There will be times when you are tutoring in your subject area, when it seems that you are not so much working on Math or History or Economics, but in effect, are really acting as a writing tutor for your client. There may also be times when the Writing Center tutors are all busy and you might be asked to look over a paper.

When that happens, I hope you will keep in mind the old proverb:
"Give a man a fish and he eats for a day... Teach a man how to fish and he eats for the rest of his life."

For example, it's very easy to simply "correct" a student's paper, marking all the mistakes, suggesting improvements in sentences, correcting the punctuation, spelling and structure. Sometimes tutors are tempted to practically rewrite the student's paper for them. It's quick. It's easy. This approach seems like the right thing to do, and the students are always glad to get their work corrected like this, but you're not really helping the student in the best possible way. How much has the student learned if your role is to just "fix" their paper? Not much. Worse, the student may turn in your corrected work as if it were their own, clearly a dishonest misrepresentation of the student's actual ability.

Your job is not to give the student the "fish"; you should be teaching the student "how to fish", i.e. how to correct their own mistakes. This is much harder and, in working this way you may face more student resistance, but in the long run it will help the student do better and become a more independent learner.

Here's how to you can help your students:

-It is best to treat a student as a "partner in learning" rather than assuming a role of superiority. This puts the student at ease and makes a tutoring session more beneficial for the student.

-Do not proofread student papers. Your goal should be to teach students how to edit their own papers. Remember, good grammar does not necessarily mean good writing. It is important to teach students that writing is a process with definite stages. Proofreading is the final step in this process.

-If a student has problems with grammar, try to focus on one or two problems within the essay. You will encounter many papers that need improvement on many different levels, but it is overwhelming for a student to absorb too many suggestions at once, and it is impossible for a tutor to thoroughly cover all the rules of English grammar and punctuation in one session. It can be frustrating, but you will have to ignore many problems in a paper in order to completely explain one or two concepts. Remember, you are helping students to become better writers.

-You are not here to "fix" papers. Correcting student essays is against school policy and is a misrepresentation of a student's writing abilities.

-As a tutor, you do not need to know everything. If you are asked a question you don't have the answer to, it's okay to say, "I don't know, but I'll try to find out." If you don't know the answer to a question, ask another tutor or use one of the many available resources in the center.

-Use the resources here in the Learning Center. The Writing Center has a rack of handouts dealing with all areas of writing. There is also a small library with many different books available. If you have a question, ask Andy, or Maria, or some of the instructors who circulate through the Center. Finally, the CAI lab can provide students with computerized help in grammar, punctuation, and reading skills.

-Ask to see the teacher's directions for the assignment in order to understand what the student is required to do.

-Do not do all of the talking during a tutoring session. Ask the student questions to encourage him or her to actively participate in the session. Examples of some of the types of questions you might ask include the following:
What is the main idea of this paper?
Do you feel you've clearly made your point here?
How could you say this differently?

-Have the student be the one holding the pen and making corrections. Encourage students to write down their ideas rather than doing it for them. Tutors should avoid writing on a student's paper. The tutor asks questions and makes suggestions while the student does the actual writing.