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THEORY TO PRACTICE ESSAYS
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| Prewriting: Step-by-Step Sarah Thompson
Outlining is a very clear and concise way of arranging research material that the writer has collected into a cohesive manner. Using outlining as a prewriting strategy works well for students after they have already done preliminary research on the subject at hand. Tobey Fulwiler stresses this point in his book The Working Writer. Fulwiler states that when a student creates an outline, he or she is forced to structure his or her ideas (62). This technique works well in conjunction with the research process. I myself use outlining for this purpose, and I always recommend this strategy to the tutees I help who are writing research papers as well. This is because outlines not only organize thoughts and statistics, but they also make it easier to rearrange thoughts and statistics, if the writer chooses to do so. Fulwiler agrees with this when he says, “Outlines are most useful if you modify them as you write in accordance to new thoughts or information” (62). One student I encountered swears by outlines. She informed me that by outlining she is able to get a mental picture of what her paper is going to look like and what the general flow should be. |
Prewriting Strategies
Freewriting is a fast paced, continued writing process. To freewrite, one must remember to keep writing. The object of this process is for a writer to continue writing as fast as he or she can, without stopping and to do this for a designated amount of time, such as fifteen minutes. When using this method, a writer should not worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or neatness. Instead, he or she should continuously write down every thought that comes to mind. By doing this, the writer has no time to rethink his or her original thoughts. Often a writer becomes critical of his or her own work and tosses it out. Freewriting does not allow this to happen; thus, giving the writer a chance to see every possible idea that evolved. The writer can discover ideas that may have been tucked away and not thought out. If the writer stumbles over words and can only think of such phrases as “Gee, I don’t know what to write,” then he or she would write down that exact phrase. The writer should not stop the writing process for any reason. Writers will find the more they write, the more they will think. Writing requires a lot of thought. The more ideas a writer has, the better thought processes will occur. The actual freewrite may seem like a messy piece of work, but the end results are quite useful. Writers are able to generate many useful ideas through this method. |
| Silence Speeks Volumes Jessica Wilson
Most students who come to the Writing Center have no reason to trust the tutor initially. Eye contact serves as the basis of honesty, giving the writer a reason to trust. Reaching a comfort level is important as it reinforces the idea of peer tutoring. If writer and tutor are not comfortable with each other nothing will be accomplished. Roger arrived on time and I shook his hand as I greeted him. This is when I established eye contact to build a comfort level. Roger and I began to review his assignment, an opinion paper for which the instructor had provided a list of topics. As he read the list, I noticed he only looked at me as he named certain topics. This told me what interested him. As we divided his choice topics into sub-topics, Roger maintained eye contact. A writer must have confidence in himself as he writes. Roger’s eye contact revealed his high self-esteem that made me confident to move on. M. Hiscock, A. Kendon, and B.B. Meskin agree “Maintaining eye contact in a social situation can be difficult for anyone who is uncomfortable and unsure of oneself […]” (qtd. in “Perception,” par. 19). Eye contact was also a key part of the conference I sat in on. At first I thought the writer, Mary, would be wary of me. She maintained eye contact with both the tutor and me. I saw her eagerness to share and learn in her eyes. |
“Close your eyes. Take deep breaths and relax,” I instructed. I had introduced the relaxation technique, found on the Purdue University OWL website, because I had assumed the student was just as worried as I was concerning her situation. I had hoped the student found it as useful as I did, but to my amazement the student was not anxious about her seven page research paper that was due the next day—the one she had not started yet! Knowing what she was about to attempt, I was worried enough for the both of us. Tutoring for a research paper can be overwhelming because of the length of the paper, the complexity of the topic, and the many techniques that can be applied. Lucille Deutsch, director of the Learning Center at Rio Grande College, agrees in her article “The Research Paper: How the Tutor Can Help” that “Trying to help a student with a research paper that is due ‘today’ can be a frustrating experience for both the tutor and the tutee” (1). A tutor can only accomplish a limited amount in an hour-long session. Although I am not responsible for the student waiting until the last minute to begin the paper, as a tutor I have an obligation to hold the most productive session possible for the situation. The few resources available that address the subject of tutoring for a research paper when the paper is “due soon” left me unprepared to handle the situation when it arose. I began by asking myself what I thought a more experienced tutor would do in this situation? I did not have an answer, which led me to question how often a tutor should anticipate encountering this situation? The results of a survey I conducted, using the tutors in the MCCC Writing Center, showed nearly half of all students tutored scheduled an appointment the day before or the day the paper was due! This frustrating situation can become a productive experience for both the tutor and tutee if the tutor is prepared. As tutors we can effectively handle the many situations we encounter with students by following specific sets of techniques designed to fit the individual’s situation. When a research paper is “due soon” a productive tutoring session can be achieved through establishing a relationship with the student, setting an agenda, prioritizing, and encouraging the use of reference materials. 
The Monroe County Community College (MCCC) Writing Center assists anyone who comes in and seeks help with his or her writing. Students routinely see the Writing Fellows by making appointments, walking in, communicating with a tutor via e-mail, or by participating in a “fellowed” class. Many teachers require students to visit with a Writing Fellow, giving us (Writing Fellows) a challenge. However, many new tutors are unaware of the new challenges that tutoring presents. There are two types of students—required and non-required—who have completely different body language and attitudes when participating in a session. Of these two, required students are the most difficult. It is important that Writing Fellows be aware of body language, attitudes, and methods too effectively tutor required students. 
A beginning tutor experiences different fears, one being failure. Jennifer visits the Writing Center frequently, and is a 090 (remedial writing) tutee of mine. We are working together on writing a paragraph and her most difficult obstacle is avoiding sentence fragments; by the second week I realized we were not making progress and I felt inadequate as a tutor. Jackie Monroe a tutoring mentor suggests using different learning style techniques. There are three types of learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. In the MCCC Writing Center it is not a lack of knowledge amongst tutors, but we are using our own learning styles and overlooking the others. Some tutors know how to explain an exercise used to reach a kinesthetic tutee, but o not have an ability to put it into practice and help the student. The goal is to focus on making the Writing Center a more personalized atmosphere to each individual and help close the gap between a kinesthetic tutee and visual tutor by starting with the tutor. 
Being a member of the Writing Center at Monroe County Community College is a very difficult, but rewarding experience. It has taught me a great deal about being a good tutor as well as being a responsible individual. I have learned so much through working with students in the Writing Center and have gained a vast knowledge of writing skills. The role of a tutor versus the role of a teacher is very different; however, sometimes it is easy to combine them into one, while working with a student. Sometimes, students have the misconception that tutors will just correct their papers. It is our responsibility to let the student know tutors are there as arrows, pointing them in the right direction. As a tutor, there are three goals that must be achieved during each session: helping the student gain new skills as a writer, being caring and attentive to the student's needs, and being a coach to the student, not a teacher. 
The elements of learning, and the way in which students learn, are imperative academically. Matching a student’s learning style with a professor’s teaching style has many advantages for the college, the student, and the professor; but all learning styles should be introduced to students, so they will be ready for the challenges in the world. An important point to remember is that “education is not something we do to people; education is something people do for themselves” (Johnston 6), but by giving students the necessary tools to work with, all students could achieve their goals. Identifying a professor’s teaching style is inexpensive, and would not be time consuming for the college. Students have variables in their learning styles, which are independent, dependent, competitive, collaborative, avoidant, and participant, so it is important for students to know which learning variable they possess. All students have an element, which makes learning come natural to them. This element is something that is commonplace to the student, or better known as something the student can relate the teaching to in his or her life. The following are the three elements of learning: cognition, conation, and affectation. Along with the elements of learning is the student’s learning style. The student may be a visual learner, an auditory learner, or a kinesthetic learner. By matching a student’s learning style with a professors teaching style the student, the professor, and the college have an advantage in many different areas of teaching and learning. 
Socializing is an important part of everyday life. But how do we socialize and what are the rules? If you take a step back and notice people socializing, how far away from each other do they stand? Is there any touching involved? And how does all of this reflect their relationship with one another? Throughout our daily interactions individuals carry perceptions as to how close others should be to them while interacting. Individuals tend to have a distance that allows them to feel safe and secure. When this personal space is invaded, an individual may feel uncomfortable and experience other psychological effects. This distance can be divided as social, personal, or intimate and differs with each individual.
Many students who enter the MCCC Writing Center lack confidence in their writing abilities. I discovered this my first day of tutoring and decided one goal I had for myself with tutoring would be to help students become more confident in themselves and their writing. It is common for students to become nervous and begin to doubt themselves during a tutoring conference. Some students have lost faith in themselves and sought out a writing tutor as a last resort to save their papers. Tutors must encourage students so they are able to complete the tasks at hand. Through research I conducted, along with my own experience in the Writing Center, I found that an optimistic (positive) approach works best when building a student’s confidence during a conference. The optimistic approach I use involves three steps: creating a positive environment, giving students positive reinforcement, and encouraging students to take charge of their work. 
Students writing an academic paper unknowingly forget organization. Often students use prewriting or they begin drafting as soon as ideas flow from their thoughts. The only problem is that prewriting strategies are for the initial stages of writing. Prewriting helps students find ideas and organize the ideas; however, it does not give complete structure for the writing process. The drafting technique does not work organizationally because ideas do not normally flow from student’s thoughts in a specific order. Without order, unity, and cohesiveness students fail to communicate their ideas, resulting in an incomplete paper. The five-paragraph theme model is an unintentional product resulting from teachers preparing students for state assessment testing. The model allows students to organize their papers in a specific order while maintaining unity and cohesiveness. Unfortunately, the model is not appropriate for all papers. The model causes controversy among teachers and professional writers. While some use the model others disagree because of the structural limitations. Agreeing the model has limitations, Monroe County Community College Writing Fellows use the model successfully when tutoring student peers. The success at MCCC is attributed to the methods in which the model is introduced to students. In addition, MCCC Writing Fellows awareness of the styles limitations allows them to use the organization the model encompasses, without rigorously following the model. 
The Socratic Method is one of the strategies used by tutors in their craft. This method is named after the philosopher Socrates, who taught his students by answering their questions with more questions to incite deeper thinking on their part. Tutors have since adopted this style of questioning tutees to draw out the answers in lieu of giving them the answers outright. The benefit of tutoring this way is that the tutee learns the answer on his own, hence promoting "ownership." Moreover, the tutee learns better when the Socratic Method is applied. However, questioning alone does not always help in the tutoring experience. While giving the answer to a tutee is not the ideal practice, sometimes the tutor must relent and do exactly that. Also, if the method is done incorrectly, the tutee will be confused, with little progress made. Just like anything else, the Socratic Method must be applied properly to be successful. This is accomplished by determining the questions to be asked, deciding whether the tutee knows the answers, and directing the questions for the best results. 
Owls are graceful birds that efficiently capture the resources they need. Online writing labs, also called OWLs, ought to attempt to emulate their namesakes by becoming more efficient in how they operate and offering a greater variety of services. To attain this goal, online writing centers must be self-contained while still complementing their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Modern technologies are redefining literacy, and writing centers need to offer resources to reflect these new definitions. A variety of tools— forums, e-mail, online chat rooms, and other methods—can help sites become more useful to students. The responses gathered from a questionnaire I distributed reflect students’ opinions about these tools. There are advantages and disadvantages to online writing centers; however, a well-structured site can provide valuable services to students. I envision the ideal online writing lab as a community where people can collect and share resources and learn to make their writing take flight as effortlessly as an owl. 
How many times have we, as tutors, heard the phrase “I just do not know how to get started.” Probably more times than we can actually count. For almost every writer, experienced or inexperienced, generating ideas is usually the most difficult aspect when writing a paper. This process of generating ideas is called prewriting. Just as there are different styles for each writer, there are also different types of prewriting. Here are five types of prewriting : brainstorming, freewriting, looping, outlining, and clustering. Prewriting should be viewed as the first step in the long process of writing, and is of the utmost importance to the working writer. As writers, it is important for us to experiment with each different type of prewriting to find out which of the five works the best for us. Among these, the most popular among MCCC students seems to be outlining, brainstorming, and clustering. 
What are my ideas? What am I going to write about? Many writers are faced with these questions as they begin an assignment. Sometimes, writers find it just as difficult to think of a topic as writing the entire paper. Although instructors may sometimes assign a particular topic, writers must still expand on the topic with their own ideas. Writers may or may not have a topic assigned to them, but in either case, they need to generate ideas for the body of their paper. They may find themselves staring at a blank sheet of paper or a blank computer screen. I have experienced this many times while working on an assignment. I found myself struggling with ways to develop ideas. My mind would go blank as soon as I decided to write something down on paper. Having learned about prewriting strategies, I have made it a point to practice them each time I write. The process of generating ideas is an important first step in writing a paper. Prewriting strategies help writers to achieve this first step, by offering suggestions for getting started with creating ideas and putting those ideas together to form a well-structured paper. There are many prewriting strategies to choose from such as freewriting, brainstorming, and clustering. Writers may choose one or more of these strategies depending on what works best for them. There are no rules for prewriting; it allows the writer to combine techniques for positive results. Prewriting strategies such as freewriting, brainstorming, and clustering are effective methods in generating ideas. 
Non-verbal communication is vital to the world. Imagine a world where everyone could only communicate verbally. The citizens cannot use their hands, their eyes, or any part of their body. Existence in this world would be impossible. Hands can not be used by students wanting to answer questions or people wishing to get a taxi. The people of this world are blind; eyes give too many non-verbal clues. No one can stand, sit, or lie down, as posture is also a part of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is just as important during a tutoring session. Many writers who come to the MCCC Writing Center are reluctant to be there. Getting information from them is like pulling teeth. In this type of session non-verbal communication is our guide. Non-verbal communication is also important in sessions where students talk. It can save time by leaving some questions unasked. The eye contact, nervous behavior, and posture of writer and tutor can reveal what they are unwilling to say. Non-verbal cues tell the tutor how to proceed in the conference. I found these traits in sessions with “Roger” and “Kathy.” I also observed a session between a writer, “Mary” and another tutor. Stepping away from the tutor position allowed me to see things in a different light.