Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Many assignments for students seem like giant mountains to climb and they attempt to make that ascent in one giant leap but often fall short.    If they come to us with enough time, we can help them break down assignments into manageable steps, one section of that mountainous paper at a time.   This is a hard concept to accept, however, since many students are not used to really practicing process writing.   What can tutors do?  As with many other issues, hold the line on process writing.  Pass along the use of tools to help them make that climb:  a graphic organizer to help break down paragraphs, or a simple piece of paper to block out the shape and direction of the paper.  Try creating a list of what to do in what order, a simple 1, 2, 3 outline.   You might even come up with a “to do” list so students will remember their next steps—something concrete to hang on to (revise my thesis, add transitions, include more details in p. 3 and 4, etc.).  You might help them organize their sources alphabetically, or color code their annotations to correspond with sections of a paper.   While you are at it, try to remember to let the student do the filling in to take and keep ownership of his or her own work.   Or, you might act as the scribe with the student’s permission; just write down verbatim what the student says.   Before the student knows it, they will have scaled that mountain.   So, tighten up your boot laces, fill your water canteens, and go ahead and be that mountain guide.

Reading and Writing and ‘Rithmetic

It seems lately that many students who are using our Lab are coming in for issues that are more reading-related than writing-related.   Of course, these are two sides of the same coin and one skill informs the other.  But often students miss the point that they can’t write a thorough response until they’ve understood the reading to which they are responding.   And, often students are coming in very shortly before the assignment is due looking for that miracle, that somehow they will pull off an excellent grade through the power of their hope with a little tutoring thrown in.    It seems we are often put in the position of holding difficult lines.    No one wants to disappoint a student or burst that hopeful bubble, but it is our job to be realistic with students.    If someone comes in who hasn’t understood a reading, then they must first get some help from a reading tutor before we can step in and help with the written response.    How do we decide how much reading is too much reading?  How can we tell the scope of the reading issue?  Is it vocabulary, decoding, identifying main points, understanding inferences? These are all reading-specific problems, most of which seem to be happening with courses outside of English—difficulty with discipline-specific assignments from History, Psychology, or Sociology.     This is the time to get out the Reading Lab schedule and try to make a connection for a student there.    However, if someone comes in and wants to discuss the content of a piece of literature as it relates to their writing assignment, then this is more in line with our purpose, so go ahead and tutor your heart out.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Welcome back, Writing Tutors Extraordinaire.   Here we are starting a brand new semester with many adventures in writing awaiting us.  

In these opening weeks thus far, I’ve been noticing that both our new and returning students are exhibiting a great desire for us to sit right by them as they write their essays word by word.   It’s good tutoring to sit with someone and brainstorm together, make a list, fill out a graphic organizer, develop a thesis, find a direction, etc., but once it comes to the composing stage, it’s time to set the student free to write by him or herself.   This is painful and scary for students who sometimes see us as a sort of talisman for successful writing.  But I encourage you to hold the line, not only because there may be several students waiting for help, but more importantly because it does the student a disservice by perpetuating the idea that he or she is not able to write alone.   Once the student has reached the composing stage and is ready to head in a certain direction, kindly draw yourselves away.  Feel free to check on the student, to say that you will come back in ten minutes, or to call out a “how are you doing?” periodically.   Tell the student why you are doing what you are doing.  It might seem like tough love but in the bigger picture it will serve the student better.

Wrangling the Research Paper, Part Two: Juggling Sources

The use of several sources can be overwhelming.   To help students cut their sources down to a manageable size, try offering them this method:

1.       Open to a clean page in their notebook.

2.      Divide that page into three columns, two wide and one narrow.

3.      Label the first “quote/paraphrase and source”.  Label the second “response”.  Label the narrow one “section”.

4.      Students should go through their sources one at a time, pulling out direct quotes or paraphrases that they think they will likely use.   Record these in the first column, along with the source.

5.      Next to these quotes/paraphrases in the second column, write out their thoughts and response. 

6.      In the third column, make a guess as to which section of the paper this quote/paraphrase might fit.

7.      If a student comes up with 12-15 of these, and takes a look in the third column, it becomes very clear which quotes go together, and which areas of the paper have a lot of evidence and which do not.

This method attempts not only to cut sources down to size, but also to help organize sections of the paper.  It is time-consuming, but a useful practice.  

quote/paraphrase and source	response	section
“the children were nestled all snug in their beds”  (Moore 6)	In this part of the poem, Moore sets the tension between the quiet sleeping children and the action about to happen, the interior space and the exterior, the difference between…	Part 2
“when out on the lawn there arose such a clatter/I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter (Moore 7)	Moore breaks the silence of the poem and provides unmistakable evidence of Santa’s existence…	Part 3
Etc.

Wrangling the Research Paper

It’s research paper time again, which means lots of students with lots of stress.   Many students have not taken advantage of the step-by-step writing process that their instructors have provided, nor have they taken seriously the need to spend considerable time finding and culling through sources.   So here they are with the barest skeleton of an idea in hand with a lengthy paper due the next day.   One thing we can do is to help students take apart the assignment to look at the various pieces.  Most research papers ask students to select an issue with two sides.   Here are some steps to help students break down this large assignment into chunks.

·        Help formulate a clear research question:  “Should Harry Potter be banned from public schools?”   “Was the moon landing real or a hoax?”  “Should women in the Navy be allowed on submarines?”   Help students write in the frame of the assignment.

·        Help formulate and write down a clear position in answer to their question—this position is, of course, their thesis.    Emphasize the focus on following this answer only.

·        Help the student list points on both sides of the argument.

·        Help get students started on places to find research—start with the databases.  For most research papers, the Comprehensive selection is a good one with several good databases inside—MasterFile Premier, Gold, Opposing Viewpoints, etc.   

·        Provide the MLA tip sheet.

Students are shocked to realize that this assignment requires several hours of work between researching and writing.   Unfortunately, we are in the position to be the bearers of bad news sometimes.   Please remember that we are not here to be miracle workers, even if that is what the students want.  We can only do our best given the constraints of time that students present us with.   Just be gently honest and help students get to a place where they can take a next step, whatever that most logical step may be.     The last two weeks of the semester are usually quite stressful, but we always get through it.     (Check out the Office Yoga book for additional help.)

What's the Big Picture?

A lot of times students will come in with a variation on the theme of “can you just look this over?”   For many students, having perfect sentences and no grammar or mechanical errors is the definition of a strong piece of writing.   It’s our job, though, to help students with a much bigger picture.   When a student comes in, please have him or her read the entire document aloud, or read it yourself either aloud or silently.   Keep the pen in the student's hands.   Start with “higher order concerns”—how is the content?  thesis or topic sentence(s)? order, organization? is the writing meeting the assignment?  Once you have addressed these, then move on to “lower order concerns”—transitions, grammar, mechanics.    If students are following a true process, some of those sentences they were worried about at the start might not even be present in the writing after a session that moves in the direction described above.  This is not to advocate a dismissal of lower order concerns—they are important to the writing.  But often there are bigger issues than a fragment or comma splice.  Please get in the habit of addressing these first. 

Writing in the Frame: Compare/Contrast

In the 1940’s, Academy-award winning actress Katharine Hepburn caused a scandal when she walked through a hotel lobby because she was wearing slacks.   Seven decades later, women’s scandal-causing fashions are not news.  Hems reach higher, necklines lower, fabrics more sheer than plain air.   Women’s acceptable fashions have changed, but what do the fashions reveal?   Have women been liberated by their fashion choices, showing off bodies of every size and shape, or are current fashions just a 21^st century form of objectification?

The compare/contrast essay is more than just a tennis match of back and forth points of comparison.  There has to be a larger purpose to the comparing; in other words, what does the comparison reveal?  For Basic Writing, students must simply show a larger purpose for the comparison.  For Composition I, students must show a relationship to culture.   Setting up the several points of comparison is the easy part.  Finding out that “so what” answer is the key to the assignment and not a key that is easily located.  What is the student writing about?  What point does the student want to make?  What has the student noticed while comparing?  Asking lots of questions to get students to locate their “so what” is one way to help.