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Over time, I learned that, as tutors, our role is not to perfect every paper or provide the ‘right’ answers. Rather, it’s to foster the tutee’s ability to think independently and develop their voice. By framing my advice in a way that gave them the freedom to interpret and apply it as they saw fit, I empowered them to take ownership of their learning process.
About Tutor Voices
Inspiring Resilience
From Serine Jaafar, Lebanese American University, Lebanon – How Is Working With Writers Keeping You Going These Days?
Many students have expressed common fears of an uncertain future. Their concerns, fears, and worries mirrored our own. Amid their concerns, we did the only thing we knew to do. We listened. We provided support. Our students, in turn, have also been our support.
From Dr. Bonnie Devet, College of Charleston, USA – What Is Inspiring You Lately?
Thanks to my consultants, though, I have been inspired. The consultants jumped right in, Zooming with clients, eager to help and to learn the new system. And being the sensitive, introspective souls that they are, they have been analyzing how using Zoom is similar but different from f2f, describing some fine distinctions so that both the consultants and I are learning even more about the fine art of being Writing Lab consultants.
From Deniz Uncu, The Hisar School, Turkey – What Is Inspiring You Lately?
During these 4 weeks, this project was the only thing I enjoyed doing. Like most of the people, I am starting to get tired of not seeing the future clearly, so it feels good to work on a project that will have many benefits for everyone. Even though nothing really cleared up about our life in quarantine, this project is a comfort to accomplish something.
From Gacia Danaoghlian, Lebanese American University, Lebanon – What Is Inspiring You Lately? What Keeps You Going?
As Lebanese, we are known for our resilience, and indeed, I decided to embrace the situation and continue to live my life as “normally” as I possibly could. I decided to find comfort in the only area I knew and believe in excelling: Teaching Writing.
From Sabrina Louissaint, Nova Southeastern University, USA – What Is Inspiring Me Lately?
I began to shift my mindset and do more activities that made me happy. I would be remiss without giving credit to the strong support system that continues to encourage me, as well as my faith.
From Maria Ziareski, CAPA, Brazil – What Is Inspiring You Lately?
As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, inspiration started to slowly come — and it came from the future. The possibility of tomorrow, that is what has been inspiring me lately.
Tutor’s Perspective
From Jillie Alexander: My Journey: From Perfectionist Hokie to Gracious Writing Coach
“What’s your biggest flaw?” “My perfectionism.” Thankfully, my perfectionism has slowly begun to transition with my journey to become a Writing Coach. After 19 years of perfectionism that leads to disappointment and self-degradation, being enrolled in the training course for new writing coaches at Virginia Tech has been a breath of fresh air.
Navigating The Labyrinth That Is Language for Writing Tutors and Students Alike
With a nation rich in culture and diversity it is not uncommon for English to not be the primary language of communication. This is definitely true at our university, Stellenbosch University (SU), a public research institution in the Western Cape, South Africa. SU has focused much attention on multilingualism in recent years. So much so that academic, social, administrative and professional settings at SU use a variety of languages for communication.
No Lights and No Power: Another Day in a South African Writing Consultant’s Apocalyptic World
“Sorry I cannot hear you, I think my internet connection has been disrupted,” says the student I am attempting to have a consultation with. Just another day in our unequal online-dominated apocalyptic world. Online learning is not accessible and user friendly for many students in South Africa. This is aggregated by intermittent load shedding.
Strategies that I Embraced as an EFL Writing Center Consultant at an American University
In this Tutor's Perspective piece, an EFL writing consultant reflects on how he developed his tutoring approaches for offering feedback. "As a newly-arrived international EFL Writing Center consultant at UTEP, I certainly encountered some initial tensions and challenges. However, despite these tensions and challenges, the two strategies that I embraced allowed me to deal with student writing and became a successful consultant. "
Becoming Less: My Evolution as a Writing Center Coach
As someone who moved to California from India at the age of eleven, I understand how even a small language correction, such as the pronunciation of a mispronounced word, can bring feelings of alienation and humiliation. By recounting and reflecting on my own experiences, I learned to ease the spotlight off myself and onto the client during sessions. I started thinking of their language differences as something that could enrich writing by adding uniqueness in the way they understand and convey meaning.
Hello. My name is…
In this piece, Dunya Suleymanova, a writing consultant from ADA University in Azerbaijan, captures the moments in her work when she hears "Hello, my name is..."
