Chapter 8: How We Learn to Write Better

As we said in Chapter One, everyone can get better at writing with practice and by getting good feedback. This is because of how humans are wired to learn. We need to know if we're doing something well or not if we're going to grow. When you are a writing tutor, you want to help the writers you talk with to grow as writers and you also will want to grow. The following chapters will get into specifics about how to help in a tutoring session, but we want to emphasize first in this chapter some general truths about teaching and learning writing.

Teach at "the point of need." The idea is that we best learn a lesson when we need it. This one is easy to do in the writing center as a peer tutor because writers will likely come to you with specific questions or issues when they are ready to work on them. For example, they might be working on their Work Cited page and so they are ready to learn about citations. So, pay close attention to what the writers you talk with say they want to work on or have questions about. This can clue you in about what they are ready to learn.

Name and place new ideas. When you do teach a writer something new, try to connect it to something they already know. For example:

"Remember last week we talked about using an apostrophe when making a contraction? Well, right here in your paper you need an apostrophe for another reason--to show possession. Do you know how that works?"

We learn best when we can hook or connect new bits of information to information we already know.

No shaming, don't say "you should know by now." Sometimes we feel dumb that we don't already know something or remember something that we know we've been taught before. The last thing we need is someone else to make us feel bad for forgetting. People who are feeling shame do not learn well. Not one of us knows everything, so empathize with the writers you talk with instead. You might say:

"It's no problem you don't remember how to use apostrophes. Personally, I always forget how to use a semi-colon! Luckily, we can look up punctuation rules when we blank out on them."

Writing doesn't always have "right" answers. There are some rules about grammar, punctuation, formatting, and usage in writing but they almost always depend on the situation, audience, genre, and medium. Be careful when you're talking with writers that you don't reinforce the idea that you always or never do something in writing. For instance, some teachers for some assignments will not want writers to use first person (I or we). However, there are lots of times when using I or we does work--like in this tutoring guide! So, instead, ask questions about the audience expectations and base your feedback on that. And, when you can, present some choices to your writer and invite them to make a decision based on their goals.

Chapter 8 Activity

Write a short paragraph about something that you'd like to learn about writing. What do you want to learn? Who might you talk to about it? What resources might you consult to learn more? How would be a good way to practice it?