Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-7-2017

Abstract

This Tutors’ Column explores the ways in which focusing on grammar and mechanics in tutoring sessions at the writing center both helps and hinders students. This paper begins with a first-person explication of a new peer tutor’s past writing and editing experiences from high school to the time that she began working at the writing center. The author describes her previous view of the importance of grammar and acknowledges how this view has changed and developed during her time as a peer tutor. Using research from four different writing center and education journals ranging in years from 1984 to 2016, she defines lower and higher order concerns and describes their relevance to tutoring sessions and student success. The author covers specific topics that include collaboration during sessions and emphasis on the peer tutor role. This paper ultimately settles on the belief that students will best be able to reach their potential as independent writers when tutors focus most on higher order concerns.

Download

Share

COinS