My Tutoring Philosophy

As a second year as an Animal Veterinary Science major, with a Pre-Vet concentration, and a minor in English I have come to the realization that there is an academic, stereotype barrier across the disciplines. It is assumed from both STEM and English majors that they are unable to offer each other anything in a peer tutoring session. This is addressed in chapter 6 in The Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors, that “writing required for...[different] contexts can be diverse but that they also have features in common” that makes writing an equal ground among writers (p. 139). Both majors require the utilization of standard English even though the material and assignments might be different from each other. Bruffee said, students’ “work tended to improve when they got help from peer tutors and tutors learned from the students they helped…” because the assignment writers (tutees) gained knowledge of what they were struggling with and guiding writers (peer tutors) gained knowledge on how to work in new atmosphere (OGWT, 325).

These two backgrounds have driven me to form my own method of tutoring. Since the guiding writers and assignment writers are each other’s peers, it is easier to address the session in a more relatable and casual way. I like to first connect on a friendly basis to learn a little bit about the other person because it can assist us in working together through the writing process.

Relating to reasons of how and why we write the way we do is important to understanding our strengths and weaknesses through our own writing processes. For someone, like me, who has both a STEM and English background, with tutoring I can switch between the different methods of writing, focusing on APA or MLA tone. Knowing this as a strength I can recognize that it can also be a weakness when I slip into writing one way or the other when I should not be. Thus, connecting what I am writing to personal experiences I can better evaluate what and why I am addressing my writing the way I am. For me, I have found key ways of making sure that I continue the tone and context that I intended it to. As an example, when citing a quote in MLA there should be a list of reasoning to connect the purpose of the quote to the thesis. A way I help myself do this is by leaning on methods I have learned writing in APA formatting. When writing a lab reports, there are always results, discussions, and conclusions sections. Putting quote in your piece is your result, you must explain its meaning, and finally conclude your results.