Week 11





My response considers the advantages and disadvantages of tutoring from a “creative writing perspective” vs. an “academic writing perspective.” I hope I am interpreting the blog post question correctly. It seems to me that both tutoring perspectives are valid, and both utilize useful tutoring methodologies; however, the goals of each methodology are different. Lin and Fei want to tutor students on common and practical academic writing conventions. They want to make sure that students can properly structure a paper, construct a strong thesis statement, and clearly articulate an argument. The advantage to this tutoring method is that it provides students with a set template for constructing an academic essay. Goedde on the other hand is focused on the “sonorous” aspects of words and sentences. He does not just want the sentences on the page to be accurate and meaningful. He wants the sentences to roll off the tongue. The advantage to Goedde’s method is that it gets students to think critically and carefully about their writing and how it resonates with readers. In contrast to Lin and Fei’s methodology students are able to see beyond a preset writing academic writing template and creatively explore alternative writing techniques and avenues.

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