My first tutoring experience

Last week, I had my first session as a tutor for an ENG099 student. Everything went along quite smoothly. My tutee was having trouble organizing her ideas, so I showed her how to outline her essay, grouping like ideas together. She was an ESL student, so her grammar was a little bit off at times, but I wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t understand her point. I didn’t focus on grammar during the session, except for one sentence whose meaning was ambiguous. I kept the session concentrated on structure, organization, and brainstorming. My tutee was glad to have me work with her, and was very responsive to my teaching. That hour session did not feel like an hour at all. At one point, I looked at the clock thinking we were only there for 15 minutes, but we were actually there for 45! I enjoyed my first tutoring experience, and am looking forward to the next session.

Review of CATW essay on "Hype"

This essay makes a few good points, but is organized in a confusing manner. The writer awkwardly jumped between ideas, which were made even less understandable by a few cases of bad grammar. In paragraph two, the writer noted that advertisements “do not have a valid message” because the issue of obesity in America will be discussed on television followed by a fast-food commercial, video game commercial, then a weight loss commercial. The writer then claims that this is an example of the media “advocating to eat while playing video games or watching TV.” What they do not understand is that the commercials were most likely from all different companies; the order of their presentation is merely a coincidence. Assuming for a moment that the order of the commercials was intentionally designed to advocate eating, why would weight-loss follow McDonalds? The last thing that Mickey D’s wants is for its consumers to be health conscious enough to stay away from their food.

The author does not summarize the article well, and only briefly touched upon one of the author's ideas before going off on modernizing and suggested meaning of advertisements. Personal experience and outside knowledge were used, although the points that were made were not supported very well. The conclusion was one big run-on sentence that mentions the inescapability of advertisements, being brainwashed to buy more modern technology, and a claim that a person with modern technology attains a high acceptance in society because consumers have been brainwashed. If I were to grade this paper by the rubric, I believe this paper would lie near the border of passing and failing.

Projective structuring, retrospective structuring, and felt sense

Felt sense is an important aspect of the writing process. Writing based on what you feel, even if it is nothing, is the core idea behind felt sense. Even that nothing is something, and one must contemplate what exactly that nothing is. Using the felt sense helps one develop a genuine idea that they believe in and can elaborate on. It sounds like a confusing concept, but through its use, felt sense becomes a natural part of the writing process and helps a writer develop an idea based on how they feel about a subject.

Retrospective structuring is the organization of ideas and grammar used when developing an idea. Using this effectively helps provide a clear understanding of the subject to the reader. It is also one of the methods of discovery for the writer. Often times, an idea is inchoate until the writer puts their ideas into words.

Projective structuring is described as putting yourself into the reader's shoes. This is more important with certain types of writing than with others. For example, with research papers, when making an argument for your point, one more be aware that not all of the readers will be on the same side. Being too one-sided and biased may turn readers with opposing views against your ideas. However, neutrality will weaken your case because as a researcher, one must take a stance and develop arguments that support it.

What to do and what not to do when tutoring

DO
Make the student feel comfortable so that they can open up
Motivate the student
Explain all steps when guiding a student through something
Ask a lot of questions
Focus on student's trouble areas
Prioritize your focus areas (High and low-order concerns)
Be enthusiastic.


DON'T
Promise high grades
Give false praise (Cheer-leading)
Do the student's work for them (Usurping ownership)
Assume what they know
Discourage the student
Brag about your own knowledge
Eat or drink while tutoring 
Focus on low-order concerns if high-order concerns exist

How I Feel About Becoming A Writing Tutor

In these past couple weeks, I have absorbed a fair share of information regarding tutoring theory, and will learn more in the weeks to come. My feelings about becoming a writing tutor are mixed. While I am excited to teach another student how to better their writing, I am also a bit anxious. I don't think of tutoring as particularly nerve racking, its just that I've never taught in a formal setting such as the writing center before. I'm sure that after my first session, my nerves will be calm. My only obstacle to overcome after that will be my lack of experience.

Sondra Perl

Tapping Into Your Mind

    Sondra Perl, a professor at Lehman College, specializes in composition theory and rhetoric. She has conducted a great deal of research, and has written an impressive quantity of articles that contribute to the wealth of information in the field of theorizing the writing process. Perl pointed out that many writing teachers only focused on the finished product, paying little to no regard for the process the student used to start with a blank sheet and end with a complete assignment. She then goes on to explain that “It was not until Janet Emig (1969) used a case-study approach to observe writers during the act of writing that empirical data concerning what writers do began to be collected.” (Perl, 20)
    After a series of research studies, Perl developed her own system, titled “Sondra Perl’s Composing Guidelines.” The first of a group of three guidelines (or as she calls, “exercises”) may strike many writers (especially inexperienced ones) as strange. She writes, “Continue writing, even when you don’t know where you’re going.” (Perl, 1) It was a strange concept when my english 101 teacher proposed a free-write session where he stated something along the lines of “Your pens should not stop moving until the ten minutes is up. Write anything, even if it doesn’t seem relevant” The first time I did this, I wrote for about six or seven minutes, until I was out of material. However, I was determined to write till the end. I began writing about how I had nothing to write about, until the seeming senseless spewing of ideas began to come together and bring me back on track. I was following step 3 of Perl’s composing process without realizing it! Step three of of her composing guidelines is:
“Now ask yourself, "What's on my mind? Of all the things I know about, what might I like to write about now?" When you hear yourself answering, jot down what comes. Maybe you get one thing, maybe a list. If you feel totally blocked, you may write down "Nothing." Even this can be taken further by asking yourself, "What is this `Nothing' all about?" (Perl, 1)
    This “nothing” can seem like a strange concept to many, but the point is that it gets you to think. Engaging your mind and putting your pen to the paper or hitting the keys on your keyboard can sometimes be the most daunting task for a writer. Getting the ball rolling eases the author into the writing process, like wading into the water instead of diving in head first. Perl’s guidelines also pay close attention to relaxing the mind and body. She notes that we should “Find a way to get comfortable. Shake out your hands, take a deep breath, settle into your chair. Close your eyes if you'd like to; relax. Find a way to be quietly and comfortably aware of your inner state.” (Perl, 1)
    Perl also proposes a concept which she called the “Felt Sense.” She elaborates this idea by stating:
“Felt sense may seem a vague concept, but we get new leverage in our writing if we realize that there is always something there "in mind" before we have words for it. In one sense, of course, we don't know something till we have it in words. But in another sense we do indeed know quite a lot, and it's a question of learning to tap it better.” (Perl, 1)
    If we learn how to “tap” our ideas, by elaborating and expanding on them, we can branch off into a whole new series of ideas. Constant questioning of ourselves, our ideas, and what we know about them can take us to new places in our writing that we might not find otherwise. Thinking outside the box, as well as getting in touch with ourselves, can also make the difference between bland and intriguing writing.  In her article, “Storytelling as Research, a Writerly Approach to Research” Perl states that “The work needs to have a credible and engaging voice, one that if we heard at the party might make us want to meet the speaker, a voice or a range of voices that will pull us in rather than push us away.” (Perl, 307) Information and ideas alone are not enough to fully engage a reader. Perl’s guidelines are unique and useful in the sense that it makes us delve into our own mind, and explore not only our ideas, but ourselves as well.
    Perl’s contributions to the field of research and development of composition are immense. Her articles helped put the process of writing in the spotlight, which used to be neglected in favor of a finished product. As a result, the field of teaching writing was revolutionized and further advancements in education and writing theory were conceived.

Works Cited

"Sondra Perl's Composing Guidelines." The Focusing Institute. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. <http://www.focusing.org/perlprocess.html>.

Sondra, Perl. "The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers." Research in the Teaching of English 13.4 (n.d.): JSTOR SRU gateway. EBSCO. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.

Sondra, Perl. "Understanding Composing." College Composition and Communication 31.4 (n.d.): JSTOR SRU gateway. EBSCO. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.

Sondra Perl; Reba Pekala; Jack Schwartz; Anita Graves; Bill Silver; Jamie, Carter. "How Teachers Teach the Writing Process." The Elementary School Journal 84.1 (n.d.): JSTOR SRU gateway. EBSCO. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.