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Welcome to the
Writing Center.
We are happy to have you join the Writing Center
staff. Our center's success depends on you, the tutor. We cannot successfully assist the
Bluefield College student body and faculty without your dedicated and professional
assistance.
As we expand our Writing Center staff of tutors to include faculty members from
disciplines other than English, we embark upon an adventure in education that we hope will
lead to better writing skills for all Bluefield College graduates, as well as a lifelong
love and appreciation of good writing. The ability to communicate ideas effectively is
essential for everyone in today's competitive world, and we must emphasize this to our
students as we help them to develop writing skills.
Each of you brings to the Center the wealth of your experience in your
academic discipline, and we are excited about the possibilities for enriching the Writing
Center that this diversity of talent offers. Unity is also imperative. In order to best
serve our students, we will continue the basic tutoring policies with which the students
are familiar and which we believe have led to a successful program in the past. In
addition, we are excited to include some improvements that have resulted from our research
about writing centers at other colleges and universities. We hope that this Writing Center
Manual will acquaint you with our basic procedures and requirements, and we hope it will
answer many of the questions that may surface as you begin your tutoring experience.
We appreciate your willingness to be a part of the Bluefield College Writing Center. Your
enthusiasm for writing and your belief that strong writing skills are vital for success
are the contribution we need.
Thank you,
Mickey Pellillo
Director
The Tutor as Facilitator
The Philosophy and Goals of the Bluefield Writing Center
The Bluefield College Writing Center is not in the business of writing student papers.
We believe that’s what students are supposed to do. Our writing tutors don’t
smother students’ papers in red ink, either. We don’t think that’s any way
to teach writing.
One of the most difficult characteristics for an effective writing tutor to
cultivate—and one of the most essential—is restraint. In order to help students
learn to write good papers, tutors must resist the temptation, for example, to correct
every grammatical mistake and rewrite awkward sentences. The philosophy of the Writing
Center is that tutors are facilitators, those who assist the progress of others. Through a
careful process of interview, discussion, and coaching, tutors help students acquire and
master the skills they need to become independent writers.
Tutors may guide and instruct students in strategies for generating ideas, narrowing
thesis statements, and developing and organizing thoughts. Tutors may point out weak or
confusing sections of assignments or papers, as well as grammar and punctuation problems.
Tutors should not, however, write or correct anything. Tutors at the Bluefield College
Writing Center are not here to do any work for students; we are here to provide students
with the strategies they need to help themselves.
Our goals are simple:
- To help students become independent writers.
We want students to learn to write without our help; if we do nothing more with writing
sessions than correct grammatical mistakes and search for better words in the thesaurus
while students sit passively and watch us, then we are wasting valuable opportunities to
encourage students to examine their own thoughts and to consider how best to express them.
- To teach writing as a process.
We believe that writing is a process, a process that incorporates several stages from
unstructured brainstorming to painstaking revision, a process that students must learn
over time. For this reason, we encourage students to work with writing tutors several
times during the course of a paper assignment.
In order to meet these goals, we have developed a game plan complete with numerous
strategies, which we have outlined in 15 Essential Steps to Effective Tutoring. But first,
the Writing Process We Preach that follows is required reading.
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Policies
Please observe the following policies, which allow the Bluefield
College Writing Center to best administer to students and to track our progress, our
successes, and our need for improvement.
Tutor as Facilitator
The role of the tutor as a facilitator has been discussed in depth earlier in the manual.
Record Keeping
Accurate record keeping is another important aspect of your tutoring role. These records
are vital to effective operation of the Center. Tutors have a responsibility to the
tutees, to the teachers who refer them, and to themselves to keep accurate records.
You need to know how to use several records: the schedule, the tutoring session record,
the progress report, and the referral form.
Schedule
At the beginning of each semester the Center organizes a schedule that includes the
available tutoring hours of all tutors and the hours that the Center will be open to
students. This schedule is then posted on the door of the Center along with a sign-up
sheet for appointments. The schedule of Writing Center hours is also posted at various
locations across campus and advertised in campus publications.
It is imperative that once the schedule is devised and posted, it remain in effect as it
is throughout the semester in order to avoid confusion by students seeking help.
The Tutoring Session Record
A tutoring session record must be completed for each student visit to the Writing Center.
The record allows space for the tutor to note problems areas and progress. This record is
kept on a database, which you will access and input information on your tutoring session
with each student.
The Progress Report
At midterm and at the end of each semester, the Writing Center sends reports of student
activity to the instructors of all students who have visited the center. These progress
reports note the number of visits the student has made and the type of assistance the
student has received.
The Referral Form
Instructors are requested to complete referral forms for all students they advise to visit
the Writing Center. Although walk-ins are always welcome and we encourage students to take
such an initiative, referral forms from instructors are invaluable in quickly determining
problem areas.
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The Writing
Process We Preach
Research and classroom practice strongly support the theory of writing
as a process. In general, the "writing process" is the label used to describe a
writer's approach to completing a writing task: the steps of writing. Usually the steps
are identified as prewriting, writing, and rewriting or revision and editing.
Despite variations that individual writers might gravitate toward, the writing process
will always progress from stages that are relatively unstructured and free, governed by
few restrictions, to stages that are highly dictated by the rules of standard usage. The
writing process will always begin, for example, with some type of prewriting, during which
the writer can use a variety of techniques to tap as many ideas and perspectives as
necessary to select an interesting topic. Yet the process must always conclude with an
edit to check spelling, word usage, and punctuation, a stage at which strict rules apply
and must be followed.
Although every writer will develop his own step-by-step process, the following guide will
help you steer students toward writing a paper by incorporating the entire writing
process.
1. Prewrite
Use prewriting techniques such as brainstorming, freewriting, composing imaginary
dialogues, clustering, posing reporter's questions, cubing, and interviewing to examine
your topic from different perspectives.
2. Consider your message and purpose.
What do you hope to accomplish with this paper? Are you writing to entertain, inform,
explain, notify, convince, give directions, teach, moralize?
3. Consider your audience.
For whom are you attempting to develop your message? What do you know about their values,
lifestyle, personality? What do you see as their likely reaction to the message you are
sending?
4. Write a draft.
Put your pen to paper and write a draft from beginning to end. Don't worry about
organization or grammar at this point. Just write and get all your ideas out.
5. Revise, revise, revise.
Remember: revising means re-thinking and re-seeing your ideas, then rewriting your paper
accordingly. You may need to repeat some of the suggestions in steps 2-6. You will also
need to:
a. Consider your support
What information have you included to clearly develop your message? Is the main idea of
each paragraph fully explained? Does the main idea of each paragraph relate clearly to the
overall message of your paper? What should you add to strengthen your examples and
explanations?
b. Consider your organization
Have you presented your supporting paragraphs in logical order? Do the sentences within
your paragraph also follow logical order?
c. Get a reaction from a reader.
Have a classmate, a teacher, or a member of your intended audience read your paper and
make suggestions for improvement. Consider the suggestions carefully.
6. Edit your paper
Now is the time to worry about spelling, word usage, and proper punctuation. Use a
handbook and dictionary.
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15
Essential Steps to Effective Tutoring
1. Get to know the student.
Spend five to ten minutes of the initial visit getting to know the student and helping him
or her feel comfortable in the Writing Center.
This is a good time to ask the first five questions of the Tutoring Session Record form
that you are required to file (more on this later in the section on Policies).
2. Gather background information on the assignment or problem.
Students referred to the Writing Center by instructors may have referral forms that
indicate specific problems. Many students, however, will be walk-ins who have taken the
initiative to seek help on their own. Whether or not a student comes in with a referral
form, try to review a copy of the written assignment so that you can be sure the student
understands the requirements. If necessary, send the student back to the instructor for a
clarification of the assignment. It might even be necessary for you to talk with the
instructor to better understand the assignment.
Talk with the student about how he has approached other assignments or about what he has
done so far on this assignment. Request any drafts already completed.
At this point, you'll determine what stage the student has reached in his writing. If
the student has not yet started his paper, proceed with Steps 3 through 5 and then skip to
Step 12. If the student brings in a draft or a paper with the instructor's
comments, start with Step 6.
3. This is a good time to ask questions that will help the student get
started on an assignment:
* What are you trying to do in this paper?
* Are you writing to someone other than your instructor?
* What kind of writer's voice do you think is most appropriate (friendly and intimate,
distant and professional, etc.)?
4. Explore ways of gathering or producing ideas. This is the time to
employ strategies such as brainstorming, freewriting, and reporter's questions (who, what,
when, where, why, and how) to spark ideas and different ways of looking at information.
5. Now help the student organize his thoughts with techniques such as
outlining.
6. If the student brings in a draft that needs revision or that
contains instructor's comments, pinpoint the problems.
If a referral sheet is available, or if the instructor has provided comments on a paper,
discuss these with the student. Does the student understand and agree with the
instructor's assessment of the problem? Why or why not?
Try to place the responsibility of pinpointing the problem on the student himself whenever
possible. Ask exploring questions. Remember that it is easy to tell someone what is wrong
and how to fix it; our goal, however, is to help the student learn to identify his own
problems and determine the best ways to correct them.
7. Sit next to the student and read along silently as the student reads
the paper aloud. Ask the student what he thinks works in his paper and what doesn't.
8. Give the student every opportunity to solve the problems before you
offer specific solutions.
9. Tutor without a pencil.
This is the easiest and best way to ensure that you avoid fixing the student's problems
for him. Force the student to be an active participant in the writing session.
10. Plan a strategy.
Remember that a student can usually only tackle one problem at a time. It is best to
suggest additional sessions or a regular weekly session if the problem is very complex or
if you see numerous problems. For example, we often see students who have papers that are
riddled with mechanical errors in addition to lacking something as essential as a thesis.
You might dedicate the first session to focusing upon the problem of developing a thesis
and request that the student return for a session on comma splices. Deal with the big
problems first and schedule follow-up sessions to address the rest. Always save mechanical
problems for last.
11. Avoid taking sides in the battle between student and instructor.
If you don't understand or if you disagree with a mark or remark on a paper, say, "I
don't understand this; let's ask your teacher what it means."
12. Never take responsibility for the paper's content.
Make it clear to students that you are not responsible for a final product, for a grade,
or for an error-free paper. The assignment must be the work of the student, and the tutor
is only the facilitator.
13. Ask questions.
Ask the student questions about purpose, audience, and intention. Ask for details and
descriptions and examples. Whenever you see something wrong, ask the student what he
thinks. Ask him to explain what he means. Whenever you are tempted to make a correction,
to rewrite a sentence, to suggest a better word, or to suggest a better topic--don't. Take
a breath and start asking questions.
14. When helping students with mechanical problems in a final draft,
remember to force their participation. Never fall into the role of proofreader.
Try the following strategies:
* Have the student read aloud and discuss error corrections as he reads.
* Tell the student the type of errors in the paper, rather than pinpoint every mistake.
* Mark each line that has any type of error.
* Let the student ask as many questions as he wants about spelling or punctuation.
* Record the types of errors in papers, and give practice exercises between assignments.
* Don't worry about making the paper perfect.
15. Always remember your role as facilitator.
You are here to help students. Try to remain as upbeat, as patient, and as consistent as
possible. You are a moderator, steering them in the right direction with questions that
help them express their ideas in ways that lead to strong arguments in their papers. When
their problems are mechanical, avoid correcting their papers yourself; in fact, try not to
write on their papers at all. Let them do it. Point them to the grammar guides for rules
in their problem areas.
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Tutor
Response Guidelines
1. Make a positive, rapport-creating statement to the writer.
2. Make two positive comments about the paper.
3. Describe any weakness you find in the areas listed below. Suggest a strategy to
eliminate each weakness. Record your comments below.
a. thesis or focus
b. voice or tone
c. organization
d. development
4. List any weaknesses you see in sentence structure, punctuation, usage, and spelling.
Suggest a strategy to eliminate each weakness. Record your comments below.
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Most
Common Problem Areas
Thesis
Sentence Fragments
Commas
Transitions
The Thesis
* the controlling idea of your paper
* provides the focus
* everything in your paper -- all your ideas and arguments and examples -- must support
this thesis
* the thesis tells the reader the subject of the paper and your stance on this subject
* a thesis, for example, might answer the following questions:
What do I think, based on the available information?
What conclusions can I reasonably draw?
What position do I take on this subject?
* the thesis emerges during the planning stage--it guides your
research. It's quite possible that your stance may change as you conduct your
research--that's okay.
Thesis statement
* the thesis of a strong paper will be expressed as a thesis statement
* Bad example--"This essay is about the effects of industrialization on developing
nations"
--What about the effects--are they positive? negative? What are the effects?
* Think of the thesis statement as an assertion that answers very specific questions:
--What point does this paper make?
--What opinion does it offer?
--What stand does the writer take?
--What does the writer want us to focus on as we read this paper?
* Typically, a short paper's thesis can be expressed well in one sentence.
* The thesis is like a contract agreement with the reader that the writer will deal with a
certain amount of information in a certain way.
* The well-written thesis statement has 4 main characteristics:
(1) unity -- one main idea
(2) focus -- gives a clear idea of the paper's subject and direction
(3) structure -- provides you with the basis on what information to include and what to
exclude
(4) interest -- must engage the reader's interest--or why would anyone want to read it?
Practical tips on developing your thesis statement:
1. Try to develop a working thesis as soon in your research as possible because it will
guide you and keep your research focused.
2. Evaluate your thesis statement: does it indicate the reasons or other supporting points
that you will be developing in your paper?
3. Place the thesis statement early in your paper--the most common position for the thesis
statement in short expository and argumentative essays is in the opening paragraph.
Need examples of good and bad theses -- book examples:
My difficulties in philosophy class are unbelievable, but I'm doing OK in biology. (lacks
unity and focus)
Better: Because I seem to be more comfortable with concrete things like frogs than with
abstract concepts like existence, I am getting better grades in biology than in
philosophy. (establishes a cause-and-effect relationship that connects the two ideas)
Kids face a lot of problems today and need help. (lacks focus)
Better: Increasingly, teenagers face problems such as drug use, street violence, suicide,
parental divorce, AIDS, and unwanted pregnancy. Consequently, we need many more counseling
programs than are currently available to teens.
Sentence Fragments
To be complete and grammatically correct, a sentence must have both a
predicate and a subject. An incomplete sentence is called a sentence fragment.
Ex: Eating dinner in the cafeteria.
(Who is eating dinner? If the sentence answered this question, it would have a subject.)
The boat that was on the lake.
(What was the boat doing? If the sentence answered this question, it would have a
predicate.)
The Terrifying Comma
Two of the most common mistakes you are ever likely to make with commas are:
* the run-on error
* the comma splice.
The Run-On Error
The run-on error occurs when you link together into one sentence two independent
clauses (two complete sentences).
Ex.: The cat ran down the street the dog ran down the street.
Comma Splice
A comma splice occurs when you link together two independent clauses with a comma.
Ex: The cat ran down the street, the dog ran down the street.
You can fix these two errors by joining or separating the independent clauses in a
number of ways:
* Use end marks (period, question mark, exclamation point)
The cat ran down the street. The dog ran down the street.
* Use a comma with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so)
The cat ran down the street, and the dog ran down the street.
* Use a semicolon (;)
The cat ran down the street; the dog ran down the street.
* Use subordination
After the cat ran down the street, the dog ran down the street.
WARNING: Do NOT be confused by words such as however and nevertheless,
which frequently insinuate themselves between two independent sentences and cause
otherwise rational beings to abandon correct punctuation.
Wrong: I had nothing to wear, nevertheless, I went to the party anyway.
Correct: I had nothing to wear; nevertheless, I went to the party anyway.
Transitional Words and Phrases:
Transition words and phrases help readers make connections between ideas. Transitions
provide for smoother reading and can be found within paragraphs and between paragraphs.
Below is a list of helpful transition words.
Cause and effect:
because, consequently, hence, for this purpose, so, then, therefore, thus, to this end,
accordingly, as a result
Comparison:
also, again, likewise, similarly, in the same way
Concession:
granted that, I admit that, naturally, of course, although it is true that
Contrast:
even though, however, in contrast, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the contrary, on the
other hand, regardless, still, though, yet, although, but, despite, in spite of, instead,
notwithstanding, though, yet
Examples:
for example, indeed, in fact, specifically, to illustrate, after all, even, for
instance, of course, such as
Sequence:
again, and, and then, also, besides, finally, first, second, third, furthermore, last,
moreover, next, still, too
Summary, Repetition, or Conclusion:
in conclusion, in any event, in other words, in short, therefore, to summarize, as a
result, as has been noted, as I have said, as mentioned earlier, on the whole,
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