An observation report of a tutor - Essay Example

An Observation Report of a It is said that writing is the most effective form of expression. That is because even a person with speech difficulties can use the art of writing to effectively express himself. By writing, people can better understand one another because there is a permanent reference that can be constantly re-read in order to get the true essence of the written statement. Knowing these facts, I really looked forward to going down to the local writing center in order to observe the student assistants in action.

What I discovered was an interesting study in the way that verbal and written communication skills have a direct impact upon the writing ability of a person. A student came to the writing center asking for help in drafting her class paper based upon the topic of how technology can work effectively for college students. The writing assistant helped him develop guide questions and an outline for the essay after discussing with the student about what information the paper should contain. By exchanging information with the student, who had a little difficulty expressing himself orally but who began to open up to her just the same, the patient assistant was able to help the student create a draft of the paper.

In particular, she helped the student develop a well-written thesis for the paper as the basis for the rest of the information to be presented. The student, who happened to be new on campus, needed some help and guidance in choosing resources as well. So the assistant advised her as to the kinds of journals, books, and on-line sources that her could reference for the paper. Armed with the sound advice of the writing center assistant, the student left the center to head for the library where her would complete her research and then return to the writing center for further assistance.

It seemed like no time at all before the student came back to work further with the same writing assistant. They reviewed the paper together and took notes regarding areas of improvement that the student should work on. The revisions that the assistant suggested included having the student better structure the paper using the IBC (Introduction, Body, Conclusion) method of writing. she asked the student to pay particular attention to her transition sentences and paragraphs because that would set up the tone and content of the next part of the paper.

It was also clear to the writing assistant that the student knew exactly what he wanted to say in the paper but was held back by a lack of writing expertise. He needed help in formatting the paper in order to make the thoughts flow fluidly and fluently. The paper was quite interesting according to the assistant, it just needed to be edited, proofread, and polished before submission. The writing assistant made some notes on the paper asking the student to clarify some points or concentrate on the discussion of certain parts which would help make the paper become more informative and concise.

When the student asked her if it would be too much trouble if he did the rewrite at the center so that he could do real time consults, the assistant did not turn him away. Instead, she found the student a good place to work on the revisions within the center area. When the student was good and ready, he returned to the writing assistant to show her the revised paper. Since this was the second version of the paper, it was better written and much improved. The writing assistant did notice some errors in sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation so she asked the student to go back and correct those simple errors.

The assistant could tell that the student was already getting bored and impatient with all the writing, editing, and correcting that he was doing. So she took him aside and spoke to him about the impatience that he was feeling. She gave him some friendly advice regarding how he can make his research and writing more fun. Tips such as taking a half hour break for every 2 hours of writing would help him remain focused and remove the boredom of the task according to her. I could tell that the student was listening intently to the advice and was considering everything that she said.

Then she reminded him of the most important thing related to the writing of his paper. He had to do a good job on it if he wanted to get good grades. That is why he was there consulting with her. If he preferred to just barely pass his classes then she told him that he did not need her help. Needless to say, the student left to work on what the assistant and he hoped would be the last few improvements of the paper. As I timed the student, I realized that he was taking longer than usual before coming in for a consult.

When he finally did show up, he did so with an A level paper. The writing assistant was quite proud of what he did and she commended him for his efforts before sending him to submit the final paper to his professor. My over all experience in observing this writing assistant-student relationship was that the writing assistant played more than just an editor role in the life of the student. She also played the role of inspiration and motivator. Two very important factors that can help a student either succeed or fail in his academic career.

With this kind of writing assistant guiding a student, there is no way that student can fail in class.