WR 220: Methods of Tutoring

Study Guide #5:  Working with Drafts:  Purpose, Thesis, Audience, Genre

Readings:

Clark, Chap. 5 "Purpose, Thesis, Audience, Genre”

St. Martin's, Fulwiler, "Provocative Revision"

1) Working with Clark's key principles for working with a student (see A, B, C below), write out exactly what you might say to Alison (see her paper on p. 22) in the areas below.  Write as if this is a script and you are giving me the tutor's lines. Use a lot of open-ended questions to get Alison thinking in the direction you think it is important for her to go. Also try to give her specific tools she might use.

Before you begin the exercise below, reread "Approching a Draft Through Purpose, Thesis, and Genre: Points of Contact"  on pp. 113-115. With this information in mind, provide observations and questions for Alison below:

     A)  Principle 1:  Tutors should encourage students with words of praise and note improvement whenever possible. (So what would you say to Alison?)

     B)  Principle 2:  In general, tutors should discuss global areas of a text, in particular concepts of purpose, thesis, audience, and genre, before they address surface problems. (So what would you say to Alison?)

     C)  Principle 3:  Tutors should focus on only a few aspects of a text at a time.  Neither tutors nor students should expect that the text will be “perfect” after only one or two visits to the writing center.  (So what would you say to Alison?)

2)  According to Clark, why read a draft aloud with a student?

3)  What are some reasons not to read aloud?  What can you have the student do while you are reading silently?

On Campus Students:  We will do 4, 5, and 6 in class. Prepare for our discussion by reading Daniel's paper on pp. 116-118.

Online Students:  Complete 4, 5, and 6 in writing.

4)  Read Daniel's paper on "Euthanasia." What would you praise in Daniel's paper on "Euthanasia"?

5)  If you had to focus on just two global areas (content) in Daniel's paper that need attendtion, what would they be?

6)  What local error patterns would you focus on in Daniel's paper?