During the bulk of the session, Katie is trying to slowly and carefully get the tutee to evaluate and to summarize sources, to create a manageable list of related and reputable articles, and to try to find books as well as articles (she strongly suggests the library). She also offers a sort of mini-lesson on evaluating sources.
All of the casual back and forth, I can tell, is deliberate on Katie's part. She is helping the tutee to discern central arguments and to evaluate the evidence used in the articles the student has collected--all through what sounds like a chat between two friends. She pulls this off through many, many casually phrased questions interspliced with expressions of empathy, understanding, and comradary. What is most impressive, to me, is her "hidden" agenda--to get the tutee to come to realize that her thesis is not going to work. It may not come to the tutee while she is sitting in the writing center, but I am sure she will have that epiphany if she continues to follow Katie's friendly advice on evaluating other writers' arguments/uses of evidence, etc.
Katie is a tutor I admire, and I am very glad that I got a chance to observe her. For all the other eavesdroppers out there: check her out!
I, for one, get restless in the writing center. If I don't have sessions, I tend to talk incessantly, to rearrange the chairs, to disinfect, to make fifteen cups of tea and to push them on anyone around--anything but tend to the "work" I usually have in my bag.
In the backdrop of these practices, I overhear many, many interesting sessions. In Katie's case, here are a few thoughts based on everyday eavesdropping and confirmed through formal observation:
1) Katie has a good number of repeats. I attribute this fact mostly to her strong efforts to relate to and to empathize with her tutees. Repeats are likely also to do with her consistent friendliness and to her skills as an active listener and as a gentle suggester. In fact, I covered one of her shifts last term, and when I "rowed out to meet my ship," the tutee was quite disappointed to see me and not Katie.
2) Katie usually sits more next to than across from her tutees. She also tends to talk with her tutee in a tone that would suggest a friendship that preceeds the meeting, though other information indicates that her tutees are not her friends, at least outside the center.
3) Like many of the tutors reading this post, Katie usually will give her tutees more than 30 minutes if she does not have other sessions scheduled.
4) She is, as most of you already know, a genuinely nice person. I've never seen her be short with or curt to her tutees. She laughs with them and tries to draw them out.
5) Through a casual back-and-forth, she is able to make the tutee feel like an informal conversation is unfolding. Other tutors probably notice, though, that she has an agenda; she is conveying some valuable information on effective writing practices for college writers.
Now, here are some notes from the actual and official observation of her session. I want to say, from the outset, that this session was a tough one. I think she hung in there and tried her best, but the student was not the easiest. This is not to say that the student was recalcitrant or even mildly unlpleasant; the tutee was neither. She was just a bit on the hard-to-figure-out side. Was she tired? Apathetic? I couldn't tell. Confused? What, specifically, did she want from the writing center/from Katie?
Tip: Katie and I have discovered that, if one tutors in the collaboration station room, then a peer can observe undetected from the desk just below the cut-out.
Note: Katie and I talked, afterward, about how this session might have gone better if the collaboration station had been working. It was in the computer hospital in the basement of the library, though, getting its mouth cleaned out with soap, or pepper put on its tongue or whatever the fitting punishment is for naughty computers who've uploaded a lot of porn. Aly, when is that "no porn, no flossing" sign going to be ready?
No more digressions. Here goes:
The tutee wanted help with her thesis statement, so Katie asks about the assignment. Although the tutee does not have an assignment sheet with her, she does try her best to explain the assignment. She seems overwhelmed. Katie asks if she is nervous about the paper. I noticed that Katie as very careful in her efforts to steer the tutee away from concern with the thesis statement and toward a focus on critical researching.
Katie commends the tutee's printed out search results from JStor, suggests a few other databases, and suggests a number of alternate search terms. She also tries to refine the thesis with the student and to get the tutee to clarify her thesis based on the research, but the tutee is reluctant. It seems that the professor has "approved" the thesis, so the tutee does not want to part with her original plan.
Katie is gentle in her approach here: she suggests alternatives, but she leaves the option to stick to the original thesis entirely up to the student. (The tutee wants to find articles that make a specific argument to do with families' incomes and the effects these have on children. Katie notices that the tutee has found more on "working mothers").
In keeping with her conversational style, Katie says things like "So, you know what your thesis statement is, right?" and "This source looks useful/less useful" and "Does any source strike you as the strongest?" "Can you tell me what the argument is in this one?" "If you are focusing on dual income families, then you should probably decide what you want to focus on within that topic."
During the bulk of the session, Katie is trying to slowly and carefully get the tutee to evaluate and to summarize sources, to create a manageable list of related and reputable articles, and to try to find books as well as articles (she strongly suggests the library). She also offers a sort of mini-lesson on evaluating sources.
All of the casual back and forth, I can tell, is deliberate on Katie's part. She is helping the tutee to discern central arguments and to evaluate the evidence used in the articles the student has collected--all through what sounds like a chat between two friends. She pulls this off through many, many casually phrased questions interspliced with expressions of empathy, understanding, and comradary. What is most impressive, to me, is her "hidden" agenda--to get the tutee to come to realize that her thesis is not going to work. It may not come to the tutee while she is sitting in the writing center, but I am sure she will have that epiphany if she continues to follow Katie's friendly advice on evaluating other writers' arguments/uses of evidence, etc.
Katie is a tutor I admire, and I am very glad that I got a chance to observe her. For all the other eavesdroppers out there: check her out!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Listening
We were asked to observe a fellow tutor in the writing center this semester. I found this funny because I am constantly observing other tutors. I observe without meaning to when I do not have a session of my own. Last semester I paid particular attention to fellow tutor’s sessions because I hoped to learn tips from them. Observation paid off, in my case. I would observe, and through observation, began to realize what aspects of their tutoring style I wanted to adapt myself. For example, I learned from observation that student’s tended to enjoy reading there papers aloud. I noticed that the students who were asked to read aloud were able to catch their own mistakes. This helped the students help themselves do something that perhaps they would not have done without guidance. It made the student feel that this paper was entirely their own because they caught the mistakes that they made. I feel that listening to other sessions is something that is unavoidable and beneficial.
What is the moral?
You can’t help but listen, and it helps you to listen.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
On a Mission for a Statement
At Wednesday's meeting, we discussed creating a mission statement for our writing center. Here is our current "statement":
"The Writing Center provides assistance to writers from across the University community. Offering a mix of appointment-based and walk-in tutoring appointments, the Writing Center also makes writing resources available to students and teachers on the Kingston campus. The Center employs as tutors both undergraduate and graduate students, who work with writers as a complement to their University studies.
Western Carolina University: They have a list of ethics which was kind of cool:
"The Writing Center provides assistance to writers from across the University community. Offering a mix of appointment-based and walk-in tutoring appointments, the Writing Center also makes writing resources available to students and teachers on the Kingston campus. The Center employs as tutors both undergraduate and graduate students, who work with writers as a complement to their University studies.
The Writing Center is also a research center. While working in the Writing Center, tutors may participate in research studies that add to knowledge about writing center practices. Research studies also provide a means for inquiring into broader problems in writing, rhetoric, and education. Graduate and undergraduate tutors have the opportunity to present at local and national writing center conferences and to publish their reflections and research."
As you can see, we need a mission statement. I've picked out some good example statements (in my opinion) from other colleges' writing centers:
Endicott College: "Tutors facilitate student-writers' own efforts and processes. They do not edit or do work for students. Instead, they encourage students to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and to understand how and why changes can be made." --We discussed this Wednesday, but I would like to repeat how Endicott states what their tutors do not do.Western Carolina University: They have a list of ethics which was kind of cool:
- "Tutors will not write papers for students or assume ownership of a student's paper or ideas.
- Tutors will not comment negatively to students about instructors' teaching methods, assignments, personalities, or grading policies.
- Tutors will honor the confidentiality of the tutoring relationship.
- Tutors will honor the professionalism and varied ability of fellow tutors, requesting assistance when necessary and offering assistance when invited to do so."
IUPUI University: "The University Writing Center is a free service available to all IUPUI students, faculty, and staff, at both the graduate and undergraduate level. If you are a student, staff, or faculty member, the Writing Center is a place where you can sit down with an experienced reader who will provide assistance with your writing. UWC tutors aid both experienced and inexperienced writers at all stages of the writing process, and in any discipline. Additionally, tutors can assist you with other writing-related projects such as resumes, scholarship letters, etc..." --I thought that this statement reflected our writing center well. And it really opens the center up and encourages its use, as its light language reflects.
Central Washington University: "They guide their peers toward communication that is effective in a global and diverse environment, during and after studying at Central." --Always thinking about the future!
I think that these are a few good examples of some of the things we may want to include. What are some other thoughts?
Central Washington University: "They guide their peers toward communication that is effective in a global and diverse environment, during and after studying at Central." --Always thinking about the future!
I think that these are a few good examples of some of the things we may want to include. What are some other thoughts?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Overwhelmed
I believe as Tim A. was writing his post on Wednesday, I was coming up with the same idea in mine.
Wednesday, the 24th, was two full hours of, “Can you edit this?” “Can you take a look and let me know what needs to be fixed?” “I’m not sure what we should work on, specifically.”
Not that I mind helping students out with their work, I however mind the word edit. The word edit, as defined by dictionary.com is “to supervise or direct the preparation of (a newspaper, magazine, book, etc.); serve as editor of; direct the editorial policies of.” I am NOT an editor. I am a tutor. The word tutor from dictionary.com is “a person employed to instruct another in some branch or branches of learning.” I am here to teach you about yourself as a writer and to help you progress with the English language as well as progress your use of rhetoric. If I were an editor, and all of us at the Writing Center were editors, this would be called the Editing Center.
Is there or should there be a preface to a session? Some sort of message that comes with booking an appointment that says something along the lines of “In order for tutee and tutor to work together, please work alongside your tutor and engage with your text as clearly as possible” or “Please come to your tutoring session prepared and ready to specifically state your exact wants/needs from a session (i.e. editing is not a specific enough qualification for a session).”
Maybe I’m stressed out because school is getting busy, or maybe I’m onto something here. That is something I would like to discuss with all of you. What are your thoughts on this matter? What do you do when students have nothing more to say than “Can you edit this?” Do all students (whether they say it or not) want a free edit? Is it wrong of me to want more substance than the process of editing?
Wednesday, the 24th, was two full hours of, “Can you edit this?” “Can you take a look and let me know what needs to be fixed?” “I’m not sure what we should work on, specifically.”
Not that I mind helping students out with their work, I however mind the word edit. The word edit, as defined by dictionary.com is “to supervise or direct the preparation of (a newspaper, magazine, book, etc.); serve as editor of; direct the editorial policies of.” I am NOT an editor. I am a tutor. The word tutor from dictionary.com is “a person employed to instruct another in some branch or branches of learning.” I am here to teach you about yourself as a writer and to help you progress with the English language as well as progress your use of rhetoric. If I were an editor, and all of us at the Writing Center were editors, this would be called the Editing Center.
Is there or should there be a preface to a session? Some sort of message that comes with booking an appointment that says something along the lines of “In order for tutee and tutor to work together, please work alongside your tutor and engage with your text as clearly as possible” or “Please come to your tutoring session prepared and ready to specifically state your exact wants/needs from a session (i.e. editing is not a specific enough qualification for a session).”
Maybe I’m stressed out because school is getting busy, or maybe I’m onto something here. That is something I would like to discuss with all of you. What are your thoughts on this matter? What do you do when students have nothing more to say than “Can you edit this?” Do all students (whether they say it or not) want a free edit? Is it wrong of me to want more substance than the process of editing?
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