Chris Ortega

1) In the second chapter of the Bedford Guide, the authors mention that tutors can model good writing behavior by consulting different resources to learn more about topics or points they might not be sure about. Now that these tutoring sessions are virtual, it seems that screen-sharing would be a useful tool for this purpose. Does the online video conferencing software the Writing Center uses allow tutors to share their screens?

 

2) I had a question about the Writing Fellows. Generally speaking, what are some of the most common challenges Writing Fellows see students having with the writing process, and are those challenges noticeably different from those seen by tutors based in the Writing Center?

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  1. Carol SeverinoSeptember 2, 2020 at 11:54 AM

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  2. Carol SeverinoSeptember 2, 2020 at 12:48 PM

    1) For searching, you can't share your search screens, so Zoom would be better way to tutor. You can only share documents with the WC online videoconference program--it's limited that way. I would do it the way you do it as a librarian. What do you use when meeting virtually with a student?

    2) The problems are the same with the writing that both tutors and Fellows read. Fellows though are undergrad tutors and are trained mainly to deal with global issues of assignment fulfillment, thesis worthiness, development, use of sources, and organization. They may notice language issues, but they must prioritize the global over the local. Grad student WC tutors deal with both the global and the local (language) and see more second language writers than do writing fellows. They also help other grad students edit complex grad student work, whereas Fellows rarely spend a session editing with a writer unless their global problems have already been solved.

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