Tutoring Writing

Suzanne RobertshawTutor Coordinator

Rollins College, Florida

ATP on-line workshop Fall 2008Meeting the Demand: Strategies

andTechniques for Tutoring Students

across the Curriculum

Tutoring Writing In this presentation I’m sharing some of our training for the

Rollins College Writing Center’s peer writing consultants and for content tutors in the humanities and social sciences. Here’s how we explain the difference to students and professors: Tutors are specialists. They usually work within their majors with

professors they know and courses they’ve taken. See a tutor as you adjust your learning style to course demands—tests, homework, etc.

Writing consultants are generalists. They talk with writers across the curriculum at any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming a topic to structuring an argument to editing a final draft.

With early paper drafts, either a tutor or a consultant can help. Tutors know the course’s big themes. Consultants question you, the expert. Later, use the Writing Center as you organize paragraphs and polish sentences.

I work with tutors who help with papers, but also those in foreign languages, quantitative and science courses. I also work in the Writing Center.

This presentation…

This presentation begins with a look at the writing process and the kind of feedback that’s needed at these different stages.

These frameworks are from Rollins College and from UNC Chapel Hill.

The next part includes a history paper assignment and two drafts, each with ways writing tutors can give appropriate feedback.

The final section gives examples of visual methods for organizing material when getting the writer to brainstorm material. I hope you’ll find some interesting ideas as we take a stroll

through the world of writing. See you in the discussion boards~

What do profs complain about? ...problems with student writing

Content issues Question/assignment is not fully addressed

It’s Rollins Writing Center mantra—”What’s the assignment?” Important ideas show up at the end of papers When writing happens too late, students confuse first drafts with

final ones, when they are really discovery drafts. Ideas are only superficially treated

no support for assertions, no explanations sources aren’t integrated or synthesized (“you need to use 5

quotes”) Bottom line? Students don’t plan the writing task well. Grammar, mechanics, style (personal style and APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)

Late-stage draft, sentence-level expression problems

My paper is bleeding!

What writing habits do we want to encourage?

Stretch out the writing process Understand that thinking and writing take time. Oppose the dictum, “Think before you write.” Attend to one or two stages in the process at a time

See notemaking (from reading texts, class & group discussions and consolidated study tools) as prewriting Tutors help clients understand the importance of notes and

discussion for studying; why not for writing, too?

Understand that writing should always involve rewriting, as they refine their ideas Realize that they need to take their drafts from a writer-based

to a reader-based form (“Because all writers need readers.” University of Central Florida’s Writing Center motto).

Getting feedback on writingfrom Chapel Hill WC http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/feedback.html

Understanding the assignment (Do I understand the task? How long should it be? What kinds of sources should I be using? Do I have to answer all of the questions on the assignment sheet or are they just prompts to get me thinking? Are some parts of the assignment more important than other parts?)

Factual content (Is my understanding of the course material accurate? Where else could I look for more information?)

Interpretation/analysis (Do I have a point? Does my argument make sense? Is it logical and consistent? Is it supported by sufficient evidence?)

Organization (Are my ideas in a useful order? Does the reader need to know anything else up front? Is there another way to consider ordering this information?)

"Flow" (Do I have good transitions? Does the introduction prepare the reader for what comes later? Do my topic sentences accurately reflect the content of my paragraphs? Can the reader follow me?)

Style, grammar & small errors

and (feedback) from whom?http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/feedback.html

yourself--reading your own notes and drafts is crucial! a classmate (a reader familiar with the day-to-day discussions,

readings, demands but not expert) your TA (an expert, pursuing an advanced degree, usually familiar

with daily course activities, or even teaching it) a tutor for the course (a student expert but not necessarily familiar

with current course) the professor (a very expert reader) your roommate/friend/family member (an interested but not familiar

reader) a writing tutor (an interested but not familiar reader, w/ special skills

in the writing process at all stages)

Whose knowledge? Collaborating or cheating?

Learning is not solitary; learners construct knowledge from conversations where they “challenge each other’s biases and presuppositions.” (Kenneth Bruffee’s Collaborative Learning and the “Conversation of Mankind” (College English, 1984)

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/feedback.html

“Asking for help on your writing does not equal plagiarism, but talking with classmates about your work may feel like cheating. Check with your professor or TA about what kinds of help you can get legally. Most will encourage you to discuss your ideas about the reading and lectures with your classmates.

In general, if someone offers a particularly helpful insight, it makes sense to cite him or her in a footnote.”

Whose knowledge (2)?

Level of knowledge, authority

Professor TA SI leader tutor classmate writing tutor friend/family

Style of sessions

highest lowest

Top-down

teacherly

passive learning

Bottom-up

facilitative

active learning

Force writers to make ideas very clear

Force learners to reveal and assess their understanding and adjust strategies

What’s involved in writing?

The Rollins Writing Center consulting notes form sketches out our vision of the writing process. We hope clients will eventually realize that they can write better papers if they allow enough time for frequent revision instead of cramming all the tasks involved into a couple of hours.

___EARLY (IDEAS)__thesis statement__developing ideas __supporting details__choice of sources

___INVENTION__brainstorm__freewrite__map/outline__understanding assignment

___MIDDLE (STRUCTURE)__logic of argument__¶ organization__sentence organization in ¶__transitions

___LATE (REFINEMENTS)__sentence variety__style concerns__punctuation__use of quotations/paraphrasing

___FINAL EDIT__proofreading __citation format__spelling__paper format

The writing toolkit for tutors—what’s next?

Ways to help students understand the assignment Before starting, or after writing a draft

Tools to help brainstorm Before they start writing, so they’re already on the right track. After a draft, when realizing they need to add more info.

Techniques to analyze student drafts for content and adherence to the assignment

Examples of feedback on grammar and mechanics With a history paper assignment and two drafts to

exemplify the techniques And at the end, several visual examples of

brainstorming techniques, to help organize information tutors get by careful questioning of student writers, at early and mid-stage drafts

Understand the assignment

The tutor can guide students in understanding the multiple layers of an assignment.

For a superb structure to follow, see the handout on reading assignments from The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill : http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/readassign.html

__INVENTION __brainstorm__freewrite__map__outline__understanding assignment

assignment formats overview, task, style, addt’l. material, technical details

interpreting the assignment why? …to give info, to relate it, to interpret it (think about Bloom’s levels of cognitive tasks, look for the verbs used)

who is the audience?...tone, level of info

what kind of evidence?…depends on the subject area, what is authoritative

e.g. an assignment Write a six-page film review of Pleasantville from a historian’s point

of view--not like the Orlando Sentinel critic; more like historian Alan Brinkley writing for The New Yorker.

DO NOT SUMMARIZE the plot—analyze the movie. How does the filmmaker portray the 1950s? What are the strengths and limitations of his vision? Refer to at least three primary or secondary sources in your critique. What do Jennifer and David, the time-traveling teenagers, learn from their sojourn in Pleasantville? Is this merely a personal lesson, or do the 1950s have something to teach Americans as a whole? Refer often to the materials we discussed in class: “TV’s the Thing” and “Growing Up,” chapters from The Fifties: The Way We

Really Were published by Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak in 1977 The Americans, a book of photographs taken by Robert Frank in 1955/56 Pleasantville, a movie made in 1998 by writer/director Gary Ross The American Experience, a collection of primary and secondary sources

about major social and political developments after World War II The Fifties (selections from it), a 1993 book by David Halberstam

One way to unpack that assignment: Write a six-page film review--not like the Orlando Sentinel

critic; more like Alan Brinkley writing for The New Yorker. DO NOT SUMMARIZE the plot—analyze the movie.

How does the filmmaker portray the 1950s? What are the strengths and limitations of his vision?

What do Jennifer and David, the time-traveling teenagers, learn from their sojourn in Pleasantville? Is this merely a personal lesson, or do the 1950s have something to teach Americans as a whole?

Refer to at least three primary or secondary sources in your critique. Refer often to the materials we discussed in class.

Check the draft against the assignment—where to look?

Often student writers throw some ideas on paper and assume they’re done. As a writing tutor, part of your job is to brace them for the rigorous—but rewarding—work of revision.

Some teachers call early drafts DISCOVERY drafts because writers often DISCOVER what they mean to say as they near the end. Don’t give up if the first couple of paragraphs seem formless—and make sure you skim the conclusion.

Some teachers call early drafts DISCOVERY drafts because writers often DISCOVER what they mean to say as they near the end. Don’t give up if the first couple of paragraphs seem formless—and make sure you skim the conclusion.

I never know what I think about something until I read what I’ve written on it.~William Faulkner

(Rollins WC training manual)

Responding to an early draft (1)

David and Jennifer get into a fight over the remote control. He’s a geek that wants to watch old shows on TV. This strange repairman pulls up out of the middle of nowhere and gave them a new remote control that sends them into the TV…

Everybody’s so dumb they think geography ends with main street and elm. dumb and lucky. The guy at the coffee shop can’t function, when his routine gets messed up. When the sister starts to have sex he sees a red rose.

(snip, snip—to the last paragraph)

David learns that he’s not such a dweeb. Jennifer learns that she has a brain so she drops the slut act. This is a personal lesson. In the end David is comforting his Mom who feels sad that she’s 40 and divorced, maybe she’s dreaming of a husband who says ‘honey, I’m home’ but probably she’d divorce him if he did. David’s lesson for her at the end is that nothing in life is simple. Maybe that’s what the movie is trying to say. We have a simple view of the fifties like Ozzie and Harriet or Leave it to Beaver. Nostalgia. We forget that people were worried about the Bomb and the War in Korea.

You can help students find how they are (or are not) following the directions in the assignment.

Responding to a draft (followed by student rewriting)

___EARLY (IDEAS)__thesis statement__developing ideas __supporting details__choice of sources

___MIDDLE (STRUCTURE)__logic of argument__¶ organization__sentence organization in ¶__transitions

Rollins Writing Center consulting notes form

___INVENTION__understanding assignment

UNC Chapel Hill “Getting Feedback”

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/feedback.html

Understanding the assignmentFactual contentInterpretation/analysisOrganization

Ask students to analyze their own drafts for content

Underline the thesis. Is there a thesis? Can the writer summarize the main idea of the paper in a sentence? Is it a dead- end thesis, which will corner the writer into obvious conclusions, or is the thesis a thoroughfare with interesting avenues to explore?

Gloss. Have the client write down the main idea of each paragraph in the margin. Do all the sentences in the paragraph add up to a single topic? Do all the paragraphs relate back to the thesis?

Use highlighters to make any kind of analysis stand out. After deciding what a paragraph is about, give those words a color. Get the writer to mark each different idea in a different color. And on the paragraph level, mark similar ideas in a single color. A pink idea might not belong in a blue paragraph. (I’ve demonstrated several ways of doing this in other slides)

Discuss evidence. Does the assignment offer guidance? What kind of support does the writer plan to use? How is the writer evaluating sources and keeping track of where supporting details come from?

(Rollins WC training manual)

Responding to an early draft (2)

David and Jennifer get into a fight over the remote control. He’s a geek that wants to watch old shows on TV. This strange repairman pulls up out of the middle of nowhere and gave them a new remote control that sends them into the TV…

Everybody’s so dumb they think geography ends with main street and elm. dumb and lucky. The guy at the coffee shop can’t function, when his routine gets messed up. When the sister starts to have sex he sees a red rose.

(snip, snip—to the last paragraph)

David learns that he’s not such a dweeb. Jennifer learns that she has a brain so she drops the slut act. This is a personal lesson. In the end David is comforting his Mom who feels sad that she’s 40 and divorced, maybe she’s dreaming of a husband who says ‘honey, I’m home’ but probably she’d divorce him if he did. David’s lesson for her at the end is that nothing in life is simple. Maybe that’s what the movie is trying to say. We have a simple view of the fifties like Ozzie and Harriet or Leave it to Beaver. Nostalgia. We forget that people were worried about the Bomb and the War in Korea.

You can get the student to categorize what is in each part of the paper, to guide in writing the next draft.

Using brainstorming at the beginning…

Starting out the writing process with brainstorming is both a creative and structured way to ensure that later writing is not off-track.

…and in the middle When working with drafts, you can use these same

(graphical) methods to help writers structure new information, as they understand the assignment better and/or see where their paper has gaps or needs clarification.

You can help the student brainstorm more about what is in the other sources and is not in the movie. Or about the personal lessons that point to the problems of the fifties. Or wherever the writer’s ideas go, following the assignment’s path.

Generate ideas to fit task HOW? Appeal to various styles WHERE FROM? Pinpoint sources of info written texts (books,

supplementary readings, internet sites) & notes

class notes other consolidated notes (study

tools) made in groups (SI, tutoring, study groups) and/or by individual student

__INVENTION __brainstorm__freewrite__map__outline__understanding assignment

Where’s the beef?

In a mid-stage draft, you can help the writer evaluate following: Do I have a point? Does my argument make sense? Is it logical and consistent? Is it supported by sufficient evidence?

And give feedback on how well the facts support the client’s assertions

Understanding the assignmentFactual contentInterpretation/analysisOrganization

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/feedback.html

___EARLY (IDEAS)__thesis statement__developing ideas __supporting details__choice of sources

A later draft: content feedback

Pleasantville”: The Movie Review

“Pleasantville” is an entertaining movie about two teenagers from the ‘90’s that travel back to the ‘50’s. They are not time travelers like in Back to the Future however; because Pleasantville is not a real place but a TV show. The director makes some good points about the fifties, but he is not pretending like Oliver Stone that he is telling real history. The movie relied on magic and fantasy so you knew this was fiction. One just has to accept that these two teenagers can ride the airwaves back in time and that the sitcom parents don’t even recognize that there children have changed. But “Pleasantville” shows that, women and even men felt oppressed by the culture, this is a great strength of the movie. If the movie was really trying to teach history than we should have seen soldiers leaving for Korea and air-raid drills in school and black people marching for their civil rights. In my opinion one can get some history from the movie, but only if you all ready know something about the fifties. If you don’t you might be decieved by the black and white and think it was a documentary which its not.

(the introduction to a seven- page paper)

  This draft has more shape, more intention at the outset. Using marginal glosses or highlighters, the writer then can show you where each part of the thesis is covered. Note that grammar & mechanics are not discussed before dealing with the content.

Feedback on expression

In a late-stage draft, you can help the writer evaluate the following, (from Rollins’ writing process):

Or in UNC’s handout: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/feedback.html

___LATE (REFINEMENTS)__sentence variety__style concerns__punctuation__use of quotations/paraphrasing

___FINAL EDIT__proofreading __citation format__spelling__paper format

FlowStyleGrammarSmall errors

A later draft: grammar feedback

Pleasantville”: The Movie Review

“Pleasantville” is an entertaining movie about two teenagers from the ‘90’s that travel back to the ‘50’s. They are not time travelers like in Back to the Future however; because Pleasantville is not a real place but a TV show. The director makes some good points about the fifties, but he is not pretending like Oliver Stone that he is telling real history. The movie relied on magic and fantasy so you knew this was fiction. One just has to accept that these two teenagers can ride the airwaves back in time and that the sitcom parents don’t even recognize that there children have changed. But “Pleasantville” shows that, women and even men felt oppressed by the culture, this is a great strength of the movie. If the movie was really trying to teach history than we should have seen soldiers leaving for Korea and air-raid drills in school and black people marching for their civil rights. In my opinion one can get some history from the movie, but only if you all ready know something about the fifties. If you don’t you might be decieved by the black and white and think it was a documentary which its not.

 

Tutors can identify patterns of errors, especially in the first part of a paper. Highlights in different colors help.

Punctuation: Further coded

by type of error?

spelling

Brainstorming from the Creativity Web, Australia

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/Techniques/brainstorm.htm

The term “brainstorming” has become a commonly used word in the English language as a generic term for creative thinking....other people's remarks act to stimulate your own ideas in a sort of chain reaction of ideas.

The generation phase is separate from the judgment phase of thinking. Someone writes down all the ideas as they occur, as another facilitates:

Suspend judgment

Every idea is accepted and recorded

Encourage people to build on the ideas of others

Encourage way-out and odd ideas

Michael Morgan, Creative Workforce Innovation, cited on the Creativity Web

Graphic Organizers

Brainstorming webs What we remember

from k-12Mind-mapping

Links between ideas are not specified

Concept maps Links are spelled out;

relationships are clear

Matrixes a.k.a. charts/tables

Flow charts If, then… processes,

business writing Those auto-shapes

in MS word

Not encouraged by MS Power

Point!!

http://muskingum.edu/~cal/database/organization.html#Matrices

Categories from the Center for the Advancement of Learning (CAL) website:

Brainstorming Web

Web -- Money -- Initial Brainstorming

Contributor: Jennifer KeiserJennifer is the webmaster at Inspiration Software.

Uses:What do sixth graders think about money?Teacher collects information in an initial discussion on "what they know" about money.

http://www.graphic.org/money.html

Mind-mapping

Used in K-12Appeals to

visual and kinesthetic learners

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/Mindmap/index.html

Concept Maps:

The U. of Victoria (Canada) website explains the process & gives readers a chance to practice and compare to U Vic’s map.

http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/map_ho.html

Unlike with brainstorming webs, links between concepts are named, with verbs

The Biology Teaching webpage has many examples of biology concepts mapped out, along with justification for their use, especially in science.

http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/~johnson/misconceptions/concept_map/concept_maps.html

Digestion

Maps are for thinking—to summarize and understand readings, and to generate ideas for writing.http://www.graphic.org/concept.html

Concept Maps 2

This rich website shows different types of concept maps:

Spider, hierarchy, flow-chart, systems.

http://classes.aces.uiuc.edu/ACES100/Mind/CMap.html

A concept map of concept mapping-->

Matrixes--tables

from a paper/essay Q, decide which categories are crucial

then gather information in chart/table/matrix format

students can study info for short/long essay tests, and/or write paper from the visual

The Learning Strategies Database of the The Center for the Advancement of Learning (CAL), Muskingum College, Ohio is an exceptional resource.

http://muskingum.edu/~cal/database/organization.html#Matrices

Flow charts

http://www.ex.ac.uk/cimt/mepres/book8/bk8i1/bk8_1i2.htm

Flow charts describe processes, from beginning to end.

They include instructions (rectangles) and decisions (diamonds) to be made at crucial juncture points.

Many thanks to Sylvia Whitman, former Rollins Writing Center coordinator, now at Georgetown U., for her help in the middle- and late-stages of the writing process, and for the use of her history assignment and successive drafts.

Check out the Rollins Writing Center web site at

http://www.rollins.edu/wc

And don’t hesitate to contact me.

http://www.rollins.edu/tpj/tutoring

Susie Robertshaw

407 646-2652

srobertshaw@rollins.edu