writing tutoring 101

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Writing Tutoring 101 Training Module for Writing Tutors UT Athletics Student Services For reprint permissions and information, please send your inquiry to: [email protected].

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Page 1: Writing Tutoring 101

Writing Tutoring 101Training Module for Writing Tutors

UT Athletics Student Services

For reprint permissions and information, please send your inquiry to: [email protected].

Page 2: Writing Tutoring 101

The UT Athletics Writing Program

The Writing Program works toward the Athletics Department’s goal of maximizing the academic potential of our student-athletes.

Writing Tutors help student-athletes grow and mature as independent writers. They do this by: Assisting students to discover and develop their own

ideas and voices Guiding students as they learn to accurately and

efficiently develop, outline, research, edit and proofread their own writings

Helping students use their time efficiently to maximize their potential in the classroom

Page 3: Writing Tutoring 101

Writing Tutoring BasicsOnly tutors and mentors who have participated in the UT Athletics Writing

Program training may assist student-athletes with their writing assignments.

Learn about all the courses in which your student is enrolled. You may be able to help with writing in more than one class.

Always ask the student what he or she would like to work on in the session.

Make sure that the professor allows tutoring on the assignment.

Help the student prioritize.

Help the student to create a long range plan.

Lead your student step by step through the development of a paper, stressing the importance of developing the paper from an outline and emphasizing the importance of the rewrite.

Never arrange to work on a paper via email or outside of the study center.

Page 4: Writing Tutoring 101

Overview of RHE 306: Rhetoric and Writing

This course is grounded in the rhetorical analysis of "controversies," broadly defined. It is divided into three units, each one requiring some sort of outside research.

Unit 1:Describing a controversy and mapping the various positions within itStudents detail the history of their controversy, map out the central positions held in regard to it, examine the stakes of each position, and explore the ways in which the positions are interrelated.

Unit 2:Analyzing a position within a controversyStudents analyze a specific position within their chosen controversy. After summarizing what the writer says, noting the central claims and key evidence, students will analyze how the argument is put together as well as why the writer has made specific rhetorical choices.

Unit 3:Advocating a position within a controversyStudents situate themselves within the "map" of the controversy that they have constructed and produce an argument that advocates a particular position using the persuasive strategies analyzed and studied throughout the semester.

From The Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studieshttp://www.utexas.edu/col/depts/rhetoric/firstyearwriting/overview.php

Page 5: Writing Tutoring 101

Tutoring & The Writing ProcessSample Meeting Plan for a Writing Assignment for Rhetoric 306

Session 1: Dissect the assignment and brainstorm a topic, making sure your student has found a workable topic. Help the student to begin research.

Session 2: Work with the student to create thesis statement and a detailed outline.

Session 3: Edit rough draft.

Session 4: Review instructor’s comments on rough draft and discuss how to address them.

Session 5: Proofread final version.

Page 6: Writing Tutoring 101

The Writing Assignment You and the student should read the assignment

carefully.

Decide what task the instructor is asking the student to perform: describe, summarize, analyze, evaluate, propose, etc.

Make sure the student understands these terms.

Consider any other important aspects of the rhetorical situation: audience, length, evidence needed, etc.

Page 7: Writing Tutoring 101

The Learning Record and PBWorks

Many courses in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing employ The Learning Record, an online tool with which students build a writing portfolio. In addition, students maintain an observation journal and evaluate their own development in the course.

Instructors may also use PBWorks to create course wikis through which students submit their work.

Please familiarize yourself with these tools if your students courses make use of them. If you have any

questions about them see the Writing Program Coordinator.

Page 8: Writing Tutoring 101

ResearchTutors should help students:

Learn where and how to do research UT Library Homepage For Undergraduates is a great resource for all kinds of “How

To’s” from finding articles using databases to evaluating sources. You should be familiar with what the library has to offer.

Using key terms effectively in Google and evaluating results

Develop a system for taking notes

Develop a system for keeping track of sources as research progresses

Page 9: Writing Tutoring 101

UT Library Homepage

Page 10: Writing Tutoring 101

Library Resources forUndergraduates

Page 11: Writing Tutoring 101

Keeping Track of Sources Purdue OWL style guides

MLA Style Guide APA Style Guide

Zotero: Free Firefox extension that will keep track of resources as you find them

EasyBib: Free MLA bibliography and citation maker

NoodleBib: MLA/APA/Chicago bibliography and citation maker – Access through UT libraries

Page 12: Writing Tutoring 101

Zotero

Page 13: Writing Tutoring 101

Composing You should help the student prepare and write from a

detailed outline.

Focus on the thesis statement. See Undergraduate Writing Center (UWC) handout on

Creating a Strong Thesis

Read UWC handouts on writing introductions and conclusions and on Paragraphing. These and many others are available online and in the resource binder in NEZ 5.412.

Always ensure that students maintain ownership of their written work.

Page 14: Writing Tutoring 101

Revising Help the student understand that planning and composing are only

the first steps in writing; revision is just as important!

Tutors and students work together to assess a paper’s strengths and weaknesses and to determine the best strategies for revision.

Explain the difference between: revising, editing, and proofreading. Revising: Thinking your paper through again, including clarifying

your argument, adding needed material, and taking out things that don’t belong.

Editing: The final stage of revision, when you make changes to your sentences to make them read better.

Proofreading: The final stage of editing. You are looking for spelling errors, wrong words, punctuation errors, that you might not have noticed after editing. You proofread when everything else is done.

Adapted from: Edgewood College Writing Center. http://edgenet.edwood.egedu/lss/writingcenter/articles/revision.htm

Page 15: Writing Tutoring 101

Editing The goal of editing with a student is to teach the

student how to edit his or her own work in the future. The student should be an active participant in the process.

Show the student how to use a grammar log. (See the Writing Program resource binder for an example.)

Show students how to use a checklist to edit their own work. (See the Writing Program resource binder or the UWC for a sample checklist.)

Page 16: Writing Tutoring 101

Grammar Log

Page 17: Writing Tutoring 101

Editing Checklist

Example checklist from worksheetplace.com

Page 18: Writing Tutoring 101

Strategies for Editing with a Student

Modeling: If you notice a recurring error, work through a few examples with the student in one section of the paper. Then ask the student to apply what he or she has learned in another section.

Have the student mark his or her own paper as you go through it together.

Minimal marking: Instead of making corrections in the student’s paper, the tutor marks areas that need revision. The student is responsible for determining the problem, considering options, and making the revisions.

NEVER write replacement sentences on a student’s paper!

Page 19: Writing Tutoring 101

An Example of Minimal Marking

Image source: http://www.theillustratedprofessor.com/?p=495

Page 20: Writing Tutoring 101

A Note about Minimal Marking

Minimal marking can be an excellent tool for teaching writers how to edit.

It is only effective if tutors are able to spend time with the student going over the markings. Students will likely need help in determining what types of errors they have made and how to fix them.

Minimal markings should be discussed or the tutor should provide section numbers from a style guide that has been assigned to the class.

Page 21: Writing Tutoring 101

Proofreading The goal of your written commentary is not to correct your

student’s work, but to provoke independent thinking. Point out problems, but never write replacement phrases or sentences.

Avoid correcting spelling and punctuation errors that spell check and grammar check can catch.

Be thorough, honest, respectful, and sensitive.

You may not proofread a student’s paper outside of a scheduled appointment in the study center. The student may NOT email his or her paper to you for your review outside of the study center.

If you receive a paper via email from a student, forward the email and the paper to the student’s academic counselor. Do not reply to the student.

Page 22: Writing Tutoring 101

Plagiarism (adapted from the UT Office of the Dean of Students website:

http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis_plagiarism.php)

Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity. In simplest terms, this occurs if you represent as your own work any material that was obtained from another source, regardless of how or where you acquired it.

Using verbatim material without proper attribution constitutes the most blatant form of plagiarism. Other types of material also can be plagiarized, such as the idea or structure of someone else’s work.

Plagiarism can be committed intentionally or unintentionally—regardless, it’s still plagiarism!

By merely changing a few words or rearranging words or sentences, you are NOT paraphrasing. Making minor revisions to borrowed text is plagiarism!

The University of Texas at Austin Office of the Dean of Students. (2010, 6/10). Retrieved from http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sis/scholdis_plagiarism.php

Page 23: Writing Tutoring 101

CollusionCollusion is "the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing academic assignments offered for credit or collaboration with another person to commit a violation of any section of the rules on scholastic dishonesty.”*

According to the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, a student commits collusion if s/he allows someone else to edit his or her papers:

“It is scholastically dishonest for students to employ tutors to correct, edit, or modify essays in any substantive way. The same reservations and restrictions apply, within reason, to any outside assistance you

may receive from a parent, friend, roommate, or academic tutor. Any changes, deletions, rearrangements, additions, or corrections made in

your essays should represent your own work.”**

Always ensure that you are commenting and advising your students on their writing without editing or rewriting papers.

*General Information Catalog of the University of Texas at Austin

**Department of Rhetoric and Writinghttp://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/rhetoric/firstyearwriting/plagiarismcollusion.php

Page 24: Writing Tutoring 101

Academic Integrity Tutoring writing poses particular challenges with regard to

academic integrity. The student should ALWAYS make ALL decisions regarding his

or her writing. The student should determine how to use Tutor advice. Tutoring should always have teaching skills and improving

the writer as its goals. The tutor should assist the student in developing an

awareness of the boundaries of academic integrity and ethical behavior.

Never cross the line from “assisting” to “doing.”

If you suspect plagiarism or collusion, you must inform the student’s academic counselor immediately.

Page 25: Writing Tutoring 101

Tutoring Reluctant Writers

Recognize and acknowledge the student’s reluctance.

Help the student find smaller tasks within the writing assignment.

Demonstrate how the writing prompt can be turned into an outline and how that outline can be seen as a list of short-answer questions.

Ask about the student’s preferred ways of learning and work to incorporate those into the writing process.

Notice and affirm the student’s efforts.

Page 26: Writing Tutoring 101

Dealing with Obstacles Situation: The student is passive and does not want to

participate. Possible reasons for the behavior:

The student may be unprepared for the session. The student may be mentally and physically exhausted. The student may not understand the material and may be

afraid to admit it. The student may lack confidence.

Try these strategies: Ask the student what his or her understanding of the

assignment is. Try to get the student to explain what s/he knows about the

topic. Ask the student what s/he likes the most or least about the

assignment. Ask the student what the finished product will look like.

Page 27: Writing Tutoring 101

Dealing with Obstacles Situation: The student wants to blame you for a bad

grade on a paper. Possible reasons for the behavior:

The student meets with you twice a week and cannot understand why she did poorly on the assignment.

The student may be preoccupied with personal problems. The student may not be managing her time properly.

Try these strategies: Ask the student how much time s/he spent on the paper outside

of tutoring. Check to see whether suggested revisions were made. Review the instructor’s comments and discuss areas to improve. Help the student devise a writing plan to overcome the

problem.

Page 28: Writing Tutoring 101

Dealing with Obstacles Situation: The student wants you to write a paper for

him/her. Possible reasons for the behavior:

The student may not have prepared in advance to complete the assignment, therefore s/he is feeling stressed about completing it before the deadline.

The student may not understand the material and feel that it would take too much time to have it explained to him/her.

Try these strategies: Do NOT complete the student’s assignment! Help the

student assess what s/he can accomplish. Help the student devise a plan to complete the assignment. Inform his or her Academic Counselor.

Page 29: Writing Tutoring 101

Do Arrive on time and

prepared.

Ask open-ended questions.

Listen carefully.

Notice body language (both your own and the students’ with whom you work).

Be patient and relaxed.

Be flexible.

Show enthusiasm for learning and writing.

Share resources (within NCAA rules) and knowledge.

Actively teach writing and research skills.

Be conscious of different learning styles and be prepared to adapt to them.

Page 30: Writing Tutoring 101

Don’t Don’t do work for the student.

Don’t criticize classroom instructors or course materials.

Don’t discuss the likely grade a student’s paper will receive.

Don’t contact or speak with an instructor on the student’s behalf.

Don’t communicate with students outside of the tutoring session.

Don’t schedule an appointment without the consent of the student’s academic counselor.

Don’t allow your political, social, educational, sexual, racial or philosophical beliefs to interfere with the tutor-student relationship.

Page 31: Writing Tutoring 101

Resources The Department of Rhetoric and Writing has useful

information on RHE 306.

The Undergraduate Writing Center has excellent handouts on a wide range of topics.

See the Online Resource List on Intercollegiate Athletics Student Services Blackboard page.

Check out the Writing Program Resource Library in NEZ 5.412.

Page 32: Writing Tutoring 101

UT Athletics Writing Program Resource Library

The Resource Library is located in NEZ 5.412.

The library includes:

Handbooks for writing tutors

Style manuals

RHE 306 textbooks

The Writing Program Resource Binder, which is stocked with handouts, worksheets, articles, and other useful information

Page 33: Writing Tutoring 101

Questions? For questions regarding writing tutoring strategies,

resources, etc., see:Marnie Binfield

Writing Program CoordinatorNEZ 5.412

512-471-5658 (office)512-415-6485 (cell)

[email protected]

For questions about scheduling, timesheets, etc., see:

Monica PaullTutor Coordinator

NEZ [email protected]