Thank you. That really helps me out.

I was reading through everybody’s blogs and found that I would actually like to steal some of the things that they would like to steal. A couple of people mentioned Kassie’s and Sam’s comfy atmosphere. I was watching how they created this type of an atmosphere and observed that they both start out with small talk. Kassie always compliments the writer, too. Sam always laughs with the student. Both of these ways help the student to feel more welcome in the Writing Center.

Another thing that Kassie did was that she took control of the situation. She had a tutee that kept rambling on about things. Kassie listened and laughed with her, which made her feel comfortable, but then she used what the tutee said to strengthen her paper! I thought that was so nifty. Also, as the tutee kept going on about her life Kassie would always focus her back on her paper. Very good.

When John and Kassie (By the way, the reason that I keep mentioning Kassie is because I observed her the most.) told a rule to a tutee they would also explain it to them. I loved that! That technique goes hand-in-hand with what we have been reading in class. A tutor isn’t supposed to just edit a tutee’s paper but rather help their writing skills. By explaining the rules you are doing just that. Great!

I also have been stealing what Dr. Rogers has been teaching us in class. I guess that would not be stealing then. But anyway…I found that asking the students what they mean really helps. For example, yesterday a student that I tutored kept ending his paragraphs with quotes that were not quite fitting in. So, I asked why he wanted to put that quote in and he explained to me why he did. I told him to end with the statements he had just told to me, and it tied the quote into the paper beautifully.