- Make sure to listen to the entire paper before stopping the writer
- Take Good Notes
- Write the writer’s concerns, the assignment, and the writer’s main idea
- Create two sections on the page , the left side is for your own notes (things you like, don’t like, or want to come back to) Right side is for rough outline of the paper – make these notes as if you are in a lecture
- Explain to the writer that you are going to take notes on their paper and why you are doing so
- Talk about the things that went well first
In Chapter 6, there were a few different things that stuck out to me as important. First, let the writer read their entire paper before giving them any feedback. Sometimes if you stop the writer too soon, you could potentially have them focus on a small problem that could have been eliminated had you heard them out and found the real, overlying problem. This is something I am definitely going to utilize within my tutor sessions. Another important tool in tutoring is note taking. Gillespie and Lerner offer a guide to note taking that seems super interesting and beneficial to both the tutor and the writer. It offers a way to create a rough outline of the essay, and write down whatever comments you have about those sections. This method seems like an organized way to understand the essay better, and help to form the right questions to ask the writer. Before the tutor starts taking notes, however, they should tell the writer why they are doing so. When I was in a writing lab last semester, my instructor would often take notes on my work, but never told me why. It often made me feel a little insecure about reading my paper, and overall led to a feeling of discomfort. In order for the writer to get the most out of their session, they shouldn’t feel uncomfortable. I am definitely going to utilize that within my sessions. Lastly, another important idea mentioned in the chapter is talking to the writer about what they did well before going into the areas that they could improve on. This mainly helps with the comfort of the writer, thus making it easier on the tutor.
