I really want to know what goes into the process of choosing the papers that make it into the book. Are people submitting them or are the authors finding them? I also want to know if they have a structure to the topics they are looking for. Do they know they want to include a paper on gender stereotypes or is it just a happy surprise when they find it? It’s a very interesting book but my only issue with it is that I don’t see how it’s helped me become a tutor. During the two tutoring sessions that we had, not once did I think, “Wow thank god I read that book or else I would have no idea what I’m doing.” I read the book and still had no idea what I was doing. It included a lot of interesting information on other writing centers around the country but how is that going to help me understand my writing center and the students and papers that I have to deal with. Maybe it’s just me but the book seems more like something you would use when writing a research paper, not learning how to tutor.
Blog Post #12
In the first tutoring session we were tutoring students in a creative writing course. I walked in thinking I would be fine as long as I didn’t get someone with a poem, well just my luck, that’s exactly what I got. I don’t know whether it was good or bad that he poem was so good that I did not have much to say on it. I told her my opinions and she wrote them down and that was really it. I did not know what else to do so I called Andrea over. She ended up saying very similar things to what I told the student. She did go into a little more detail about the topic of the poem but then we called over Kyle, who really understands poetry. But again he ended up saying the same things. It was a very good poem about something that most people wouldn’t dare write about, but she did it very well. Part of me wishes she had done worse just so I had more to say and we didn’t have to deal with any awkward silences.
The next tutoring session we had was with a community health class. This was much harder than I had anticipated. The girl that I was paired up with knew exactly what was wrong with her paper so there wasn’t much for me to tell her that she didn’t already know. Her paper was on social smoking and every time I did try to make a correction she would correct me right back and tell me that the paper was supposed to be written that way. I am also a slow reader so I kind of skimmed through her paper and I felt like all the information went in one ear and out the other. In truth, I just really wanted this session to end so it wouldn’t be so awkward anymore.
Presentation
Writing Center Observations
Observation #1:
The first time I went to the writing center, I went for an appointment but my tutor was late so I had a chance to observe the other appointments going on. I’m not going to lie I did not like the fact that my tutor was late. When I went on the Hofstra Writing Center page it stressed that you should not be late for your appointment and if you are to let the writing center know. I think the tutors should be held to the same standard. So while I waited I observed the other appointments going on. It seemed like a very casual environment but it made me uncomfortable knowing that because I could hear everything going on in other people’s sessions, they would be able to hear mine. Everything was very open and again that made me a bit uncomfortable. While I waited for my tutor to arrive I kind of just sat there and listened in on the other sessions and what was going on. It made me feel like I was eavesdropping, to be honest, I kind of was, but it was still weird. I just was not a fan of how the writing center was set up, that was definitely my biggest issue with the whole thing. There were two sessions going on while I was sitting there both had their papers on their computers and both seemed well prepared. In my head I always imagined the writing center as a professor who is harsh on her students and won’t accept emails or online copies of a paper. I thought the paper had to be printed so the tutor could write on it and make notes. I was grateful that I could have it on my computer because I did not have time to print my paper. While one student seemed more timid, you could tell the other student had been to the writing center on more than one occasion. Student number one seemed very shy and quiet and I could not hear too much about what was going on during the session but student number two made herself comfortable and knew just what to do, she already knew who her tutor was. She was confident in exactly what she wanted to work on and came in with a game plan. I can’t remember exactly what she wanted to work on but she came in said “I want to work on x, y, z” and got to work. The session was so well prepared that it ended about half an hour early and she walked looking as if she accomplished exactly what she wanted to accomplish. The session for student number one was not as quick. She seemed very shy and soft spoken and stayed there even after I had left. Unfortunately I could not hear everything being said because she was so soft spoken. From what I saw the tutor took control of the session and tried to encourage the student to speak. The tutor seemed to know what she was doing and had a lot to say, not things that the student should change but more what the student could do to make her point more clear. By the time that I left student one was still working on her session while student two had left a while ago. Although both sessions were different from each other they seemed to get a lot of done and accomplish something in the session.
Observation #2:
There was a girl who showed up early to her appointment. There were a lot of people in there at the time but most of them were just observing along with me, only one session was actually happening. Everyone who was not involved in a session was super casual and just chilling out. Eventually there were two appointments going on, one had an argumentative essay and she brought the prompt with her. I overheard her saying that she would get extra credit on the paper for coming to the writing center. Other tutors were talking during the sessions and to be honest, I found it kind of distracting. Student one wanted to fix her thesis and mentioned something about “The Shining” and how she used it to come up with her thesis. She also described her paper before the tutor even read it. Student two was much more quiet, unless I just wasn’t paying attention. Student one was asking a lot of specific questions about her paper, and she was talking a lot with her tutor. Student two and tutor two, not so much. They seemed very silent during the session. Tutor two seemed to be very focused on reading the paper. Every once in a while, while he was reading he would point something out and ask a question, then continue reading. Student one seemed to know exactly what to ask and what she wanted to get out of the session. While watching Student and Tutor two I noticed that they were looking at something online and a hard copy paper at the same time. I also overheard them mentioning the incident with United Airlines. During these session I couldn’t help but overhear the casual conversations being done by the writing tutors not in sessions. I made me a bit uncomfortable hearing about their weekend plans and personal issues. Tutor two seemed a bit disconnected from the conversation then Tutor one. He also made conversation with other tutors in the writing center while his session was still going on. Then a third student showed up. She was 12 minutes late and Tutor three said that it was an issue because they marked her as a no show. Student three thought the deadline was 15 minutes instead of 10. I got kind of frustrated at this because when I went to the writing center my tutor was more than 10 minutes late so the fact that they were being so strict with her when she made a simple mistake, made me angry. She also seemed very stressed out. The reason she thought the deadline was 15 minutes was because it was changed to 10 minutes this semester. I just felt like in the time that they were arguing, they could have just had the session, it was a waste of both of their time.
Observation #3:
It was very quiet when I got to the writing center, which was very different from the previous time that I was there. Student one showed up a little early but Tutor one said that they couldn’t start until 4. I think Student one brought the assignment but Tutor one wanted her to explain it. Tutor one asked the student what she wanted to work on and student one explained. Tutor one then had Student one read her paper aloud, which is the first time I’d seen this happen. Then Student two showed up, it was a male student which was also a first. He seemed to know what he wanted to work on. Tutor two asked what his paper was about before reading it and student two explained what he had been having trouble with. Student two also chose to read the paper out loud. Tutor and Student one were focusing on the organization of the paper. This paper was a revision so Tutor one asked is the professor had made any comments on the first submission and student one said no. Tutor one is saying positive things about the paper then telling her what could be corrected. There was a third student who was working on his linkedin account with a tutor. They were right next to Tutor and Student two and were being very loud. Tutor two and student two were really just talking about what could be fixed with Tutor and Student one were getting very specific with the paper. There was an actual no show this time at the writing center. Tutor two seemed less engaged than tutor one and was quiet for most of the session. Once they were done Student 2 left. I was a bit confused when he left because it did not even seemed like they talked about antything. There was a lot less going on during these sessions, maybe it’s because there were less people in the room, so there were less side conversations.
Blog Post #11
Using the times that I have been to the writing center to observe I have seen male and females tutors working but I have yet to see male tutees. I have also noticed that the female tutors tend to communicate more with their fellow females tutees. While watching male tutors they tended to get more to the point with what was wrong with the paper while the female tutors would expand more and what the student wanted out of the paper. My plan is to go in and observe a female tutor with a boy and a girl tutee, and a male tutor with a boy and a girl tutee. I was to record everything that is being said and also observe body language. I think body language is very important in this research project. From what I’ve seen so far the female tutors seem more engaged in the conversation and what is going on while the males are more laid back. During all the occasions that I have observed it seemed like all the tutee were very well prepared. Some came in and were prepared above and beyond. They knew exactly what they wanted to get done. There were times when the tutee would shy away from what the wanted. So far I have found that if the tutee is more well prepared the male tutor will become more engaged in the conversation which I find to be a bit odd. Based on the research that was previously done on this subject the male tutors should be controlling the conversation no matter how well prepared the student is. I see the tutors really basing how they are acting off of how the students are acting. If the tutee is excited than so is the tutor, the female tutors was usually more excited no matter how well prepared the student was.
WLN Submission *Revised*
I write this as someone who has never been to the writing center before. I also write this as someone that people come to for help when it comes to their writing. I never looked down on the writing center but I always assumed it was for people who were not good at writing. Growing up I had always been a good writer and I guess I took that for granted. When I got to college I believe I became lazy with my writing. I was no longer interested in the subjects that I was writing about and did not care if I got lower than an A. In hindsight I should have gone to the writing center to get someone else’s perspective on a subject matter that I had no interest in and when dealing with professor’s who were not clear in what they wanted from me. My journey from a great to a mediocre writer makes me a bit disappointed with myself but I believe it serves as a cautionary tale as to why people who believe they are good writers or are too lazy to go to the writing center, should suck it up, and make an appointment.
While in high school, and even middle school, my older brother would come to me with his writing and I would help edit it for him. I even edited his college essay and his speech for when he was running for President of his fraternity, spoiler alert, he got into his top choice and became President. I do not believe I ever got lower than an A in my english classes because I wrote about things that truly interested me. I wrote about diseases that affected those around me, personal experiences that I went through, theater, drama, and the arts. I even got to write and give my class’s graduation speech. I never edited my papers and just handed them in as soon as I was done, this includes my own college essay. I took it for granted that I never needed help when it came to writing. I was always the one that gave the help. To this day I still help my younger brother with his papers and projects.
When I got to college I believed that writing papers would be just as easy as it had been in the past. For the most part I was right. I was still writing about something that I enjoyed, theater. I got an A on my first college essay and I could not have been more proud of myself. It proved that I could make it in college and I did not have to worry about falling behind. I continued to do well in that class and finished the course with an A. When I moved on to WSC 002, I thought it would be more of the same, but I was wrong. I neither understood nor liked what I was writing about and as nice as my professor was, he did not make much sense when it came to what he wanted from us. Even though I did not get the grades that I wanted I was not doing so bad that I felt the need to go to the writing center. I kept telling myself, “I’m a good writer, I just didn’t like the class. I don’t need the writing center.”
The next two class that I took were quite possibly the most boring writing classes I’ve ever taken. I did not care about the classes, I just wanted them to end. I did the bare minimum of what was needed and only wanted to just get by. Again in hindsight it was not my best moment. I barely got B’s in the course and it effected my GPA. To someone who does not like writing and had never been to good at it, I understand that what I write seems stuck up and privileged, but for someone who was so used to getting A’s when I barely tried, getting B’s in these classes was a bit disappointing. Not only did I see the decline in my grade, I saw the decline in my love of writing. I wrote less and less everyday because it began to feel like a chore.
With the class that I am currently taking going to the writing center is highly encouraged if not mandatory. I have now gone from someone who has never been to the writing center, to someone who has at least gone once. The writing center was much different from what I expected. I did not expect to be in a very open area where anyone can hear you or your tutor talking. It made me a bit nervous that someone would be listening and think terrible things about my writing. When my tutor arrived we sat down at a table and I told her what I was writing about. She began to read my paper and give me some pointers and tips. She specifically mentioned what I should add or change when it came to submitting this to WLN. She also took out the book that we are currently reading in class to brainstorm some research that I could include in this paper. I was surprised that we did not just solely focus on what I had written but more what I had not written. The writing center is not just a writing center, in fact there was no writing involved in my appointment at all. It was definitely an interesting and different experience. You could tell that the tutor was genuinely interested in helping and trying her best to make sure I understood what she was saying.
Now having gone to the writing center I see it much differently than before. Even one visit has changed my viewpoint. Seeing that the writing center is not just for papers like this or ones where you tell stories, and that the writing center just does not simply “edit” papers, I decided to do research on the statistics of who actually goes to the writing center. In a study done by San Jose State University it showed that during the 2011-2012 academic year there were 4,215 appointments made at the writing center, but only 28% of those appointments made had clients show up. It also showed the class standing of these clients, 23% were Freshmen, 7% were Sophomores, 29% were Juniors, 22% were Seniors, and 17% were Graduate students. The majority of these students came from the school of Applied Sciences and Arts while students from the school of Science came to the writing center the least. This study also showed that more than half of the appointments were made by female students. Seeing these statistics shows that there are many people who were in my shoes, who have never been to the writing center. It’s unfortunate that people do not take advantage of this free help that is just waiting for them. These stats also ties into a research paper I read about gender stereotypes in the writing center. Females are more likely to go to the writing center than males and this could be because females are more willing to accept the help given to them in the writing center while males are more likely to defend their writing and not accept the help.
The statistics that I found do not go along with my story but it’s far to common that people avoid going to the writing center for whatever reason they have. The writing center is more than peer review and editing. The writing center is a place to brainstorm ideas, to get an outside opinion, and even just to talk about the issues you have with your paper. It is a very helpful place. You can also go to the writing center for biology paper, psychology papers, history papers, and any other paper you can think of. It does not matter if your tutor is specifically skilled in the topic you are writing about because they are trained to help in anyway possible. If I had gone to the writing center earlier in my college career I may have done better on a few of my papers but what I’ve noticed is that it’s never too late to ask for help.
Research Paper/ Blog Post #10
Gender Stereotypes in the Writing Center
In the original research paper, “It’s Not What You Say, But How You Say It (And to Whom): Accommodating Gender in the Writing Conference,” featured in the Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors, Claire Elizabeth O’Leary conducted an experiment with two writing tutors and four students. The outcome of this experiment left me with more questions than answers. Although the research featured two boys and two girls being tutored, the tutors were two girls. I wonder what the outcome of how the students acted during the writing conference would have been if one of the tutors had been a boy. There was also the difference in how well prepared the students were. While for one tutor both male and female student came in fully prepared and ready to take input on their paper, with the other tutor only the female student came prepared. The male student was uninterested in receiving any feedback on his work. These variable may have skewed the results a bit and that is why I want to do a follow up research project. O’Leary wrote her research paper in 2007, it is now 2017 and I believe the way both genders act have changed. We are currently on the rise in the next wave of the feminist movement so perhaps females in the writing center won’t be so docile as they were in O’Leary’s original experiment. There is also the main factor that there was no male tutor involved in this research. This was one of the biggest questions I had while reading and is something that I want to see how and if it affects the writing session. I want to include one male tutor and one female tutor, 2 male students and 2 females students.
Blog 9
Looking back on our tutoring session we include many of the things that is mentioned in the book. We greeted each other and then took a while to figure out who was the tutor and who was the tutee. After we figured that out, there are few times where we understood what each other were saying and started to finish each other’s sentences so the sentence was never sent but instead deleted, so we have a few sentences missing in our conversation. During this session I mentioned how I thought her paper was good and I liked how she connected the book she was writing about with the Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors. I then mentioned how there was not much I would change but would expand upon. For example I would go into detail about the definition of the “correct” form of english. I suggested she use the papers we were given in class about how students who learn english as a second language don’t have proper translations with certain words. After the session we said our goodbyes and moved onto the next session.
Blog 8
Working with a tutor during the online session was very helpful. Although at first we couldn’t figure out who was the tutor and who was writer we kind of just went with it. It was a little awkward just sitting in silence waiting for the tutor to read my paper but once she was done it was a nice give and take conversation we had. I would ask her what her opinion was and where I could use some work and she would answer right back. There were times when we felt like we were finished and didn’t know what to say but she just kept asking if I had any questions that she could answer. Most of our session involved helping my fix the ending of my paper. I’m not very good at ending papers but she helped me decide which directions to take the paper. Working with a tutor feels more like a team effort where the tutor wants the paper to be good just as much as I do. Once we figured out how to work the website having the tutoring session online was very helpful. I don’t enjoy face to face meetings mainly because confrontation makes me anxious so having a tutoring session online worked really well for me. I was less afraid to ask questions and have my writing be critiqued then I would if I was face-to-face with another person, especially one that I did not know very well. This online tutoring sessions could really help people like me who maybe don’t have the time to go to the tutoring session or are too nervous to meet someone they don’t know and have them tell you what’s wrong with your paper.
Blog 7
I felt that the online tutoring session was very helpful, both as a writer and a tutor. It was a little confusing at first mainly because neither of us really knew how to work the website but once we got the hang out it, it was quite easy. I got an outside opinion of my writing from someone that I don’t normally talk to in class so I don’t believe either of us tried to “sugar-coat” our critiques but we were also not too harsh on each other. While I was the tutor instead of telling her what to change in her paper I thought she could expand on some things she had already touched in her paper. She had the basics down but there were a few things that, if she took a little more time to write about, could really add to her paper. I mentioned the handouts we were given in class about dealing with a student whose first language is not english. Then while I was the writer and she was the tutor, she helped me figure out how to end my paper. I’m not very good at ending and trying to tie everything together so it was helpful having someone else give me ideas but not necessarily do it for me. I thought this exercise was very successful because it gave each student an opportunity to tutor someone else’s writing without the pressure of making sure the students paper is perfect, because we were both first time tutors just trying our best and seeing what works.
Hannah Writing 