Questions for 3/29

“Thirty-Something” Students

I liked how this article identified the diverse needs of individuals in relation to their age, however, my question is this,:

Is this really a relevant topic here at the University of Richmond? Yes, we do have a few grad students, but they do not tend to be significantly older, and most have just come from an undergraduate college where writing skills are still present in their mind.

“Writing Center Ethics and “Non-Traditional Students”

Thee has been a lot of discussion surrounding whether or not “non-traditional students” should be treated different. I don’t believe that they should be.

Do you think an effective approach to older students, or really just students in general, could be to ask upfront what they are hoping to get out of going to the writing center? This could help gauge where they are in the writing process and help us to adapt to their needs.

“Not-Traditional Students in the Writing Center: Bridging the Gap from a Process-Oriented World to a Product-Oriented One”

Many non-traditional students choose to be paired with non-traditional peers as they feel more comfortable with them. However,

Can being paired with this non-traditional tutor lead the student to become dependent on the tutor for helping them create the perfect paper without going through the correct process?

“In Defense of Conference Summaries: Widening the Reach of Writing Center Work”

After reading this article I reflected on UR’s Writing Center. As far as I know, the student doesn’t get a choice in whether or not a writing report is sent.

Do you think students should have that choice? Should there be a student comment section on this form? Also, should the summaries be completed with the student?



**Note: No post has been made regarding shadowing as there was no student signed up for the spot I shadow this week...

Questions for 3/23

Bedford Guide Chapter 8

When a writer comes in using inappropriate language, the Bedford guide suggests that the tutor ask the tutee who they are writing for, and kindly reminding them that this paper should be written academically. One point they do make however is to suggest better words that are more academic.

Does this contradict the purpose of a writing center, and make us more of a fix-it shop if we take this approach?


“Apprenticed to Failure” Article

One of my favorite points in the entire article was this, “It’s unreasonable to hope that once our students leave us they’re prepared to meet all future academic and professional challenges that involve writing,” (56). This point struck me as crucial as even if you are a perfectionist you must come to realize this.

Do you think this is realistic? Or do you feel that tutors will stress over perfection and fail to recognize that sometimes appointments just don’t go well?



**Note: There has not been any posts regarding shadowing as at my last two shadowing appointments, the tutee did not show up for the appointment.

Questions for 3/15

“Minimalist Tutoring: Making the Student Do All the Work”

When reading this article I found that I disagreed with two points that the author made. First, the author claimed that we, as tutors, are “so used to real-world writing where perfection is paramount, that we forget that students write to learn, not to make perfect papers,” (170). While it is true that writing is a process I would have to argue that perfection matters; in fact, it determines the grade you will receive on the paper. My next issue with this article was a method suggested when the writer is being defensive or uncooperative. The author suggests that the tutor mimic the student’s body language and even go so far as to yawn and gather up his/her items to make a point. We have discussed professionalism in the writing center, does this not contradict what we have learned thus far? From this I have created two questions for this reading:

1. Do you agree or disagree regarding the perfection point mentioned above.
2. Do you believe that we should or should not follow the method mentioned above for dealing with uncooperative students?

“A Critique of Pure Tutoring”

After reading this article I found the section regarding the “defeicit theory approach” to be really fascinating in how it relates writing and music. Personally, I have been playing the cello for ten years now, and I know that at my lessons the teacher is directive and corrects mistakes. This helps me when figuring out future passages. I believe that this directive approach would be best in writing as well.

1. Do you think the social constructionist views of tutoring is optimal over the orthodox ways?