Online+Tutoring

= Asynchronous Online Consulting = The Writing Center offers online tutoring to Missouri State students who are taking online courses or high school dual credit courses. Students who use this service receive asynchronous tutoring, meaning the students submit their papers electronically to the Writing Center, and then a writing consultant makes comments and suggestions using the Microsoft Word comment and track changes features. Then, the writing consultant returns the paper to the student with the comments and changes along with a personal letter summarizing the major suggestions for revision. Because of the nature of this type of tutoring, many of the personal connections writing consultants make with writers in face-to-face sessions are lost, so the consultants who do this type of tutoring must make a strong effort to personalize their responses to each student and give constructive criticism while keeping a kind, professional tone.

Elements of an Online Tutorial Online Tutoring vs. Face-to-Face Tutoring Formulating Written Responses Example Personal Letter to Writer

**Elements of an Online Tutorial**
 Each consultant will likely have a slightly different approach to his or her process of tutoring, but every online tutoring session should contain three elements: the track changes marks, the comments, and a personal letter to the writer. The personal letter to the writer should be the first thing the writer sees when he or she gets his or her paper back from the Writing Center (whether you make it the body of the email to the writer or you embed it in the file). This letter allows the consultant to summarize two or three of the major suggestions for revision and personally connect with the writer. There is no set format for writing this letter, but it is always good to address the writer by name and start the letter with something the writer has done well. If the writer has specifically asked that a specific issue be looked at, then the consultant should mention that issue in the letter.

**Online Tutoring vs. Face-to-Face Tutoring**
Many of the tutoring techniques writing consultants use in live sessions still apply to online tutoring; however, when tutoring online, writing consultants must convey their ideas in writing, which can pose some challenges such as making sure not to come across too harshly, not to overwhelm to the writer with too many comments, not to confuse the writer with unexplained technical jargon, etc. Paula Gillespie and Neal Lerner offer several strategies for tutoring writers online including having a friendly tone, following some of the same strategies as they would in face-to-face tutoring, making sure the writer knows what to expect, asking the writer questions, and avoiding editing (165). Keeping a file of pre-formed comments and talking to other writing consultants can also make the online tutoring process more efficient. § ** Establish a friendly tone. ** This is very important in online tutoring; it lets the writer know that he or she is not working with a machine that is devoid of feeling and emotion, but with a person. The most important place to establish a friendly tone is in the personal letter to the writer since it should be the first thing the writer reads. A consultant can create a friendly tone by addressing the writer by name, starting the letter by specifically telling that writer what he or she has done well, and offering criticism in as kind of a way as possible. § **Online tutor is still tutoring.** Writing consultants who tutor online should remember that online tutoring is still tutoring, so they should still follow many of the basics that they normally do in live sessions. For example, writing consultants should address higher-order concerns first; it is better not to spend time correcting grammar issues if there are larger, more global issues (such as organization, clarity, poor research, etc.) at hand. § ** Let the writer know what to expect. ** When writers send in papers, it is not uncommon for them to ask the Writing Center to “edit,” “fix,” or “correct” their papers. In situations such as this, Gillespie and Lerner suggest making “sure you have some way of letting the writer know what to expect and what not to expect from an on-line conference: they won’t be dropping off a paper they’ll pick up later, all corrected” (165). Most of the time, there is no need to go into a long explanation about how the Writing Center does not do these things unless it is absolutely necessary. Most of the time, if writing consultants simply let writers know what they have done in their tutoring process (such as highlighting areas where there are problems instead of correcting them for the writer), those writers will better understand what to expect in the future. §  ** Ask questions. ** Like face-to-face tutoring, asking questions is an essential part of the online tutoring process, especially for helping writers address higher-order concerns. Sometimes questions can come across differently online than they do in person; as Gillespie and Lerner suggest, questions may “ seem even more like commands than they do in person” (165). Writing consultants should be conscious of how writers may perceive their questions when constructing them. For example, do not ask, “Why don’t you change this?” when you can ask, “What idea were you trying to convey to your reader here? This is how I interpreted it…. Is this what you intended?” Writing consultants should also be aware that too many questions can overwhelm a writer, so they should not ask unnecessary or repetitive questions. § ** Avoid editing. ** It is tempting to edit papers when doing online tutoring; however, try to avoid this. Many times writers will have patterns to the grammatical or punctuation errors they make, so if you can find the patterns, describe them, and offer strategies for proofreading and correcting those errors, it will make it easier for those writers to learn to proofread and correct these errors on their own in the future.

For instance, if you spot a repetitive comma error, you might explain to the writer, “You tend to leave out the comma before the word ‘and’ when there is an independent clause after it (something that could stand alone as a complete sentence). You will always need a comma before ‘and’ if what comes after it is a complete sentence. I have inserted a comma and highlighted the independent clause the first time as an example; I am going to let you proofread for further instances of this error. There is an easy way to proofread for this. If you use the find function in Word (ctrl+f), you can search for each instance of the word ‘and’ in your paper. All you have to do is look at what comes each instance of the word ‘and,’ and decide if it would make sense as a complete sentence by itself. If so, simply add in the comma.”

Sometimes, it may seem that a writer may not be aware of a particular grammar concept, so referring that writer to websites with information about grammar or practice exercises can back up the consultant’s explanation of the concept and provide more in-depth information than the consultant has time to explain. § **Keep a file of pre-formed comments.** Some consultants may find that they repeat themselves often when responding to writers’ writing, especially when explaining grammar issues. One way to save time is to keep an electronic file with explanations for grammatical concepts so that you can copy and paste them as necessary. If you choose to do this, check to make sure each explanation truly fits the situation in the writer’s writing; if it does not fit exactly, customize it for that particular writer’s situation. As long as the comment is helpful to the writer and is relevant to his or her writing, there is no reason why a consultant cannot use a file of pre-formed responses. § **Talk to other writing consultants.** One other helpful strategy for online tutoring is to ask other consultants questions. Whether you aren’t sure if you understand something in a paper or if you are explaining your ideas well enough, sometimes a second opinion can be helpful. Many of us ask other writing consultants questions during face-to-face sessions, so don’t feel as though you cannot do this when tutoring online.

**Formulating Written Responses**
 Because of the nature of online asynchronous tutoring, there must be a strong emphasis on exactly what consultants write in response to students’ writing; consultants need to have a keen awareness of their tone and clarity. The responses that consultants give are the only way those writers will know their writing consultants. When constructing these responses, be conscious of how you may come across to the person you are tutoring. In face-to-face sessions, the writer can at least see your facial expressions and body language that will help that person interpret what you say; however, in online tutoring, the only way writers know you is through your words. This is why you must choose your words carefully. There are many aspects to consider when responding to student writing: § **Be clear, explicit, and explain your reasoning**. Online tutoring requires writing consultants to make concise, descriptive comments about students’ writing. These writers are used to seeing marks such as “awk,” “frag,” or “RO” on their papers, but that does not necessarily mean that they know what these comments mean or how to fix them. You, as a writing consultant, have a chance to help writers really understand the “behind the scenes” issues to their writing. The only way writers will better understand these issues is for the consultant to clearly explain what those issues are and offer strategies about how to address those issues. In online tutoring, the challenge is to help writers understand these ideas by describing all of these things in writing. As a writing consultant, you should do more than make the comments that writers are used to seeing; you should explain why you made these comments or changes. Instead of writing “awk,” “awkward,” or “what?” in a comment, try to explain to the writer why the sentence is awkward and explain options about how to address it. The writer will not understand how the consultant arrived at that question or what is confusing about what he or she has written; most of all, that writer will most likely make a blind revision and not necessarily learn anything from the comment. Therefore, writing consultants need to let writers in on their thinking process by writing comments that reflect the reasoning behind those comments. In a situation such as the one above, the writing consultant should tell the writer why what he or she has written is awkward. A comment such as “The verb //view// in this sentence seems awkward because I am not sure it is conveying the meaning you intend for it to. Do you mean that Americans sit around and think about the extreme effects that science could have? If so, maybe a phrase like ‘think about,’ ‘worry,’ or ‘worry about’ might be more appropriate” would be much more helpful for the writer. While this tactic may be more time consuming, it is much more helpful to the writer. Your goal is to help the writer learn how to avoid making these errors. That writer will hopefully be able to apply what he or she learned in future writing. § **Avoid sarcasm**. The writer may not catch the sarcasm, which could result in a misinterpretation, and that misinterpretation could ultimately have negative effects on that writer’s tutoring experience and/or learning. §  **Make the writer aware of your tutoring process**. An instance when this strategy can be especially effective is when there is a recurring error in a paper. If there is a recurring grammatical or punctuation error in a paper, and the consultant only corrected the first instance of it as an example, then that consultant should literally tell the writer in a comment, “There is a [insert grammatical/punctuation mistake here] recurring throughout your paper. I’ve marked the first error, and you can [insert proofreading strategy here]. I’ll let you proofread for further instances of this.” This lets the writer know that he or she needs to take responsibility for correcting the remaining errors and that the consultant has not simply “fixed” the paper. This also can also save the consultant time, allowing him or her to make more suggestions about other issues instead of pointing out the same error over and over. § **Use the comment feature more than the track changes feature**. There is no set number of changes or comments that a writing consultant should make, but in general, it is better for a consultant to use the comment feature to explain his or her ideas than to simply make changes with the track changes feature. If a consultant makes several changes without explaining the reasoning behind them, the writer will be more likely to go through the paper and accept all of the changes the consultant made and not learn anything. Since the goal of tutoring is not only to make a better paper but also to foster learning, consultants should always make sure to provide writers with opportunities to learn by offering explanations and strategies for improvement. § **Be mindful about how many comments you make**; you don’t want to overwhelm the writer with too many comments. If you find yourself using the comment feature excessively, narrow your comments down to the most important issues for the writer to address first, and consider telling the writer to submit his or her paper again after revising. § **Have a positive tone**. Try to avoid saying, “Don’t make this mistake” when you can easily rephrase your comment to something that has a more positive tone such as “Try to avoid doing this; it will make your essay sound more professional.” It is not easy to do this all the time; however, when all writers know of you is the comments you make on their papers, you should make an effort to keep our tone as positive as possible so that your words not discourage them. § **Always start and end the personal letter to the writer on a positive note**. Starting the letter with praise will let the writer know what he or she has done right and ease him or her into the criticism you are going to offer. Ending the letter on something good (such as “Good luck on your essay,” “Thank you for sending your paper in to the Writing Center,” “I hope these comments help,” or “If you have any other questions, feel free to send your paper in again”) serves as another way to encourage writers and personalize their tutoring experience (see the “Example Personal Letter to Writer” section on page 63 for a sample).

  Kelsey,
 * Example Personal Letter to Writer **

It is good that you have decided to speak for groups of people who generally do not have a strong voice to speak for themselves; I can tell you are passionate about what you are writing. However, if you want to more effectively use your voice to speak for these people, then be careful not to make sweeping generalizations. There are two generalizations about people I want to point out: “one of the most common crimes against the homeless women is rape because they can do nothing to defend themselves” and “Every day these people are becoming victims of heinous crimes such as Albert’s who could not even do anything about it.” You make it sound as though **//__no__//** homeless women can do anything to avoid these situations, and **//__no__//** homeless people with mental illnesses can do anything to avoid being victims. Instead, say that homeless women are **//__more__//** vulnerable to rape, and homeless people with mental illnesses are **//__more likely__//** to be victims of crime. This very small change in words will make a dramatic difference in how you come across to your audience and will make them more likely to take you seriously as an advocate.   One other thing that would strengthen your essay would be to include many different credible, unbiased sources, like journal articles, government studies, and books. Any statistics that you use need to come from major studies and not just organization websites. It is not that you cannot use these websites, but you also need to support the ideas you find on them with evidence from other sources that do not have an obvious agenda. These websites favor one side of this issue, and generally, when you write a research paper, biased sources like these need to be further supported with sources that are unbiased so that your audience will know that the information is reliable. Adding these sources will also help you reach a wider audience, not just the people who are already looking at the websites you used.  I hope this helps, and good luck with your essay.

**Works Cited**
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. //The Longman Guide to Peer Tutoring//. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson, 2008. 161-165.