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Benefiting Most from a Writing Tutorial

Benefiting Most from a Writing Tutorial. Writing Lab Orientation for ESL Writers. What is a Tutorial?. 30-minute One-to-One Session with a Tutor Purpose To help you become a better writer What Happens? You ask questions. We try to answer them.

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Benefiting Most from a Writing Tutorial

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  1. Benefiting Most from a Writing Tutorial Writing Lab Orientation for ESL Writers

  2. What is a Tutorial? 30-minute One-to-One Session with a Tutor • Purpose • To help you become a better writer • What Happens? • You ask questions. • We try to answer them. • We also ask question to help you approach the writing task

  3. A Tutor Can Help You at Every Stage of the Writing Process • Invention • Research • Drafting • Revising • Editing

  4. One Thing to Remember • A tutor does NOT correct/proofread your paper because… • that does not help you become a better writer. • But the tutor can teach you HOW to proofread.

  5. Dos & Don’ts • Plan ahead: come when you start writing or with a first draft. • Before you come, set an agenda for the tutorial • Do NOT come at the last minute because you will have little time for revision! • Do NOT expect to work on too many issues in one tutorial.

  6. Setting an Agenda • What do you want to work on? • Why is agenda-setting important? • Tutorials are different from the instruction in the classroom setting. Tutors usually ask you what you want to work on. • You know your own writing best. • Be realistic about what can be done in one tutorial and set priorities.

  7. HOC and LOC • What are HOC (Higher Order Concerns)? • What are LOC (Lower Order Concerns)?

  8. Higher Order Concerns • Focus/Thesis • Purpose • Audience/Readers • Organization • Development

  9. Lower Order Concerns • Grammar • sentence structure • punctuation • prepositions • articles • verb tense • Word choice • Spelling

  10. The Need to Prioritize If you want to work on both HOCs and LOCs with a writing tutor, we suggest you plan to work on HOCs first because • We have limited time in a tutorial. • Starting with LOCs may distract you from global issues (HOCs) you may need to address. • After your work on HOCs, you may delete/add some parts.

  11. Five-Topic Agenda-Generator • Instructions for the assignment • Your familiarity with the writing task • Preferred textual patterns in AAE (American Academic English) • Development • Lower Order Concerns

  12. Instructions for the Assignment • Do you have any questions about the instructions? • Is there an assignment sheet? • Do you have notes taken in class?

  13. Your Familiarity with the Task • Have you worked on this kind of writing task before? • Did you read samples written by others? • What questions do you have about the writing task?

  14. Your Familiarity with Preferred Textual Patterns in AAE (American Academic English) Thesis statement (your main point) Structure Transitions Direct, concise, and to the point OWL Handout: Writing for an American Academic Audience

  15. Development Have you supported your main points with supporting details? For Example: It is important for you to try to set the agenda for the tutorial in advance because 1. We have only thirty minutes; 2. The tutorial is more effective if we focus on one or two concerns; 3. Students usually learn best when they take the initiative in the learning process.

  16. Lower Order Concerns Grammar What are the patterns of grammatical errors I tend to make? Word Choice What are the words I am using but uncertain about? Actually, there is a 24-7 teacher to help you with most of your lower order concerns.

  17. Your Best 24-7 Teacher The right dictionary! Tells you the part of speech of words Gives you examples of word usage Provides collocations Provides usage notes

  18. Recommended Dictionaries for ESL Writers Longman Dictionary of American English Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Longman Web Dictionary www.longmanwebdict.com

  19. Dictionary Use Basics Read the Full Guide for Users in hard copy! Learn grammar Parts of speech Learn Usage collocations phrasal verbs usage notes

  20. Questions to Ask Yourself Regarding Grammar What are my grammar questions? Can I find the answer in a good dictionary? If you cannot: What exactly is my grammar question? Can I write it down? Can I underline the parts I have questions about? Then take your questions and your paper with the underlined sections to the Writing Lab.

  21. We Have Covered What a writing tutorial is What a tutor can help you with your writing process Dos and Don’ts A Five-Topic agenda-generator We hope you have learned more about writing tutorials and benefit most from them in the future!

  22. For More Help with Writing Visit the Writing Lab at HEAV226 Call 49-43723 to schedule a tutorial Attend more in-lab workshops Visit Online Writing Lab at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu

  23. The End

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