Module 2.5 D

 Develop an understanding of the various problems students face when writing.  Use various strategies to help students improve their writing.

 Lack of self management skills.  Lack of strategy.  Failure to understand and follow directions.  Poor organization.  Poor topic selection.  Lack of system for proofreading.

 Lack of an introduction.  Poor understanding of instructor expectations.  Inability to understand and accept criticism from the instructor.  Poor understanding of, or inability to use, the resources available to them.  Overly complex writing assignment.  Inadequate instructor explanation.

 Poor paragraph construction.  Unfamiliar with citation styles (APA/MLA)  Not clear on grading system used by instructor.

 Listen to ideas and answer questions.  Ask questions to help the student clarify and focus their thoughts.  Ask questions to help tutees understand the material.  Discuss the material with the tutee.  Work with students to help them identify and correct errors in their own work.

 Demonstrate techniques students can use to do their own work.  Show students how to brainstorm, narrow a topic, and organize their thoughts by asking themselves questions.  Give students honest, but supportive feedback about their work, pointing out strengths and weaknesses.  Encourage students to take responsibility for their own work.  Help students find and correct errors in their writing.

 Show students how to get the most out of their textbooks and introduce students to other resources including websites, student solution manuals, and handouts.  Do not violate confidentiality principles.  Do not rewrite assignments for students.  Do not do the student’s work for them.  Do not predict student’s grades.

The Learning Centre, North Coast Institute

The Learning Centre, North Coast Institute

 Notecard Method  Students can write down bits of information as they do their research on notecards  Different colored cards can be used for each source and cited later  Students can then organize the information by sorting the notecards and putting them in the order that they will be presented in the paper

APA: General Guidelines  Double-spaced  One inch margins on all sides  Title Page  Running head: Top right; two or three words from title and page number  Title  Author’s name  Affiliation (School or class)

APA: In-Text Citation  Immediately after the quote or paraphrase, insert the last name of the author, the date of the publication, and the relevant page number(s) in parenthesis.  (Bob, 2004, p.12)  Multiple authors should all be listed by last names in the order they appear in the source  (Bob & Thomas, 2005, p.27-54)

APA: Works Cited Page  New page at the end of the paper  “References” at the top center of the page  Same margins  Double space, but do not skip lines between entries  Hanging indent  Last, First initial. (Date). Title of article, Title of book (pp.). City of Publication: Publisher.  Example (Book) ▪ James, N. E. (1988). Two sides of paradise: The Eden myth according to Kirk and Spock. In D. Palumbo (Ed.), Spectrum of the fantastic (pp ). Westport, CT: Greenwood.

MLA: General Guidelines  Double-spaced  One space after periods  One inch margins with half inch indent at beginning of each paragraph  Last name and page numbers in the top right corner header  No title page unless specifically instructed  Centered title on first page

MLA: In-Text Citation  Immediately after the quote or paraphrase, insert the name of the author and the relevant page number(s) in parenthesis.  (Bob 12)  Multiple citations should be separated by a semicolon, but both references should be placed in the same set of parenthesis.  (Bob 27; Thomas 19)

MLA: Works Cited Page  New page at the end of the paper  “Works Cited” at the top center of the page  Same margins  Double space, but do not skip lines between entries  Author (last, first). Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Date.  Example (Book) –Okuda, Michael, and Denise Okuda. Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future. New York: Pocket, 1993.

APA Reference Guides  pa.htm pa.htm  MLA Reference Guides  mla.htm mla.htm 

 Find a partner. One of you will be the tutor while the other is the tutee. Use the writing prompt given to you by the instructor as well as some of the techniques you’ve learned in your training to help the tutee with a basic prewriting exercise.  Which strategies worked? Which ones didn’t? Does this surprise you?  Do you find this role playing exercise challenging? Why or why not?  Is this how you would normally treat a student? What differences, if any, do you notice between our mock session and a real session? Are those differences good or bad?

 Using the worksheets given to you, practice guiding your “tutee” through the editing process.  Do you find this task challenging? Why or why not?  Did you notice any specific areas of difficulty in your student’s paper? How did you deal with these areas of concern? How did your student respond?

 Many International Students may find themselves struggling to write essays and research papers.  This may be due to an unfamiliarity with the English Language.

 Drafting is very important. Use an outline or writing web to organize the students ideas. Then write a rough draft to organize those ideas.  Take this opportunity to correct spelling and grammar errors.  Make sure to clearly explain each mistake. This will allow the student to become more independent in the future.

 Create a second draft and review it before submitting the final paper.  Organizing and drafting help the student feel less anxious about making mistakes and focus more on expressing ideas.  When editing rough drafts be sure to explain the corrections being made, why they are being made, and ask students to clarify their ideas often.

 Guide the student through the instructor’s directions explaining the meaning of key words such as discuss, explain, compare/contrast, and describe.  Once students understand the expectations of the instructor, they will be able to focus on their writing.  If students have further questions, encourage them to meet with their instructor.

 It is a good idea to take notes during the session for students to use in other writing assignments.  Make sure to ask specific questions of students to make sure that the concepts remain the same throughout the process.  Help students set up a schedule for completing outlines and drafts.

 Any questions, comments, concerns, or just fun writing related stories to share? We’d love to hear them!