Third Tutoring Observation

September. 22, 2014 

                In my third observation in the Writing Center, a student named Edward came in who was in a ENA 101 class preparing to take the CATW Exam. His professor gave him a article to read and he had to discuss the main idea of the article but also give examples to explain his point with his opinion. Before the tutor even read the assignment, Edward told the tutor that he felt like his writing was weak. But the tutor said that he wanted to read the essay first and then decide what he needed to work on.
                After the tutor read the assignment and the essay he mentioned to Edward that he did a good job developing the main idea of the article but that he shouldn't just give information from the article but give examples to support his argument as well.  According to the text Tutoring Writing by: Donald A. McAndrew, I saw the use of "Cheerleading" taking place in this tutoring session. I like the fact that even though the tutor complimented  Edward on his work. It wasn't false praise but positive comments about his work though still telling him what he needed to work on. According to the text Tutoring Writing by: Donald A. McAndrew writers need honest feedback and I felt like the tutor did that. The student seemed very open minded and took the tutors comments very well. I saw Edward writing down notes for himself to refer back to when he was going to finish his essay. The tutor then gave examples of the many ways that he could include evidence in his essay, to show that he understands what he's reading such as quotes from the text. I like the interaction that the tutor had with the student explaining what he should include in his essay but also asking him questions to make sure he understood what he was doing.
                Throughout the observations that I've watched, I saw tutors tell students what to put in there essay but not tell them why or how. Such as giving examples or explain so the student so they understand the purpose. The tutor also discussed with Edward the ways that he could incorporate experiences from his life to connect his points in his writing. Edward asked the tutor if he needed help with his grammar and spell check but the tutor said that it wasn't a major issue in his essay. The tutor emphasized that he should be more concerned with developing the main ideas of the article showing his reader that he understands the text with examples to support them.
               The tutor really helped Edward, not only understand what he needed to improve in his essay but how to support his knowledge of the reading by giving examples which shows what he understands from the article even when he takes the CATW Exam.