After each tutoring session at the Writing Center
the tutor completes a report to be sent to the student's professor. This
report is another type of commentary on student writing. Its purpose is
not to directly to assist students, rather to inform professors of the areas
the student and tutor worked on and discussed. Professors usually view students
who voluntarily visit the Writing Center in high esteem because these students
care enough about their writing assignments to do their best and have taken
the effort upon themselves to receive the assistance that our university
offers.
In the report the tutor writes what occurred during the session. The best
way to begin is to state why the student came to the Writing Center. A tutor
receives this information from the brief worksheet the student fills out
at the session's beginning and/or from interactions with the student; the
tutor may ask the student more about the assignment, the progress made on
it thus far, and the student's plans about what to do next. Initially explaining
in the report why students came for help describes their own goals for the
session, and lets professors know with which areas their students had difficulty.
Recording students' assistance needs may have a long-term benefit. If a
student comes to the Writing Center repeatedly with the same problem, it
might alert the professor of a potential learning disability that would
call for additional help.
Next in the report the tutor explains in some detail the areas on which
she and the student worked. What were the problems and how were they addressed?
Did the tutor's assistance seem to help the student? Was the student able
to fix these areas with the tutor's guidance? One may also want to mention
the student's general attitude towards the session. Was he/she motivated?
Interested? Responsive to the tutor's advice? If the student had a good
attitude stating it in the report is helpful because the professor is made
aware that the student is concerned about the writing assignment and wants
to put in the effort to do well. However, if the student is not very cooperative,
is bored, or resistant to the tutor's instruction, deciding whether to put
this in the report can be based on the following guideline: if the student's
lack of cooperation hinders the tutor in giving assistance and thus noticeable
progress is not made on the paper, the tutor should mention the student's
unhelpful attitude in the report.
The Writing Center has a responsibility to help students; if a tutor cannot
help the reason should be stated in the report. Mentioning a student's uncooperative
attitude also protects the Writing Center. If such a student is unhappy
with the final grade given by her professor, she could accuse the Writing
Center of not offering her proper assistance. However, if the report states
that the student was uncooperative and it was her attitude that hindered
the tutor from giving her thorough assistance, the Writing Center is protected.
If noting a student's bad attitude in the report, it is important to do
so cautiously and respectfully. Reports are always written with a courteous
tone of voice to show respect for the student and professor. A tutor should
refrain from any language that could be viewed as insulting or condescending
to the student or professor, just as in other forms of written commentary.
The tone should also be professional because the tutor represents a university-sponsored
organization. Note the difference between the tones in the following two reports. Noting
a student's bad attitude is difficult to do in a tactful manner. Click here
to see an excerpt of a Writing Center report of a
troublesome tutorial, in which the student became defensive and resistant
to the tutor's suggestions. Even though the tutor was frustrated he explained
the student's difficult attitude calmly and respectfully.
The well-written
report with the respectful tone is an example of how Writing Center
reports conclude with a brief discussion of how the session ended. Did the
student feel comfortable enough with the received assistance to go home
and revise the paper on his own? Or did the student require additional help
and sign up for another appointment? A tutor should also mention any problems
that occurred during the session. Were the tutor and student able to address
all the major problematic areas in the paper, or were there troublesome
spots left untouched due to time constraints? Stating any problems, again,
protects the Writing Center. The well-written
report is also a good example of how reports can show that the Writing
Center tutorial is a collaborative effort between tutor and student, and
the goal is to improve not only the student's draft, but to improve the
student's writing habits.