You are invited to a Public Workshop!

Y'all are cordially invited to attend a public workshop of public documents on Wednesday, December 2, from 11-11:50am in Swan 202.

My WRT 106 students are currently working on their public documents, which include such genres as pamphlets, flyers, posters, bulletin boards, and more, and they would love to hear what you have to say about the construction of the documents! The students will have their public document drafts (or prototypes) on display throughout our usual class time and will be awaiting your questions and comments. We are most interested in hearing how these documents succeed or fail at grabbing your attention and conveying a clear message.

You can contact me directly with questions and concerns at: nicoleamyers@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you at this very special event! And please spread the word to help ensure a decent sized turn out!

The Elusive Thesis

So this one will be a little bit more of a vent, I think- I had the worst session yesterday, and what's even worse is that I was being observed by a tutor-in-training. Oh my goodness. A student came in with a 104 analysis assigment, upon which the teacher had written that he hadn't analyzed so much summarized and re-summarized. Quickly glancing over his paper, I saw that this was true, so I set out to try and get him to understand what a "summary" and "analysis" are- define and contrast them so that he could see for himself what kinds of information are expected within each. But the kid wouldn't really talk. He seemed completely invested in remaining confused and perplexed, and the harder I tried to explain, the more question I asked, the more angles I tried, the more he balked, looked blank, and responded with "I dunno...".

I've taught 104 before, and I do know how hard it is to get students to write an analysis that is neither summary nor judgment, but as the pencil in the hand of the observant tutor started into action I really started to panic. It felt like we were getting nowhere, to both of us, and then, with 10 minutes left to go he said "Well, I just need a thesis. Thats all I need, a thesis". Argh! So he was not complying because he was looking for a specific thing, but by this point he was practically confusing ME. "This is just what a session isn't supposed to look like," I thought, "I should have just let him direct the session from the beginning, and now this poor tutor is going to see an example of everything going wrong!...and probably talk about it in class... I should have (insert any and every alternative tutoring session script here)".

What does a thesis for an analysis look like, anyway? I had always assumed, and said, that it should basically be a summary of what the analysis discovered- that the author, working in a specified context, wrote this work to achieve specified effects, and used specified features. Anyone? And any happy being-observed stories, so that I know that that poor class won't just have a horror story?

WRT 106ers and the Argument

Hello all! This week my WRT 106 students are immersed in argumentative writing. Their 10 page arguments, which should utilize at least 10 sources, are based on their semester long research projects. This is common throughout all of the WRT 106 courses. However, I have asked my students to approach argument in a way that is a little bit different. For instance, I have asked them to use the argument as a way of exploring their issue in a deeper way with/for an audience of their own choosing or as a way of persuading that audience, but to avoid looking at it as a win/lose genre. Because of this, some of their thesis statements may seem strange because they are using a formula that looks like this:
Topic + comment about topic = thesis

A second strange aspect of my version of this assignment is that I have been stressing argument as a way of leading an audience through a train of thought. My students are asked to examine the way in which they came to know their thesis statements (ie how do they know that shark populations are declining or that living off the grid is a way of combating climate change) and then to lead their audience on that same journey. So far, this has led a lot of them to thinking about the introduction as spanning more than a single paragraph, which I am loving!

So why am I telling y'all about this on the blog? Well, today is their workshop in class and the final draft if due on Monday. I have stressed for over a week that because this is such a lengthy assignment and is worth more than any of their other projects so far (a whole 8 points), that they really need to make an appointment with me or stop into the Writing Center for help and a pair of fresh eyes. First of all, since I am hoping that at least a handful if not more of them will actually stop in, I thought that a little background on my own approach in the classroom this semester might be helpful and could avoid any confusion if you encounter a thesis that may not initially appear to be an argument. Also, the way that each WRT 106 section is set up, some will be on the argument right now, while others may be on the public document. I thought it could be beneficial to throw that info out there to be aware of what may be wandering in in the next few weeks.

To Google or not to Google, that is the question

Towards the beginning of the semester, I frequently debated this topic of research-- I have now felt it necessary to share with you, and in turn gain some feedback on your own opinions and experiences!

Here's a frequent scenario:
Student (9/10 times, a freshman) comes into writing center with an assignment to analyze thematic element within a text -- sometimes one page of text, other times an entire novel of text.

Their Problem(s):
They either can't find any thematic elements themselves, or they don't understand the text enough to explain it, never mind find a thematic element.

My Problem(s) (as tutor):
A. I've either never read the text.
B. I don't have enough time to read the entire text.
Conclusion: Therefore, I cannot establish any grounds with them as to what thematic elements the text may incorporate.

Possible Solutions:
1. Research
2. Try and name off a few common thematic elements I know are explored in gen. ed courses I've taken previously
3. Ask other tutors if they've read the text before

After going through #2 and #3, I am left with research, which has proven to be the most useful tool for me in college literature courses. The debate however, is how 'academically moral' it is to show them these tools and resources that I have discovered and use today.

When I have asked the tutees if they've done any outside research from the text itself, the assignment sheet, and class discussion, more often than not, they had not.

Now while my first instinct when I don't understand something (or know something) is to do research, most of my tutees haven't even had the thought cross their minds.

The piece of information that I've been sharing with them is the following:
These texts that your professors require you to read have (more often than not) been read by many other people, for many, many years. Hence, there is an abundance of information on the texts available to you through various mediums including but not limited to: the Internet, library books, text books, book reviews, journals, film, radio interview etc.

Now personally, I don't find outside research on thematic elements to be a form of plagiarism.
The only time when I feel it becomes plagiarism is if they are taking that recycled thematic element, and using the same information, textual support, facts, research etc. from that source, and not citing it properly-- or acting as if they came to the conclusion themselves.

The good thing (for their professor and the students academic well-being) about these popular texts and articles is that most of the professors are well aware of the information 'out there' on the texts, and can (more often than not) tell when a student is indeed plagiarizing. Therefore, I don't think outside resources are condoning plagiarism, I think they are enriching the learning comprehension experience for a struggling student who understands how to use them properly and honestly.

Now here comes the interactive question:
Do you feel that if a tutee comes in with the above scenario, is it academically moral for me to share my own personal tools of knowledge, and to show them (if needed) resources online (since the Internet is the closest source of reference to/in the writing center) so that their writing processes may proceed?
Also, as we help them brainstorm ideas for papers, essays etc., is helping them utilize online resources to brainstorm themselves close to the same thing?

Thanks for reading!

2 Hours with a Tutee

On Monday I came into the writing center at 10:30 with no appointments--which has been the case recently as it seems to be a slow part of the semester. Amanda was working with a student who had a first draft of a nursing report. Thirty minutes were up for her and she had another appointment waiting in reception. I told her she had someone waiting and asked if she needed me to pick up her next appointment if she wasn't ready yet. She asked if I could finish up with the student she was working with so she could meet with her next appointment. I agreed, and quickly realized that this student wanted Amanda and I to go over his report sentence by sentence. After I worked with him, he made another appointment with Amanda and asked me if I had any appointments. I felt I couldn't lie and told him I didn't and he made a second appointment with me. It took Amanda and I two combined hours to go through his seven page report. Most of the errors were grammatical and all I was doing was reading aloud and asking him what he felt sounded weird or incorrect. By the end of the two hours, I think he had the ability to fix his own mistakes. Though I felt he learned something, I definitely felt used. At the end of my second session, I made it clear to him that it isn't our job to go through his entire paper and that he does not need to make any more appointments (he actually was going to make a THIRD appointment with Amanda). I said that we need to reserve our time for other students that need our help. It was very awkward and he left without a thank you. I feel bad that this happened but I also feel like it quickly spun out of my control. UGH.

Stop the Hate Campaign @ URI: "The Time is Now"

In light the recent offensive, inexcusable events on campus (noted in an email sent to all students, entitled "Memo: From President Dooley," & a list of which may be found on this event's facebook page) Christina Knoll, a URI student, has launched a Student Movement Against Hate Crimes at URI. Christina encourages students and organizations on campus to create anti-hate t-shirts, displaying "I will not stand for hate crimes at URI," and wear them as many times as possible in the coming weeks. T-Shirts are also being printed and handed our for free on campus.

In addition, Christina has organized a demonstration for Wednesday, November 18th at noon. She urges students to meet her on the Quad for a 15 minute moment of silence, protesting hate crimes at URI. Professors on campus will also be alerted about the demonstration and encouraged to host the 15 minutes of silence in their classrooms at noon, too.

We will be in our weekly Wednesday WCenter meeting during this time. I move to have the URI Wcenter tutors participate in this 15 minutes of silence, or -- as I understand we have a mere 50 minutes of time together to reflect and discuss -- at the very least discuss tolerance and/or intolerance with regard to tutoring and the WCenter. While I am aware we already dedicated one meeting to diversity earlier in the semester, these recent events clearly stress the significance of this topic, and I believe mention of it during next week's meeting would be not only be educational but -- if these recent events are any indication -- necessary.

If you are interested in learning more about the Stop the Hate Campaign on campus, contact Christina Knoll via Facebook, or pick up a flyer in the Memorial Union. I will be bringing copies of these flyers to the WCenter tomorrow morning.

An Effective Session

I feel like my last few posts have all been when I'm upset or pessimistic, so this time I'll mention a session that I had last week that was really good.

The student I worked with was writing a paper for her WRT 104 class (I think that's what it was). She had to describe an antique store that she went to and make it realistic to the reader, kind of like a portrait of a person would be. When she came in, she brought all of her notes from her trip to the store and a draft. Her draft wasn't long enough, so she wanted to add some length, but her main concern was that she wasn't capturing the right feel of the antique store--she wanted to add some more "creepy" feeling to her paper.

Needless to say, that was an awesome session. We spent forty minutes going through her paper, with me telling her every time her paper freaked me out like she was trying to do to her reader, and we made a list of several other items in the store that she could describe, like a portrait of a scared man looking out the window. Unlike many other students that I've worked with, she was really receptive to my comments and criticisms and actually had a pen out the whole time, writing down suggestions and brainstorming new paragraphs. It was a real treat for me not to spend the time fixing basic problems (she was a really good writer), but actually getting creative and helping her make a great paper. I'd love to find out what her professor thought.

I guess my point is that often, good stuff happens here, and this case reminded me that I'm not always a tutor, but most of the time I am a student too and I can learn from the people who come here. So this is a happy rant...