Writers Finding the Right Tutor

Why is it important to find a tutor that’s right for you as a writer?

In the writing center, we experience a variety of writing that we edit and read. This is beneficial to us as writers and readers; however, a writer could come in and look for help on a specific topic and might want a tutor who has some experience with that topic. 

Finding a tutor who has experience with a specific topic can be advantageous for efficient collaboration in the session. 

It can also make the writer more comfortable if the tutor has a level of empathy when tutoring (Murphy, 1989). It can be difficult for some tutors to generate that type of empathy if they do not have the same experience as the writer which in turn makes the process of tutoring just a little more difficult and a little less productive.

Tutors and Their Expertise

Tutors at the DePaul Writing Center have such a wide array of skills and interests. These skills and interests are so important when editing writing and creating rapport with writers. The most confident I feel when editing is when the topic is something I’m already aware of, have studied, am interested in, or it’s a subject that I have worked on before. Tutors often play more than one role when tutoring and those roles are often overlapping and shifting because of different variables (Liu & Harwood, 2022).

These skills are unique to each tutor and although some of them may overlap, it’s important that writers and tutors feel confident and comfortable when in a tutoring session. Tutors can often have a feeling of imposter syndrome, the topic of our tutor talks this week, and that can create self-doubt in tutors when working with writers of any type (Washko, 2023). 

By taking advantage of these unique skills and interests, tutors can give their best advice and advance their skills in the topic as well.

Filtering Tutors for Writers

Some of the information that you have listed in your personal biography on WCOnline is super helpful to writers who are looking for specific interests. Although some things that a tutor is interested in or has skill in might not be listed, some examples could include things like specific classes within a major that might have multiple class options or someone that is a theatre major but has taken chemistry before and didn’t list it.

A way that writing centers can combat this is by filtering the tutors more. By creating more filtering options or creating more requirements for tutors to list the classes they’ve taken, skills they have, or interests, etc. then writers could more easily find a tutor they would be confident in having efficient help, understanding, and empathy from.

How can WE Improve?

I think we can improve on a very realistic level and there are two parts to this. 

1. I think we can create requirements for tutors to include in their bio things like major, minor, classes they’ve taken that they were passionate about, specific writing or tutoring skills, and types of writing they’re comfortable with, etc. 

2. We can encourage tutors to rewrite their personal bio to include things they’ve learned while at the writing center, proactively. Requesting tutors revisit their personal statements and double-check that they’ve included things that could help guide writers.

I encourage all of you to revisit your personal statements and see what kind of important information you can add to guide writers in the right direction. 

Why is it so important to improve?

Based on my research, it’s apparent to me that writers want confident tutors. 

If there is a lack of communication between the writer and the tutor then there won’t be efficient work done (Washko, 2023). 

We can improve the confidence of our writers and our tutors by creating a smooth path for communication! When tutors are tutoring on subjects, they are familiar with they have far more confidence and can also create empathy for the writer through that experience (Murphy, 1989). 

Think about the confident guidance you could give to a writer if you’re familiar with the subject matter and how effective that tutoring session could be!

Happy Writing!

x Lexi ♥

References

Liu, C., & Harwood, N. (2022). Understandings of the Role of the One-to-One Writing Tutor in a U.K. University Writing Centre: Multiple Perspectives. Written Communication, 39(2), 228-275. https://doi.org/10.1177/07410883211069057

Murphy, C. (1989). Freud in the writing center: The Psychoanalytics of Tutoring well. Writing Center Journal, 10(1). doi:10.7771/2832-9414.1195 

Washko, Leah. (2023). Amplifying Tutor Voices: A Qualitative Analysis for Improving Writing Center Tutoring Practices and Pedagogy. English Department Masters Theses. 3. https://research.library.kutztown.edu/englishtheses/3