Services for Student Athletes- Morton 1 Tutoring vs. Editing Twinkle Ann Morton.

Services for Student Athletes- Morton1

Tutoring vs. EditingTutoring vs. EditingTwinkle Ann Morton


Or some tips of the trade…Or some tips of the trade…


Book learning, sport, Book learning, sport, understanding and happinessunderstanding and happiness


Our Ultimate GoalOur Ultimate Goal


Writing AssistanceWriting Assistance

In Writing Department classes and in Content area classes

I will try and address both areas as we go- if I fail to make the connection for you, please ask questions as we go;

We are limited somewhat by time; We only have one hour so if your question is not

adequately answered, please contact me.


First and ForemostFirst and Foremost

Do NOT write on student’s papers!NEVER read over papers when the student

is not present!Respect the student’s work as their own,

and LET THEM DO THE LET THEM DO THE

WRITING WRITING ANDAND THE THE EDITING!!!!EDITING!!!!


ComponereComponere – Writing Tutors – Writing Tutors 2004-20052004-2005

Formulate more precise thesis statements

Develop organizational skills

Work through an argument

Grammar Usage Reading

comprehension


IT GOES ON TO SAYIT GOES ON TO SAY

“Although tutors are not permitted to revise or edit student essays, they help identify the student’s strengths and weaknesses, point out errors, and suggest ways in which the student might address specific difficulties. Writing on student essays is discouraged. Rather than acting as proofreaders, the tutors try to explain concepts that will help students work on rough drafts, learn revision techniques, and perform their own editing tasks.”


And adds another dimension for us And adds another dimension for us to considerto consider

“The service works best when students have an idea of the kind of help they want and when they have enough time to revise their work after tutoring. Too often students visit the Lab after they have finished what they consider a final draft, only to discover during the session that extensive revision is needed, or they may visit the Lab shortly before an assignment is due, making major revision impossible.”


AgendaAgenda

Today we are going to cover some principles and techniques to help you develop into the kind of tutor you would want to have helping you.

Our position as ‘tutors’ is about assisting the student to help him or herself be the best they can be.


Overview Overview

Teach them to use the opportunities with you to gain examples, explanations, and advice that will make their relationship with writing easier and more meaningful.

Be a role model of learning!

Edit

rule

ideas

Out-line

Read Pre-writing


VocabularyVocabulary

Thesis- an opinionated stance on an issue Ex. The death penalty discourages people from violent crime.

Enthymeme- a combination of a thesis and a list of reasons why the thesis is true [ex.]

Outline- can be a formal grouping of ideas, an idea web, or even simply jotting down ideas and useful page numbers from the text


Topic One- your preparationTopic One- your preparation

Memorize or keep handy a few rules or examples pertaining to the most frequent writing problems you deal with [keep a list if you are new to this and use the handbook to bring in examples in your prep time].

Avoid Jargon- instead of saying “you have a fragment here” try asking “Is this a complete sentence?”

Create exercises to reinforce learning- provide other examples to reinforce the idea.


Handbook and referencesHandbook and references

Have a handbook and a dictionary handy.Show the student how to utilize their own

resources as well as indicating that experienced students use outside sources.

If you have a computer near you, demonstrate some of the tools that a program can offer such as spell check and thesaurus.


Summary of this sectionSummary of this section

The quality of the paper is the STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY.

Your role is: to be helpful to students, To illustrate a lesson or two about writing, To suggest paths to becoming a better writer, To be encouraging. That is it! Those are the essential ingredients to

successful learning.


Principles and TechniquesPrinciples and Techniques

Respect students as the writers. Speak from the reader’s perspective.Provide assistance WITHOUT evaluation.Offer suggestions about how a piece of

writing might be improved, BUTAvoid language that places your

suggestions in terms of right and wrong.


EXAMPLESEXAMPLES

Transitions add a sense of flow to writing.Refrain from saying “You’ve got to get

some transitions in here”Ask how he or she might use transitions?

Show a list and illustrate in your own sentence; then ask them to apply to their work.

Let the work maintain its own integrity.


Another ExampleAnother Example

Don’t say “You should use a semi-colon here.”

Share that semi-colons lend a certain nuance to the way ideas are connected.

Give examples and or define any unclear words [such as nuance].

Leave your student with a sense that writing is made up of endless possibilities.


Endless Possibilities -Endless Possibilities -Available to anyone wishing to explore and experiment !


YOUR OPENING SESSIONYOUR OPENING SESSION

Try to let the student define how s/he wants to use your time.

What specifically does the student want to accomplish?

Even if this process is unfamiliar to them, it will empower them, over time, to realize that they do have input into the quality of education they receive.


Next Find out the ParticularsNext Find out the Particulars

Get details about the due date andGuidelines provided by the professorEspecially find out about the topic

– Answering the professor’s question?– Generating an original topic?– Responding to a reading?


ThenThen

ASK what is your organizational strategy?Are you utilizing Compare contrast?Do you have Thesis support?

Then see if you can get a grasp of the student’s main point by asking “Can you summarize for me in a sentence or two what your main point is?”


Ask a more specific questionAsk a more specific question

What is your thesis? [If the student has trouble answering, you know where there might be a potential writing problem.]

Use your handbook and the teacher’s syllabus [get a copy and copy for you and for the office notebook], and see if there is clarification for the student there.

Brainstorm ideas that fit the information you find there.


One faculty member’s definitionOne faculty member’s definition

“A thesis is a statement of position in an area of controversy that forms the focus of a unified essay.”

“When I say that a student has no thesis, it often means that they have spent the essay with an expository discussion of an issue without presenting any possibilities of reducing the problem they discuss.”


Her example:Her example:

Student understands the limitations of being poor Student did not suggest any strategies for

reducing those limitations beyond saying that something had to be done

Student had one assertion that there had to be more job opportunities but

Did not develop that idea by suggesting how these opportunities could be brought to people, how they could be trained, who would do the hiring, etc.


WITHOUT THATWITHOUT THAT

There was no clear oppositionThe assumption that presenting poverty as

a limitation was an argumentNever discussed the ways some poor

people contribute to their poverty by the choices they make or by the society that binds them


The concept of positionThe concept of position

Is KEY to the definition of thesis. That would be the insertion of the writer

into the discussion with a suggestion, thesis, about how to address the controversy at hand.


Experience has shown meExperience has shown me

I have been enjoying this type of work all of my professional life- five years of middle school teaching and nearly thirty years of working here with student athletes.

To facilitate real learning- begin your sessions with a discussion. This sets up a format for the meetings and gets the student into the mode of ACTIVE learning rather than passive listening.


ExampleExample

Find out if the student understands in general whatever it is you will be working on- whether it be thesis support, sentence style, punctuation, etc.

The trick is to do that without sounding superior.

Establish expectations early and let students know when their expectations are inappropriate.


Most of us will try it!!Most of us will try it!!

Inappropriate expectations would be for you to ‘fix’ it,

OR write it,Or do it, etc.

Focus on the most significant problem and advise the student to come back again with the next draft earlier


KEYKEY

Offer your student at least one mini-lesson each session- whether they recognize it as such or not.

Help them collect their tools to being a better writer, examine that tool and know how to use it

For me- record keeping is essential. I keep track of what I talked about with whom so I can pick up from there NEXT time.


There will be a next timeThere will be a next time

If the student walks away from your meeting feeling like a striving student rather than someone who is too lost to recover – she or he will be back!

If the student takes away, knowingly or unknowingly, pieces of information that become useable- she or he will be back!


Once again Try and avoid JargonOnce again Try and avoid Jargon

Keep the language simple. Instead of saying “You have a sentence fragment

here” try “Is this a complete sentence?” Rather than pointing out a comma splice tell a

student that it seems a comma has been misapplied, and then explain the correct ways in which a comma is used.

THEN, introduce the fact that teachers call this a comma splice.


Tease out examplesTease out examples

Can you provide a concrete example that would help the reader see your point?

How does this example relate to your thesis? Are you able to tie it back?

Have the student jot down his or her ideas as they come realizing that some will be deleted or combined.

Have them use phrases or balloons and….


To help the student learn to editTo help the student learn to edit

Have the student read a paragraph out loud to see if they might be able to determine why a reader might be confused.

Once there is a grammatical mistake established….talk about it- and then point out another place where that grammatical mistake exists- ask HOW WOULD YOU FIX IT?


Show them how to proof their own Show them how to proof their own paper before seeing you.paper before seeing you.

Always run spell check Look for words

[homonyms] that the computer may have missed

Eliminate any contractions and slang

Look for errors in verb choices- accept vs. except; affect vs. effect

Eliminate redundant sentences

Avoid using filler; teachers always recognize it and it detracts from you are trying to say

Reread your intro paragraph to make sure you clearly stated your thesis


Things we Things we willwill do to help do to help

Read all or part of a paper to locate the type and frequency of errors

Point out illustrative errors to the student

Establish priorities to help student remedy writing difficulties

Teach the student to recognize his or her own errors

Offer examples and keep records of progress so the student can see his or her own progress


Then consider CONTENTThen consider CONTENT

Does the writer have something to say?Is it said with relative completeness? With

specific details, examples, reason or illustration?

Does the writer project authority---a grasp of the material?

Is the subject presented in an interesting and convincing manner?

Does it have some substance?


ORGANIZATIONORGANIZATION

Does the piece have an appropriate opening and a conclusion that gives a sense of closure and completeness?

Are the materials arranged in a logical and readable order?

Is the organizing principle clear and well focused?

Is there an understanding of transitions?


TONETONE

Is the point of view appropriate to the subject and consistently maintained?

Is the tone appropriate to the subject and consistently maintained?

Is there a careful choice of words so as not to be inflammatory and offensive?


STYLE - ParagraphsSTYLE - Paragraphs

Are they unified, coherent, and sufficiently developed?

Do they contain clearly stated topic sentences?

Do succeeding sentences develop the topic sentence in an ongoing progression?

Are concluding sentences appropriate and emphatic?


STYLE - SentencesSTYLE - Sentences

Are they clear and graceful?Has the writer skillfully used such

rhetorical devices as economy, parallelism, coordination, subordination, order of climax, variation, rhythm and balance?

Has the writer avoided basic grammatical and rhetorical violations?


STYLE- WordsSTYLE- Words

Are they aptly or accurately chosen?Is the writer sensitive to connotation?Has the writer used synonyms to avoid

repetition?Has the writer avoided jargon and clichés?


STYLE- MechanicsSTYLE- Mechanics

Has the writer observed the established conventions of – Spelling?– Punctuation?– Capitalization?


Examples of grammatical and Examples of grammatical and rhetorical violations:rhetorical violations:Unnecessary

splitsFailure in

subject-verb agreement

Unnecessary shifts in subject

Dangling or misplaced modifiers

Faulty parallelisms

Faulty or ambiguous pronoun references


ABOVE ALLABOVE ALL

Let the Student do most of the talking- Ask questions to help him or her arrive at

solutions to problem areas in their papers:– If the sentence seems awkward- have the

student read it aloud;– In a confused or incomplete section, ask for

verbal explanations of the points.


Keep the student an active learnerKeep the student an active learner

If development is ‘slender’, ask about supporting examples or evidence.

If ideas are undeveloped, question the student about implications or the next logical step in the line of thinking he or she is following.

Ask the student why s/he chose this topic. Often students have many ideas that are not represented in their paper.


Advice to students for Advice to students for PREWRITINGPREWRITING

Read your assignment thoroughly. Look for any key words, questions, or guidelines that your professor wants you to follow.

Understanding your assignment from the beginning is the key to writing a great paper.

Go through class notes, texts, etc. that will be helpful in completing the assignment.


More prewriting adviceMore prewriting advice

Underline or highlight sections that may be of some use to you.

These may be quotes or other information that support your thesis and enthymeme.

Make a brief outline including your thesis or enthymeme written out. Each section could contain quotes or text by page number as well as other thoughts and ideas that belong to that paragraph or section.


And FinallyAnd Finally

USE this outline as a rough draft of ideas. Laying out your paper in outline form allows you to think about where ideas should go,

What ideas need to be expanded,And be able to properly answer the

question being addressed.


SIX things to do to succeed SIX things to do to succeed AcademicallyAcademically

Always go to class- be on time, take and date notes, ask questions.

Take advantage of the resources available to you including teachers’ office hours.

Work out a consistent study schedule.

Find out how, when, and where you study best and create that environment for you.

Start your assignments early.

Give yourself little breaks- goof off a little then get back to work.


Study EnvironmentStudy Environment

Do you work best alone? Do you need quiet to study? Background music

help or hinder? Where do you study best? Study hall, the library,

in your room? Does the place need to be clean or organized? What times of day do you study the best? Are you taking notes, underlining and jotting

down notes in your book as you read?


As a tutor, it is more than OK if you As a tutor, it is more than OK if you don’t have all the answers!don’t have all the answers!

It is ESSENTIAL, however, that you know how to find the answer.

Few tutors can drum up a sentence in the past progressive tense or even in the passive tense on command – or explain all the variations of parts of speech.

Once you notice that certain grammatical and mechanical problems recur, make sure you research examples, etc.


REMEMBER REMEMBER Do not write on student’s papers!Never read over papers when the student is

not present!The quality of the paper is the

STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY.You are not expected to have all the

answers but…You are expected to know how to find

most of them.


IT IS YOUR JOBIT IS YOUR JOB

To demonstrate the use of a handbook with the student, the value of looking on line to find an answer or using the text.

You are a role model.If the student has to leave before you have

the answer, make a note to be sure and explain it at your next meeting.


Where to Get More InformationWhere to Get More Information

Ask for other training sessions throughout the year.

The office has many handout available in the library.

Consult any of the staff.To reach me, use email as I have students

back to back once school begins. I will answer you as soon as I have a moment.

[email protected]


Services for Student Athletes- Morton 1 Tutoring vs. Editing Twinkle Ann Morton.

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