Witty Title

Actually, the reason I became a Writing Tutor was my freakishly annoying tendency to correct people's spelling during instant messenger sessions and online when I played World of Warcraft. I figured, hey, I'm more or less in the habit of doing this, so why don't I do it during a tutoring session? Sadly, I'm slowly turning around to the realization that I'm not supposed to be a proof-reading machine for the benefit of other people. That's not the point of the Writing Center. But I guess old habits die hard, so it's still a learning process on my part.

Anyway, how do I think about a problem? I suppose that depends on the level of interest I have concerning the problem. Generally speaking, however, whenever I am approached with a problem, I usually try my best to understand the problem and the situation in its completeness. This means looking at the problem from all points of view and try and discern the nature of the problem. A problem is like a puzzle to me sometimes. The most important thing, for me, is to assess the situation. Whether it's how to crack open an enemy encampment with minimal losses, or whether it's construct a persuasive argument, the important thing is to understand what your problem needs to be "solved" and what materials you have available.

If you enter into a problem without a full understanding of the situation, you can easily be blindsided by something unexpected, which oftentimes causes the entire thing to blow up in your face. So therefore, I try to encourage my tutees to have the fullest understanding of the situation before going on. After you come to understand the situation, the next step is to assess the tools you have available to you. If you attempt to assault a heavily fortified base bristling with artillery defenses, you're not going to accomplish much with a bunch of melee attackers. In the same way, it is important to go into a paper with a fuller understanding of what you have available to you: vocabulary, case-studies/personal examples, source information, etc. Where your tools are lacking, they can always be bolstered by reinforcements or additional information and knowledge. Finally, once you know the situation completely, and have the tools available, your last task is to exploit your problem. With a full understanding of what needs to be done, and the tools necessary to accomplish whatever task is at hand, you now know how to take advantage of the enemy's weakness and ride your way to a clean victory...or a solid...paper?

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