Spring 2019 Writing Center Class

The part of  "Crossing Cultures with International ESL Writers" that resonated most with me was the sub-section "Crossing Rhetorics: Discussing Discourses and Styles." Though I think most writing center tutors are aware that cultural differences will invariably inform efforts to assist international students, I also know - at least in my case - that it still took me some time to realize the extent to which I was actually teaching the culture of "American academic writing" vs. some set of universally applicable "writing skills." The reading, for example, notes that some international students have the tendency to write "inductively because of cultural values... [placing] their main idea in the last rather than the first paragraph of the paper." While this is no doubt true, I think it's worth acknowledging that taking the opposite approach and writing deductively (The thesis! The thesis! Where is the thesis!?) is no less of a cultural...

This week, I have been particularly interested in the topic of serving ESL students. The article we read offers valuable suggestions and advice to Writing Center employees tutoring international and immigrant students. Making these students feel comfortable and welcome by giving the Center a multicultural and international feel sounds like a good start. Also, it is important to pay attention to their linguistic and cultural differences, and as the text suggests, one can accomplish this goal by "ask[ing] lots of good questions rather than arriving at possibly pre-mature conclusions about their personalities, rhetorics, or cultures" (1). In other words, writing tutors need to bracket their assumptions about various groups of people coming from outside of the U.S. and demonstrate a willingness to learn from their students, as much as the latter will probably learn from them. For me, working with international and immigrant students has been extremely fulfilling. Back in Romani...

At least when it comes to academic writing I am a person that lives and dies by outlines. This is both because I find it extremely difficult to start writing - and I find that the work of outlining is a much easier way for me to ease into the writing process then simply letting it fly on a blank Word doc - but also because I get an almost narcotic head high from putting things in order. In this way I am, unsurprisingly, somewhat of an obsessive trip planner. Tickets, budgets, reservations, itineraries - the act of putting these things together may actually be my deepest satisfaction in life. Certainly more so than actually going on the trip. In any case, that's what outlining is for me: sitting down to map out the trajectory of my writing project. Though I understand that this is a fairly personal and peculiar neurosis, I still always place particular emphasis on the importance of the "pre-writing" stage when I teach writing, whether in the classroom or in a writing cen...

As it pertains to revision, Chapter 3 points out one writing process that I can most certainly identify with: I am one of those writers who starts revising after only a few sentences, and often sooner. In fact, before I could complete this first sentence, I revised it at least fifteen times before I was satisfied. I’m a local revisionist who would rather “fix” problems of syntax, rhythm, diction, etc. rather than worry about global concerns that ensure readers understand the point I’m trying to make. Consequently, this compulsion has become problematic when grading papers. Instead of reading through a paper once, I start grading immediately. For instance, I once marked a paper for failing to present a thesis, when in fact, the thesis was a few sentences down. The problem, then, was one of organization and not because the essay lacked an argument. In this example, I am lucky because the student doesn’t witness my error. However, if I am tutoring a student in person, then I will have po...

Based on the reading, it seems important to take more time assessing the needs of ESL students. It is important not to engage in “native-speakerizing,” or make assumptions about what they do or do not know. Though it may seem obvious, I was particularly struck by the recommendation to pick up a pen and make corrections on ESL student papers. As a tutor, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the numerous grammatical errors in an ESL student’s paper, and thus, choose to focus on global revisions. “Serving ESL Students” made me realize the importance of bringing repeated grammatical errors to the attention of ESL students, and how it is essential to furthering their writing development.   I absolutely love when I come up with an original idea that I am able to let flow seamlessly from my brain and onto the page; however, this does not happen every time. Quite often, when writing a paper, I struggle with wanting to make each sentence perfect from the start. I can spend ...

I very much enjoyed this third chapter of the Bedford Guide. I've done so many different kinds of writing in my life -- legal, creative, academic -- but have never really examined my particular writing process when engaging with any of those styles (types?)  I have never been an outliner, although I recognize, especially having survived law school, the value of a good outline.  I have always much preferred freewriting as the launchpad for any writing project.  I've always found it easier to respond to something, as opposed to feeling the pressure of creating something from whole cloth, so the process of freewriting for a specified period of time to produce something to which I can respond (review and revise) is appealing. I've been very deliberate, in my public policy career, to try to always provide something to which colleagues can respond, instead of asking them to produce something new.  I like the suggestion, expressed in Chapter Three, of using a short freewrit...

Blog Post #2 Writing as a Process of Discovery -Consuelo Guayara Sánchez  As a non-native speaker, I found the piece, “Serving ESL Students” very illustrative of the common difficulties non-native speakers encounter in their writing and speaking. The approach provided for the piece on how to effectively help non-speakers with their writing pieces is very helpful in understanding tutoring as a process of facilitating to identify the “logic of error” by the writer in a ‘collaborative negotiation and reformulation’ process. The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors’ Chapter 3 breaks down the ways in which we can help students to go through the different steps of writing maintaining the ownership of their work and reducing the level of frustration. I whole heartedly agree that writing is a process of discovery, and as such is an exciting, vital process for my own writing. I spend a good amount of time preparing materials, reading peer-reviewed articles, transcribing interviews, hig...

As I was observing the tutors this past week I was impressed at how well they communicated with their students. When a student brought up a concern/question I formulated in my mind how I would have responded and almost always the tutor responded with something completely different (and better) than I had in mind. I realized that my responses were too much of the 'here's the right answer' variety while the tutors were able to guide the student toward an insight without being too heavy handed. I would be curious as to how other members in the group approach straddling the line between being too vague/potentially unhelpful and not just giving the easy answer.

This week we are considering issues that can arise when tutoring non-native English speakers—a subject that, as an instructor of international students, I find very pressing. The main trouble that I anticipate running into is the language of grammar. As pointed out in the Serving ESL Students article, they are likely to know the technicalities of English grammar above and beyond my own grasp on it. I have always gotten by with just testing to see if words sound right.               So far I have helped one L2 student with her writing, and I believe it was productive. I suggested that she work on verb tenses, as almost all of her verbs were in the present tense. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to form the past tense—she just indicated a confusion regarding when to use the past tense. I found this challenging, as I felt this was a very basic question but knew there must be something complex behind her confusion, and I...

Question 1.) The chapter we read emphasizes asking questions that lead students to develop stronger ideas for their papers or clarify existing ones without writing the paper for them. I struggle with giving into confused/distressed students and more or less writing something like their thesis for them. Although you know you should follow the question model, how do you steer yourself away from doing that in the moment? Question 2.) Of course, you should adapt and do what you can to address each student's individual needs, but the list of roles in chapter 1 has me concerned about boundaries. How you adapt to help students without getting too familiar?

1) There are many ideas I enjoyed reading about in the first two chapters of the Bedford Guide . Some have confirmed the strategies I used as a writing tutor at Rutgers, while others are new to me and interesting to reflect on. At Rutgers, I would ask students questions about their paper drafts to help them articulate their thoughts and organize them into compelling arguments. The Bedford Guide suggests a similar approach: "use guiding questions and comments to help writers recognize areas for improvement and come up with their own solutions for revising their texts" (3). On the other hand, there are interesting ideas I haven't quite thought about before. Using silence and wait time to allow writers to process questions and come up with thoughtful answers is particularly intriguing to me. As a tutor, I have always made efforts to use time wisely so students would get the most out of their allotted time period. However, the Bedford Guide is a useful reminder that silenc...

1.      Some passages in the chapters implied that it is wrong to complement students’ work too heavily, but also called upon tutors to be encouraging toward writers. This was confusing and potentially problematic. Is it wrong or problematic to complement a student’s work if you think it is really good? 2.      If students want to practice grammar on their own time, what writing center resources should I direct them to?

Question #1: When a tutor is acting as "the counselor" for students, I understand that we may need to refer them to resources that are better equipped and more appropriate to help them, but how do we handle a student problem that might require us to report to our supervisor? Is there a protocol in place that suggests how we should, for, example, explain to a student that what they are saying might require me to report to a supervisor? Question #2: Some instructors in the GEL program allow students to revise papers for a better grade, but only if they receive help from a tutor in the Writing Center. Is this 1). considered a violation of the Extra Credit Policy and 2.) if so, should we treat any assignment that mandates a visit to the Writing Center as a violation of this policy?

Reading: The University of Iowa Writing Center Tutor’s Guide Question: The University of Iowa Writing Center Tutor’s Guide starts stating the most important goal the Writing Center, “to develop strong writers with positive attitudes toward writing.” I clearly see how through the Writing Center’s writing practices students can grow in confidence to write. Are there any specific practices addressing that vital part of the WC goal of developing positive attitudes toward writing? Reading: The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, Chapter 1 & 2 Given that a student’s version of what transpires in a classroom “may be incomplete or even inaccurate (Ryan & Zimmerelli, 2016, 3), how professional and even ethical is to facilitate and somehow promote procedures for registering a complaint (4)?

I earned my M.A. and PhD. in the University of Iowa, as a human geographer with a specialty in Latin American Studies, focusing on economic, social, cultural, and political processes in which environmental concerns and issues are embedded.  I have taught both in Colombia and the US at university level. In Colombia I taught in the area of economics and the environment. In the geography department at the University of Iowa, I have taught lower level courses including: Introduction to Human Geography, The Contemporary Global System, and Contemporary Environmental Issues. I have also enjoyed teaching upper level courses such as: Environment and Development, Gender and Environment, Geographic Perspectives on Development, and Special Topics (Globalization and Latin America, and Globalization, Environment and Latin America). For the past five years, as a lecturer in the department of Rhetoric, my Rhetoric courses have also maintained a thematic focus on environment, development, tech...