Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-9-2017

First Page

1

Last Page

4

Abstract

Last year, as I was sitting in my living room doing my homework, my sister, Abby, started telling me about her experience in the Writing Center. She was encouraged from her visit because of the praise she had received, and she was excited to implement the advice she was given. However, when Abby got her grade for the paper, she was devastated. The grade she received was unacceptable, and she was confused. She went to the Writing Center, and shouldn’t applying the few suggestions she was given help her get an A? The tutor gave Abby some suggestions laced with praise, which she wanted, but that is not what Abby needed. She needed to be asked searching questions to help her fix her own paper. If the tutor had tried to discern Abby’s needs instead of just focusing on her wants, Abby would have been more satisfied with her Writing Center experience. As I have observed other tutors in the Writing Center and have tutored myself, I have come to realize that it is important for those of us who work in Writing Centers to be able to discern what our students need even if they don’t know themselves. The ability to discover our students’ needs will also help those of us who teach. Discerning needs can be done as we adapt to students, assess their needs, and strive to understand their assignments.

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