The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

her paper, I noticed she hadn’t applied any of my HOC suggestions in her writing. It dawned on me that
my original approach wasn’t working. So I commented,
“I realize that grammar is an important issue for you. I do want to point out that even though you
have some grammar that can be improved, your ideas are sound. I don’t consider your grammar issues
‘errors.’ Your paper reflects the fact that you just lack some grammar knowledge. Once your grammar
improves, your paper will be clearer to readers.”
“Yes, but my professor grades me down for grammar.” She handed me a paper she’d received
back from her professor; and sure enough, comments made on the paper reflected the professor’s focus on
grammar. The grade the student received reduced by half due to grammar issues. Yet, she was also graded
down for content, clarity and cohesion. It was clear to me then that the student’s grammar issues were
creating a rippling effect that negatively impaired other factors within her writing. I went home and
researched further. In the text ESL Writers, A Guide for Writing Center Tutors, in an essay written by
ESL professor and author Ilona Leki, titled “Before the Conversation,” she describes the perspectives of
ESL students’ struggling with grammar issues,
If students realize that their professors are relaxed about grammatical perfection and do not
penalize L2 students for errors, the students respond by focusing less on those features of their
writing. If they experience the opposite, they ratchet up their own fretting over accuracy, often to the
detriment of the substance of their writing. (9)
Wow! This was exactly what my tutee was dealing with. Because her professor was so focused in on
grammar issues, she felt grammar was the most important part of her paper needing to be addressed. I
went to the next tutoring session with new insight regarding the tutee’s situation. I began the session with,
“How about we try something new today. I would like you to read each paragraph aloud. I will
listen and provide feedback on the ideas I think you are covering within that paragraph. Then we can go
back over each sentence, one by one, to see where you might be able to make some changes that will help
present your ideas in a more clear and concise way. Ok?” The tutee was excited. She began to read. As
she read, I noticed that she often verbalized the words, phrases and/or sentences correctly. After she read
a sentence, I pointed out where her verbalization differed from what she had written. In this way, she was
able to begin connecting her reading to her writing. I suggested to her that, as she revises her papers, she
take this same approach. She was encouraged by the session, feeling that she now had a tangible
technique she could use on her own when making revisions. This is not to say that I didn’t direct her
attention, occasionally, to particular grammar concerns that were repeated throughout her papers relating
to the use of noun/verb construction, articles, conjunctions, etc. Yet, the collaboration within our sessions
improved considerably by just applying this simple oral reading technique and some positive
reinforcement. By the next session, the student was more relaxed and more receptive to focusing in on the
HOCs within her paper.
Though the tutee made progress in her writing over the semester, the progress wasn’t strictly
linear. As she focused first on grammar and then on specific HOCs in her writing within each session, she
neglected other writing issues. The development of her writing can be compared to learning a new tennis
stroke. When tennis players are developing their forehand stroke, they tend to concentrate on only one or
two aspects of the stroke in the beginning. They may focus in on just the grip, or the grip and their foot
stance, doing so to the detriment of the overall stroke. They may get frustrated, because they aren’t hitting
the ball each time, over the net, or in the direction they intend. Yet with continued practice, they
incorporate more and more parts of the whole. Eventually, the separate parts become a cohesive whole,
and the stroke becomes more natural. They begin to hit an effective forehand stroke with consistency. As
tutors, we need to give our tutees and ourselves the latitude to make adjustments, when and wherever
needed, to be patient with the process, and willing to accept that practice will eventually produce a natural
consistency in the tutees’ writing.
On another occasion, a student came in for a drop-in session. He walked up to the table, sat down,
and handed me his paper, saying,
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