Elizabeth Gaughan Professor Pearson WRD 396 8 October 2012 My Philosophy I worked in my High Schools writing center, so coming

into the UCWbL, I thought I already knew what my role would be as a writing tutor. My high schools writing center emphasized rules such as a writing tutor does not edit, does not provide grades, and does not tell the writer what to write about. However, our training did not go much beyond that. Though these rules still apply to what I do at the UCWbL, I have been excited to learn much clearer and comprehensive versions of these rules. For example, the article Responding to Student Writing by Nancy Sommers explained in detail what can go wrong when a tutor simply edits. Her comments on many teachers tendencies to give contradictory comments, and comments that could be applied to any paper instead of focusing on the specific paper at hand, put into perspective why editing often does not work. This opinion reflects my own philosophy in writing, which is that the piece should be driven by the writers goals and intentions. When conferencing with a writer, I try to ask leading questions that will allow them to get at what they really want to write about, and when I feel an idea isnt as strong, I explain my confusion as a reader but make it clear that the final decision is theirs. Furthermore, I have had several teachers in the past make fun of the sandwich method for commenting, which suggests negative feedback be sandwiched between two compliments in order to soften the blow. But as Donald A. Daiker proves in his article, Learning to Praise, positive feedback is just as important in teaching a writer what makes effective writing. I know that, when

I ask a friend to review something I wrote, I am always less intimidated by the things that need to be changed when I feel there are some good aspects as well. Finally, a third article that made a big impact on me as a tutor was John C. Beans article Writing Comments on Students Papers. In it, he points out how often teacher feedback is all negative, while never really describing what the problem is. My favorite example is a teachers tendency to write, be more specific, which simply prompts the student to respond, YOU be more specific. As I comment on papers as a fellow, I will make sure to explain exactly why something seems vague or confusing. Furthermore, with positive comments, I will describe why I think something is clear or effective by pointing out specific things the student has written. My experience in the WRD 396 class has made me reflect on my own experiences as a student in writing classes as well. I remember becoming very frustrated my senior year of high school because I could never get above a B+ on a paper. My teacher would write end comments such as dig deeper, even though I felt I had really made an effort to make an interesting argument in my paper. Furthermore, many students in my class complained that this teacher would give the same grade on every one of their papers. My experience was no different: I received an 88/100 on every paper until I pointed this out to her in early March. Ironically, she was also one of the head founders and coordinators of our writing center. I felt better after graduating, when she admitted that her husband had graded most of our papers. But this experience, especially in comparison to everything Ive learned in this class, has proven to me how important it is to thoroughly explain what works well and what doesnt in a piece of writing, and to allow the writer to really reflect on their work and make sure their ideas are coming through the way they want them to. As a writer myself, I know how meaningful it is to get

positive experience, and how, when receiving criticism, how frustrating it is when the other person just doesnt get it.

Hello again, Elizabeth! Great start with this! Who knew how much your negative high school experiences could benefit your work at the UCWbL? I love how those sorts of situations can turn out for the better in the end. This could even be a battle cry to the frustrating experiences in the past. Through your philosophy, you can show them what youre really made of, and that youve come a long way. Feel free to loosen up your tone a little bit as well. Though you do refer to your personal experiences often, this still has an academic vibe to it. Ultimately you want this to reach an UCWbL-wide audience, including your fellow peer writing tutors. What might they like to hear? You may want to try allowing your personal narrative to dominate your philosophy with support added from your readings. Right now this is very reading-based. This is great support, but it tends to mute your voice in the situation. Try experimenting with these different tones and see what works best for you. Id love to hear more about what youre thinking in terms of your philosophy. We can chat it up next week. Please feel free to bring more ideas to the table as well--Im an open book! Happy drafting, and see you soon! -Mo