The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

Step 2: Learning to Praise Equally
While many composition scholars and instructors acknowledge the positive effects praise has on student
writing, many do not even recognize that their praise often does not seem to be dispersed equally. In fact,
throughout my time at the Writing Center, I have noticed that individuals seem much more likely to praise
students that they consider to be weaker writers than students characterized as strong writers. What
causes this inequality in the dispersion of praise and why do we differentiate between the achievements of
more- and less-able writers?
After recording some of my recent tutoring sessions, I noted that I praise “weak” writers twice as
much on average than students whose writing I consider stronger or less error-filled. I especially neglect
to praise students with only low-order concerns on their papers compared to students who still need
assistance with the fundamentals of writing such as organization, analysis, and support. However, while I
do not consciously recognize that I refrain from praising students with stronger writing skills, I wonder to
what extent I am actually impeding their growth as writers by withholding praise or by praising them only
for truly outstanding work?
In a 1972 study conducted by Thomas Gee, the author found that “students whose composition
received either criticism alone or no commentary at all developed significantly more negative attitudes
toward writing than students whose composition received only praise” ( Daiker 156). Moreover, Gee’s
study determined that after only four weeks, “students who received only negative comments or none at
all were writing papers significantly shorter than those of students who were praised” (Daiker 156). As
this study proves, even a lack of praise seems to have negative consequences on the quality of students’
work; therefore, it seems crucial that even strong writers receive acknowledgement for their
accomplishments because failure to provide such support may in fact be crippling their desire to continue
writing at the same level of excellence.
Step 3: Making Praise an Everyday Habit
Now that you have learned the importance of praising students in an equal manner, regardless of their
level of ability, there are a few additional reminders that will aid you in best utilizing praise as a means of
positive reinforcement.
Reminder 1: Allow Students to Experience Success on a Consistent Basis
As Daiker notes, “since positive reinforcement, or its lack, is so crucial to a student’s level of writing
apprehension,” one way to reduce this apprehension and support writers regardless of their skill level, “is
by allowing [all] students to experience success with writing” on a consistent bases (156). Tutors can
immediately implement this change by becoming more aware of themselves as individuals whose positive
feedback affects the confidence of students and consequentially their work as writers. Every student
should have the opportunity to experience success as a writer and, while it may be more difficult to find
moments of praise in the work of strong writers, there are always areas that improve in their work and
therefore deserve recognition. For instance, students who are strong writers often will attempt to use
language in innovative, very personal ways in order to establish their identity as authors. Tutors should
praise students for such an attempt (even if it fails) because the student at least made the effort to
experiment with style, voice, tone, etc… In addition, you can always praise students for insights that are
especially well-articulated or profound or that teach you new ways of looking at the material or at the
world.
Reminder 2: Praise Needs to Be Genuine to be Effective
Regardless of what you choose to praise in your student’s writing remember that the praise needs to be
genuine and paper-specific. As Nancy Sommers notes in “Responding to Student Writing,” “most
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