Tutoring and Writing: The Write Way

            Some are born with natural talent like a prodigy; others learn skills and crafts through rigorous work and heavy reading. However, learning to become a writing tutor for one who is very determined may not be too grim with the assistance of authors Donald A. McAndrew and Thomas J. Reigstad in the brief tutoring guide, Tutoring Writing: A Practical Guide for Conferences.

            Now I say it may not be too challenging for one who is determined to become a better tutor rather than a casual beginner,  because in all honesty this book was killing me softly as I read through it, boring me more and more as I read on. Sure, it was very clear and thorough with its proposals to each scenario, presenting evidence and expert testimony with each theory and conclusion that is essential in this type of book.

On the other hand, as a reader rather than a student, I was bored countless times while reading the guide. There was nothing that really intrigued me when it was talking about things such as collaborative learning and the effect it can have in a writing-tutoring situation. Don’t get me wrong, this is very precious advice and is essential knowledge to have when in a tutoring setup. The main problem for me was the repetition of the advice and the too-serious tone is a killer.

It’s not all bad news though; there were several ideas that I certainly approved of, and among those was the idea of free writing for constructing a draft. Believe it or not, that is my style and is the technique I used to spark up this review. I’m happy it was there as a method to use to help instigate pure discovery in tutees and writers because it is not encouraged enough in the classroom or other settings that involve writing. Other ways of brainstorming such as lists, outlines, and even sketches are also proposed as accepted ways of producing a draft. Another method that I really approved of was the technique of using conversation and verbal communication and "... the power of simply engaging in conversation with the writer" (34) as a way to inspire thought and ideas, and taking those ideas and putting them on paper. It was an ingenious and simple method that helped craft a well-done draft.

When it came down to assisting tutees in preventing writer’s block, the guide did a great job. It mentioned many scenarios in case the tutor is approached with different situations like if a writer has no draft or even a partial draft. The guide brought in ideas of "how to formulate journalistic leads" (40) and ways to find them for essays with topics. It also mentioned using anecdotes from the piece the tutees are writing about, a startling statement, a summary of the piece, or even a simple quote that stood out to the writer. Avoiding writer’s block was made to seem easy by reading this portion of the book by asking the writer to take risk, avoid editing prematurely, and to use different methods of writing by branching out of their original style. All of this made perfect sense to me; the only problem with all of this was the boredom factor. With each chapter came more and more boring facts, which only turned me off. Then again, a non-fiction guide of tutoring writing isn’t awlways a fun spontaneous read. For someone like me who is distracted easily, this book was really irritating to read. 

In all honesty, this book was like a miniature textbook; I felt like I was reading this as part of an assignment for my English class based on the layout of the book; countless facts and information, and nothing that entertained the reader to inspire him or her to continue reading. I’m sure it’s tough to make a non-fiction of this type fun to read, but come on, there should be a little more effort to hook and grab the reader into wanting more out of this. All I really wanted to do was skim through it and look to the table of contents for specific help.

One part of the book that I really appreciated was its emphasis on thesis and its effect on a paper, and how it can make or break any assignment. The guide mentioned how the thesis was the most crucial part and ways to approach this asset of a paper. To help develop a thesis, the author says to write a one-sentence summary of the piece, to orally explain the piece, all to help churn the words and sentences into a beautifully crafted cake of a thesis. 

The book was very well done as a guide and as a reference tool for tutors and writers, and I think this is perfect for just that: a tool. As a reader, I was quickly thrown off by the monotony of it all, however it’s a guide on writing, not Harry Potter. As the title claims, this is a very practical guide for writers, tutors, students, and even teachers. I learned much from this book, however it can be improved in some areas. Then again, so can every book and written work in the world. 

Works Cited

McAndrew, Donald A., and Thomas J. Reigstad. Tutoring Writing: A Practical Guide for Conferences. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 2001. Print.