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The first exercise in learning how to be a writing tutor was to work
with one. This was a totally new experience for me. The Online Writing
Lab (OWL) has always been available to me as an EOU student; however,
until I took this class I had never utilized its services. In fact,
I have never worked with a tutor at all. I thought that you only went
to a tutor when you were on the brink of failing a class. Since I
have never needed such "remediation" in the past, I didn't
think an online tutor would be all that helpful for me. I was also
wary that there might some miscommunication between the tutor and
myself, particularly with the absence of body language and voice inflection
that helps give meaning to what we are saying when we say it face
to face (St. Martin 233.) So, with reluctance, I submitted my first
draft to OWL and nervously awaited a response. The online tutoring experience was more helpful than I expected.
The comments from my tutor, Theresa, were very clear and directed
at specific areas, such as providing additional detail to some of
my examples for clarity purposes. Even though I knew this is what
I should expect from the OWL tutor, it still surprised me at how comfortable
I was with her remarks and how easy it was to incorporate her suggestions.
As a result of this exercise, I began to see tutoring as less of a
"remedial" experience and more of a collaborative one. Although
I had read about collaboration between tutor and writer in the St.
Martin's text, it did not have much meaning until I experienced it
in person. The experience of observing tutors, both real and fictional, was
another valuable learning exercise. As a person who processes information
better visually than auditorily or kinesthetically, I found it very
helpful to read the tutors comments and compare them with my own thoughts
on a student's draft. Often I would have the same questions about
purpose, thesis and audience as the tutor. For me, this exercise removed
a lot of the "mystery" behind tutoring. I could see that
there was no magic involved, only the utilization of simple tools
such as a tree diagram or the functional outline, to help with underdeveloped
ideas or disorganization (Clark 121-25.) After being tutored and observing tutors, it was time to try and
put theory to practice. It was a little unnerving, reading and analyzing
a draft for the first time, without the benefit of another tutor's
comments to guide me through it. Again, the tools in the Clark text,
as well as the resources found in the "Writer Tutor Corner"
on OWL's website, gave me the place to start and the confidence to
overcome my anxiety. The discussion board was also a very helpful
tool: it was interesting how each of us could review the same essay
and still find something different to comment on. While not a tool
for writer tutors per se, the discussion board was great for giving
and receiving feedback to each other, thus strengthening our tutoring
skills further. Face-to-face tutoring was more challenging than I originally thought
it would be. This may have had more to do with who I was tutoring,
rather than the method, however. For convenience and time, I chose
my daughter, Bethany, and discovered quickly what a mistake it was.
To begin with, I don't think she wasn't very interested in having
"mom" look at one of her papers for her Writing 121 class
and even though she said she would help me, she always seemed to forget
to bring me a draft. I am certain that this is not typical of working
with students-I doubt that tutors have to run down students in order
to get a hold of their assignment! When I told Bethany I was nearly
out of time, she finally gave me a copy of a reflection paper she
submitted earlier in the term about growing up with her little brother
on a Christmas tree farm. She did not have any drafts she was working
on because her instructor cancelled classes and moved up the deadlines
for assignments because she [instructor] kept going into premature
labor. So, having an already completed assignment in hand, I focused
on using the Writing Center "Best Practices Checklist" to
evaluate her paper and guide our tutoring session. This did not prove
as difficult as getting the assignment! After talking with her about
purpose, thesis and audience, I suggested a couple of tools for guiding
her writing in the future (specifically, using the function outline
as well as Hacker's A Writer's Reference to help with grammar.) Overall,
the experience was positive and she never once threw her paper at
me! I learned a lot this term, and it was not only about tutoring. I
discovered that learning how to tutor, like writing, is clearly a
process that builds upon each new competency. But I also learned that
the two skills, tutoring and writing, strengthen and compliment each
other. As I learned more about what to look for in a draft, I saw
that attention to detail carry over into my own writing. I truly believe
I am a better writer now as a result of this class, which was an unexpected
outcome for me. So, even if I never have the opportunity to tutor
again, I will always remember to think purpose, thesis and audience
in all my writing in the future.
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