The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento
The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento
The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento
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“I want my paper to be right. I don’t want to sound stupid; I want to sound intelligent.” His sense<br />
of urgency and overall demeanor told me that he most likely was feeling frustrated and discouraged about<br />
his writing. I began the conversation with,<br />
“Can you tell me what you think the most important issues are that we need to work on today in<br />
your paper?” He focused right in on grammar,<br />
“I need help with my grammar. People can’t understand what I’m trying to say a lot of the time.<br />
My sentences don’t always make sense.” I felt focusing immediately in on the specifics of his paper<br />
would not necessarily encourage him, so I said,<br />
“Well, before we start in on your paper, why don’t you tell me about the paper prompt. <strong>The</strong>n you<br />
can share with me briefly what the primary topic and ideas are in your paper.” He agreed and proceeded<br />
to give me a clear description of the paper prompt and his ideas. He talked and I listened. When he was<br />
done, I shared,<br />
“Your ideas are interesting. I like your focus. You definitely come across as intelligent when you<br />
speak. How about we work to more closely align your verbal communication with your writing. We’ll<br />
look at your paper, make a few changes here and there.” He smiled for the first time in our session. I<br />
knew we were on the right track. Upon review of his paper, I noticed many of his sentences were runons.<br />
He appeared to be trying to include too many ideas or repeating the same ideas within many of his<br />
sentences. His paragraphs lacked clarity and needed to be organized more effectively. He was determined<br />
to focus on grammar. I realized that until he could see the HOC issues in his paper for himself, he<br />
wouldn’t be receptive to my suggestions. I asked him to begin with the first paragraph and read each<br />
sentence aloud. I then followed with directive questions,<br />
What do you think the primary subject is in this sentence?<br />
What is the idea or ideas being expressed?<br />
How does this idea(s) help to support the main idea(s) in your paper?<br />
Does it seem like any words or phrases are being repeated?<br />
How do you think this sentence connects to the sentences that came before this one in the same<br />
paragraph?<br />
Does this paragraph seem to follow a logical progression when you look at the paragraph that came just<br />
before it?<br />
He soon began to see repeated issues within the structure of his sentences, often correcting each sentence<br />
as he read. He started to make bigger connections between ideas within sentences, how those sentences<br />
were organized within paragraphs, and how each paragraph was organized within his paper. <strong>The</strong>orist,<br />
Patrick Hartwell, in his essay “Grammar, Grammars and the Teaching of Grammar,” describes this tutee’s<br />
experience, “Most students, reading their writing aloud, will correct in essence all errors of spelling,<br />
grammar, and, by intonation, punctuation, but usually without noticing that what they read departs from<br />
what they wrote” (366). This tutee did just as Hartwell described. In addition, once he felt his initial<br />
concerns over grammar were addressed, he was able to focus on HOCs. Though we were only able to<br />
cover a portion of his paper, he left that first session encouraged.<br />
<strong>The</strong> above situations are examples of tutoring sessions in which I encountered students who<br />
expressed that grammar issues were their biggest concern in their papers. By focusing in on tutees’ LOCs<br />
(when necessary), instead of ignoring those concerns and attempting to steer them directly to HOCs, we,<br />
as tutors, give tutees agency over their own writing. By viewing each tutoring session on an individual<br />
basis, letting students voice their concerns and applying techniques such as oral reading and readerresponse<br />
methods, open-ended and directive questions, constructive feedback and positive reinforcement,<br />
tutees can overcome their grammar fears and expand their perceptions. <strong>The</strong>y begin to view their papers,<br />
not as separate disconnected parts, but as parts of a cohesive whole. Blending theoretical approaches and<br />
techniques, we can develop specific strategies to meet the individual needs of our tutees. And by<br />
remembering that within the writing center, we are on an equal footing with our tutees, we can act as<br />
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