What happens when the writer reads out loud?
I figured out that I struggled to hang on to information I heard rather than read sometime sophomore year of high school (after a severe concussion, but that’s a different story). No more back-row-lounging no-note-taking straight-A-student for me. But what was the solution? And, how does that relate to being a Writing Center tutor, some eight-odd years later? Those strategies I had to learn are strategies I use every single appointment, and sometimes share with writers that struggle in a similar way.
Step one: copies of everything
Reading out loud is an unquestionably valuable tool, both in tutoring writing and in doing the writing myself. Reading aloud helps identify all sort of incongruencies and errors that are easily missed when skimming written work. This is true whether or not another person (your friendly local peer writing tutor) is listening for things they hear that the person reading doesn’t notice. However, as tutors we want to be as helpful as we can be, throughout the process. So how do I make myself helpful when all I catch from a writer’s reading is the gist of their topic?
Step one: copies of everything. Any assignment parameters or notes or drafting that the writer thinks is relevant enough to mention, I ask for copies of rather than to be told about it. And if they don’t want to or can’t send me a copy, I ask to look over their shoulder. Copies are better, because I can make marginal notes instead of trying to hang on to mental ones, but any way to get my eyes on the words helps what I’m hearing stick better between the ears.
Word and Google Docs are great, because of their commenting features, but if all the writer has is a PDF and you don’t want to waste appointment time, you can make marginal comments on those as well.
Use your copy to make highlights, underlines, circles, and all the other squiggly editing shorthand that’s a no-no for written feedback but allows you to keep up with the writer as they read. You can always spend the appointment helping them make those squiggles into conversations.
This brings us to step two.
Step two: take notes (but carefully)
If you’re anything like me, the prospect of taking notes invokes a faint feeling of dread. But I can’t keep up, or but what if I miss something, or it’s so distracting that my auditory retention is even worse. This is where those editor’s-red-pen squiggles come in! Develop a shorthand for yourself, that you can use on a keyboard or with a pen, and that is speedy enough for you to keep up with your professors. Chances are, a good portion of your professors speak more quickly than the average writer reading out loud.
Bonus points if you make your shorthand easy enough that if the writer asks you to be the one reading out loud, you can take notes and read at the same time with minimal awkward pausing!
Step three: don’t be afraid to stop the writer, or ask them to read it again
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the end of the world if you do lose track of what you’re hearing, or need a second of space for your notes or a hearing re-set. I’ve yet to encounter a writer that minds if I ask them to pause briefly, or go back a couple of sentences. Sometimes, if I can tell it’s going to be a dense or difficult essay, I even start out be asking them to read in chunks. Some do that on their own.
In short, communicate. You don’t have to explain your struggles with auditory processing to the writer, but something simple like I’ll be taking notes as you read, so I might pause you briefly as you go along can go a long way. I think I heard something, would you mind reading the last couple of sentences again? can even help the writer identify whatever you might be looking for themself.
That’s all well and good, but what if the writer is the one struggling?
Steps one, two, and three still apply, only the situation shifts to you encouraging the writer to make use of them, rather than making use of them yourself.
- Step one: make sure they have a copy of their writing in front of them.
- Step two: encourage them to take notes, and ask if they’d also like for you to take notes you can share with them, either as part of the summary letter or that they can literally take a picture of or receive via email.
- Step three: start sessions by asking about how the writer productively receives feedback, or if they know anything about their learning style, or types of instruction they struggle with (like lectures, Powerpoints, etc.). Sometimes people know more about what doesn’t work for them than what does, simply because what doesn’t work is often what spurs you into figuring out what does.
Like what you’ve read by Nic J and want more? Check out their creative writing blog here.