The readings for this week were “Is There a Creative Writer in the House?” by Bishop and Briam’s essay entitled “Shifting Gears”. These readings were both incredibly eye opening in terms of my own writing, and they helped me to see how my type of writing (required by my major, obviously), matched up and compared to other majors. It tied in really well with the activity that we did in class where we gathered into the groups based on major and wrote down all of the different things that each major had to incorporate into their writing. I really liked that activity! I thought it really clearly demonstrated the similarities and differences between each major, and I think the emphasis on commonalities between majors can also tie into the “Across Disciplines” chapter, showing that individuals can get help with writing (from a Writing Center), no matter what they are studying or writing about.

The questions asked by this chapter are really important and significant to me, as this is actually the topic that Sasha and I are writing about for our final project! It is the idea that people from different areas of academic study or from different majors might have a different view of the Writing Center or may not even utilize the Writing Center to its full extent. Based on what we’ve noted in our work so far, and the information that we’ve gleaned, I think it is evident that people from across scholarship use the Writing Center for help and think that it is effective. However, I could see how it could be difficult (a little) for a tutor to work on a piece with a writer from a major that they are unfamiliar with, like science or business. That being said, I think that the possibility of engaging with individuals from multiple disciplines is actually a good way to practice being flexible and adaptable, as well as making it clear that tutors should ask questions of the people they are tutoring if they don’t understand something about a piece. This is also ties into an earlier discussion that we had as a class about collaborative learning: it can be a good time for a consultant to learn something about another area of study that they didn’t previously know!

The article that Nicklay wrote, concerning guilt in the Writing Center, was extremely enlightening and made a lot of things very clear about consultants and the ways in which the Writing Center affects them. Sometimes, if the session didn’t go as planned or if the consultant gets the feeling that the writer didn’t gain anything from the meeting, it can create a sense of guilt. However, there is a huge difference between a meeting that isn’t productive or beneficial to the writer and a meeting in which the writer is unhappy with the tutor’s advice. Nicklay refers to an important element of Writing Center interactions–known as “directive” conversation–and it connects to Munday’s article “(Non) Meeting of the Minds”. To withhold information would be a disservice to the writer, and so I think that it is better to be direct and honest with the writer than to work hard to please the writer. Since it is the job of the consultant to help the writer improve their piece and their writing skills and abilities, it can sometimes be necessary to criticize things about their writing in order to help them. By doing so, the writer will benefit from the session.

I think that one aspect of writing and tutoring that is overlooked is that writing isn’t always entirely objective: an individual’s identity plays a big role in the way that they write. I think that it is so important for all tutors to know that people could be coming into the Writing Center with different learning disabilities, as well as from different cultural backgrounds with a wide range of language skills. In fact, I think that it is a crucial lesson for tutors to learn, in order for them to practice being creative, flexible, and to practice being able to adapt to their environment or to their writer as the situation calls for it. Moreover, it encourages tutors to not get “stuck in their ways” or to think that one method of tutoring will work for every person, therefore keeping them humble and willing to change their approaches depending on the person.

It is so important for a tutor to be familiar with the authoring practices, both in regards to their own individual writing improvement and in regards to helping others improve their writing. Once a tutor understands the nuances of the writing process themselves, they can help others to learn and improve. I really enjoyed reading this chapter because I liked reading about the different stages of the writing process. Regardless of each person’s individual process for writing a paper, everyone does these steps in some way that works for them–it is flexible and objective, but it is kind of cool to know that everyone follows the same basic steps in trying to write a paper. I think that, for me, my version of “planning” and drafting is a little bit different, because I don’t write a formal “pre write” or draft before I write my official paper. Instead, I tend to go through my source(s), find good excerpts or quotes, and develop a list of them that I can use. Then, I go back through and connect each one to my thesis or argument.

In the two readings for this week, “Tutoring Practices” from the Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors and Molly Wingate’s “What Line? I Didn’t See Any Line”, both of the texts discuss productivity in the writing center. In the former essay, the author outlines two different ‘types’ of tutoring sessions: one is ‘motivational’, and the other is referred to as ‘scaffolding’. Each of these categories has different recommendations for how to go about having a productive session: in regards to ‘motivational’ practices, it seemed to be more independent in terms of the writer coming up with his/her own ideas and the tutor serving as more of a secondary source of information, while scaffolding seemed to involve the tutor’s opinion and input more. Going into the Wingate essay, she describes how, because no two sessions are alike, it can be difficult to tell if you are crossing the line, saying too much, or becoming overly involved in the writer’s process in a way that doesn’t benefit the writer.

With these basic summaries, we can see clearly that these two articles/essays are connected. Once one understands the importance of a productive meeting as outline by Wingate, a tutor can utilize the methods discussed in “Tutoring Practices” in order to make sure they are using their time and the writer’s time efficiently and effectively. By using the techniques from Tutoring Practices, a tutor can ensure that they are not only helping the writer accomplish the project, but they are doing so in a way that helps the writer become a better writer–the key is knowing where the line is between ‘helpful if needed’ and ‘overly-involved in the project’.

In regards to a question I have after the readings this week–do you think that the ‘motivational’ method of tutoring or the ‘scaffolding’ method of tutoring is more effective and beneficial? Why?

-Emily Senesac

For this post, we were asked to read two essays: “Peer Tutoring and the Conversation of Mankind” by Bruffee and “Collaboration, Control, and the Idea of a Writing Center” by Lunsford. Both of these readings toy with the idea of collaboration and the ways in which the writing center fosters this type of social engagement. Bruffee makes the point that writing and the process of writing is derived primarily from social conversations and contexts, which is why the institution of the writing center has the potential to improve students’ writing: it encourages conversation and discussion that can help build writing skills. Additionally, Lunsford remarked that the idea of collaboration aids in a lot of skills that are helpful when writing, including problem solving, a deeper understanding of others, and an overall higher level of achievement.

I think that I would have to agree that learning is a collaborative process, and that despite the fact that peer tutoring may seem like “the blind leading the blind”, the act of pooling resources and knowledge can help foster an environment of learning. I had never really thought about writing as being as collaborative of an experience as, say, studying for a history or biology exam, but the way that Bruffee and Lunsford lay out the benefits makes a lot of sense.

My question is: Is there, in your opinion, a fine line between collaboration and control?

• What do you find comes easiest to you when asked to write? What do you still struggle with, and how to you seek help? 
• I would say that, when first asked to write something, I struggle mostly with that introductory content. I often find that it is easiest to write last, so when I am asked to submit a draft or something similar to that, I struggle to cobble together an adequate introduction section. Additionally, I also have a hard time with the “pre-writing” phase, which a lot of teachers and classes require as part of an exercise or as part of the grade for the paper. For some reason, I have never been much of a pre-writer or an outline user, and I just kind of write it as I go along (which I know is a bad habit). That’s what I find easiest–jotting down ideas as they come to me and then revising them later on. In terms of seeking help with my lack of ability or desire to pre-write or outline, often I just have to grit my teeth and do it myself.
• Where do you do your best writing? How does your writing process work best? How do you support your writing? What is your most effective method of writing?
• I would say that I do my best writing when I am alone, in a quiet environment, without people or music to distract me. Oddly enough, I write most of my papers in my bed at home without music or TV playing and when I am completely by myself. I find that my process is very hindered by the presence of external distractions, so I don’t usually come to the library (I am too prone to socializing). My process works best, as I said above, when I just jot down all of the ideas I plan to use in my paper as I go along, and then going back through immediately afterwards and revising those ideas into full thoughts. I support my writing style and methods by doing them in locations that will help me focus and get it done, aka a quiet, isolated location. Again, my most effective method of writing is as follows: come up with a general argument, divide body content based on that argument and its subcategories, use source material to enhance body content, and then go back through and revise. Those steps occur all in a row and in a short amount of time, which is why I struggle so much with prewriting deadlines several days or weeks in advance. I find time pressures to greatly enhance my ability to write.

To start this post, I will begin by addressing my experiences with reading and writing, as they were highly transformative elements of my childhood. From a young age, I was always regarded as a strong reader by my elementary and middle school teachers, who would often give me additional books to read for extra credit and would enter into discussions with me about what I had read. As my love of reading nurtured and grew in this supportive atmosphere, my interest in and enjoyment of writing began to flourish as well. My elementary school teachers always encouraged me to write in my free time and to show them what I had written, offering criticisms and praise for the variety of written works that I shared with them. Amid this outpouring of encouragement, my writing and reading skills only improved! I would say that I am a strong and confident writer in addition to being a voracious reader and rather good researcher. I love reading for pleasure, and will essentially read any book that is placed in front of me. Some of my favorite genres include historical fiction, biographies, fantasy, and horror/thriller–but I pretty much love everything.

Although I have honed and improved my skills in writing over most of my academic life, I accept that there is always room to grow and to learn more. That being said, I hope to further strengthen my capabilities in the areas of reading, writing, and researching in this class! To put it succinctly: There is always room for improvement!

Looking forward to a wonderful semester!

-Emily Senesac

 

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton