In Regards to the First Tutoring Session

My first tutoring experience can best be compared to the feeling of being in a roller coaster. Although there were times in which I felt as if things were moving along well and progress would begin to be made, there were also times in which I felt as if we were suddenly halted into what seemed like a brutal stop. For example, my tutti needed help in developing his ideas further and although we would progress in figuring out what these ideas might be, we would then face the problem in finding examples from the author. I would then ask the student questions that might guide him in the direction of finding these examples (e.g. The author talks about 9/11 in this article, why would he do this?) The problem would be that usually all my questions would end in an "I don't know."

As the session progressed, I found myself having to take over. We created an outline which I tried to keep as simple as possible to avoid the risk of the student getting lost. I then asked him to try to develop the essay and provided him with my email address. Although he has not contacted me yet, I am looking forward to meeting him again and see how much the essay has changed.  

Student Evaluation based on Hype Essay

Overall, the student shows to possess many ideas and knowledge on the subject. Still, the essay lacks stronger connections and smoother transition from subject to subject as well as organization. Due to the lack of stronger connections the essay also appears to be going back and forth causing it to have a sense of "being all over the place."
Ex.In the third paragraph, the student talks about the contradiction that commercials send out, encouraging people to lose weight and then broadcasting  commercials that promote fast food chains and video games.
"The media explores on the issue of obesity America suffering with but in the next minutes a fast food restaurant commercial is acknowledged. Followed by video game commercials leading into a weight loss commercial. Advertising doesn't have a vaid (SP) message because its advocating to eat while playing video games or watching TV. "
I strongly encourage the students to draw out further details as to why this is so because by briefly touching up on it makes the essay sound "list like".
Another piece of advise that I want to give, is going back and further explaining the reasons as to why they chose their examples. In other words the student needs to be more clear in letting the reader know her opinions on the matter.
ex. In their first paragrahp the student writes as follows,
"It is safe to say that advertisements are a person's guideline in life."
This is a good statement, but the writer needs to further explain as to why she believes this is so.
Furthermore, I would encourage the student to make an appointment with their schools writing center. There are grammatical mistakes and word choice errors that if corrected would boost the clarity of the essay.

Sondra Perl's; Understanding Composing

Sondra Perl believes in three basic ideas that are essential when it comes to writing; retrospective structuring, felt sense and projective structuring. Retrospective structuring deals with the order, organization, paraphrasing, sentence order and grammar of the piece of writing. Projective structuring involves the writer being able to take into consideration the views of the readers and predicting how they would respond. As for the felt sense, it can be described as a feeling or intuition that comes to the writer as they are writing. In other words, felt sense deals with being able to answer a question like "Is this what I really want to say?"

I agree with Sondra Perl, and believe that without applying all these three aspects one could not truly compose a successful piece of writing. Each one plays an important role in strengthening a composition, for example, without projective structuring a person might write a paper which is unappealing and uninteresting to the reader. Still it is important to remember that when it comes to projective structuring, one must not confuse the idea of connecting to the reader with writing obsessively and engage in compulsive corrections.

In order to not fall into mistakes like this, one can call on what Sondra Perl called "their felt sense". The reason why this aspect plays an important role is because although it is important to keep your readers interests in perspective, it is also important to keep your own views and ideas present in your paper. In my opinion, I believe felt sense is my favorite of these three aspects because it is the most useful. Felt sense does not only help you by keeping your ideas in mind but it also helps you stay on topic. For example, if during your paper, you begin to feel that perhaps your paper is getting of topic, felt sense can help you get back on track by simply asking "What do I need to do to get back on track with what I originally wanted to say?"

Towards the end of your paper, is usually when the retrospective structuring comes into play. In my opinion I see it as a final polish. Basically, it is used to make sure that all your ideas, and points of views are understandable and organized. There is no point in having interesting ideas and an appealing composition if it cant be understood by the reader, and this is basically what the retrospective structure helps you obtain.

Tutoring Do's and Dont's

When engaging in a tutoring session.....

Do's:
1) Look the part; Be approachable, Be alert and relaxed, Sit right, Look attentive, Speak in a tone that is both friendly and professional, Show interest (Not too much or the student might confuse it with impatience)
2) Focus on the HOC's (Higher order concerns); Clarity of thesis or focus, adequate development and information, effective structure or organization, and appropriate voice or tone.
3) Make sure you are in an appropriate environment; Sit next to the writer or be in a position where both of you can see the draft, Be in a space that is ample, comfortable, well lighted and cheery. Be well stocked with writing tools such as computers, printers, software, pens, paper, and reference books.
3) Ask professional questions; questions that help the writer draw out and brainstorm ideas that will be important in writing, and/or correcting their paper.

Dont's:
1)Avoid over-correcting errors;  Do not nitpick or worry about LOC's (Low Order Concerns) including sentence structure and variety, punctuation, grammar, and usage, and spelling.
2) Avoid gestures and actions that the writer might read as inattention, boredom, or displeasure; this includes folded arms, looking past the writer at other people or events, taking a phone call, looking at a clock or watch, yawning, fidgeting, doodling, drumming fingers, and tapping a pen.
3) Do not allow food in the room which you are occupying. Either from you or the student.
4) Do not turn the session into a therapy session. A tutor is not to involve themselves with matters that are not relating to the essay.
5) Respect the writer's ideas and words. Do not try and take over the paper. A tutor;s job is to help the writer feel welcomed and to explore their own ideas and their own ways to express themselves.
6) Do not try to play the expert. A tutor is allowed to make mistakes or ask someone else for advice if they are not sure what to do.

My Views On Becoming A Writing Tutor.

When I begin to think about becoming a writing tutor, my first reaction was a feeling of nervousness. Although I understand that a writing tutor does not have to be perfect at what they do, and have all the answers, I still cant help but wonder about the situations I will be exposed to. I guess my biggest fear is the idea that I could have a student walk out of a session, feeling like he did not gain anything from it. I recall one student in my English class a year ago being highly upset about a grade he had received on a paper. He later informed us that he had visited the writing center before handing in his paper. The tutor according to him, had helped him correct some errors and then informed him that his paper was ready.

I do admit, after reading a few chapters and becoming more aware of the different aspects that tutoring writing involves, I am now feeling a bit more confident about becoming a tutor. The fears of not knowing what to say or how to handle a situation have reduced, as I learn knew techniques that could aide me in the process. I am now more familiar with the ways of keeping a professional tutoring environment, whether it being body language, the goals of a tutor, or knowing what lines to not cross during these sessions.

Overall I am looking forward to applying the techniques I have learned and helping the writer obtain a paper which they are satisfied with. I look forward to engaging in conversations in which I help the writer extract what they truly feel and want to say by asking questions. The fact that I will engage in techniques that not only apply to the writers skills but to mine as well makes me see this as an opportunity to not only help someone learn, but to learn myself and broaden my understanding of the writing process.

Sondra Perl's Theory of Rewriting in the Writing Process.

The writing process or as some others might know it, the composing process plays an essential role in the making and proper structuring of a written piece of work. Throughout many passing years, many English analysts and majors have incorporated their theories, trying to give a better and more detailed explanation and description as to what is involved during this process. Researcher Sondra Perl is an example of one of these famous researchers, who contributed to the development of the three main stages of the writing process being prewriting, writing and rewriting. These strategies have been found to overlap and repeat multiple times throughout the writing process and can be complex for both the older, younger, advanced and beginning writers.  Regardless, if one were to propose the most important and enduring idea which Sondra Perl has contributed to the theory of the writing process, it would have to be her theory on revision and the many routes involved which one can take when engaging in this particular strategy.

            Revision is important because it not only helps the writer check for unnoticed spelling and grammar mistakes but, it ultimately helps make sure that what we have written down has evidently made the point which we were trying to make and that we have the right ideas to support it. Although revision occurs at different times of a written piece, depending on the writer, in order to be successful in doing so, Perl suggests we must ask ourselves a series of questions such as “Is this what I’ve been wanting to say?” “What is this all about?” “What’s missing? What haven’t I written about?” Not only can we ask ourselves these questions but one has the chance to also ask once again the initial questions which we pondered over in the beginning of the writing process as well. Two of these questions which are truly important are “What’s on my mind?” and “What would I like to write about?”  

In order to successfully engage in the process of revision and be able to answer these questions, English analysts recommend that the writer make sure he is in a place where the mind is able to think freely and not be interrupted with distractions. The reason why this is encouraged is mainly because it helps the writer get in touch with what Perl called “The felt sense.” Felt sense according to fellow English analyst Eugene Gendlin is “this internal awareness that we call on.” In other words, one can say that their felt sense is the basis for being able to conclude why we were able to say what we wanted to say or why we were not able to do so. Perl adds to this idea and believes that the crucial operation in the process occurs when one pauses and attends to that felt sense. Perl also explains that the most productive situation ironically occurs when you answer “No” to the question “Have I said what I intended to?” As Perl further explains, “In that moment of experiencing a mismatch or ‘nonfit’ between your words and your felt sense, you tend to experience a click or shift that moves you close to knowing this thing that you can’t yet say. In short, pausing, checking, and saying “No” usually lead you to better words.”

Perl analyzed the research and an experiment to understand and enforce the importance of the felt sense theory. She later described her findings and conclusions in the book “College Composition and Communication.” The research began when a group of twenty teachers who were taking a course in research and basic writing at New York University were given the assignment to tape their thoughts while composing aloud on the topic “My most anxious moment as a writer.” The purpose of this experience was designed to not only gain information but to also allow the teachers the chance to see the way their own composing processes worked. As a result the teachers began to detect basic patterns and also determine if whether or not they were a part of the recursive process. Among the many findings from this experiment, they were able to conclude that the recurring parts seemed to vary from writer to writer and from topic to topic. An example of this finding would be of one of the teachers named Anne. Perl writes “For some, like Anne, rereading occurs after every few phrases; for others, it occurs after every sentence; more frequently, it occurs after a “chunk” of information has been written.” In other words one must keep in mind that the guidelines can work differently for different people or for different occasions so Perl’s analysis leads us to conclude that one must know that these guidelines allow for a certain extent of flexibility on the part of the writer.

As one can see, revision contains much more than simply looking over your work for errors, and when done in an appropriate manner, one can truly benefit from its advantages. If one continues to practice proper revision skills, it is possible to lose the fear of being wrapped up in the negativity of the word “No” when asked “What is it you want to write about?”  Revision can eventually lead to a better understanding of the point, the writer is trying to make. Aside from that, when working on the skill of “felt sense”, one can gain the ability to recognize where it is they need to go, say, and write what otherwise they would have not dared to write about before. Sondra Perl quotes “Thus when we are successful at this process, we end up with a product that teaches us something, that clarifies what we know, and that lifts out or explicates or enlarges our experience.” This is important because one cannot pick up on another writer’s felt sense unless they themselves have experienced what it truly means to get lost in their writing. Thus by following Perl’s theory of revision in the writing process any writer can be able to create stronger and more focused compositions.

Works Cited

Understanding Composing. Sondra Perl. College Composition and Communication, Vol. 31, No. 4. (Dec., 1980), pp. 365-369.

Writing Process. Wikipedia. Website. Last modified on 31 August 2011 at 02:47. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_process

Sondra Perl Composing Guidelines. A Community of Writers: A Workshop Course in Writing. Peter Elbow (University of Massachusetts at Amherst) and Pat Belanoff  (State University of New York at Stony Brook) (pp. 118-120, 124, 126-128) Copyright © 1987 by Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff. Website. Last Modified: 30 May 2006. http://www.focusing.org/perlprocess.html