• argument papers

• definition papers

• narrative

• descriptive

• analysis

• demonstration

• informative

• comparison/contrast

• cause/effect

• example

• report

• research

• fiction - short stories, novels, plays

• non-fiction - novels, documentary plays, research articles, journalistic reporting

Your tutor needs to know the type of paper assigned.  In addition, each instructor or book may explain a writing assignment differently.  When you bring in your textbook and other information, your tutor can help you do what your instructor expects.

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 Attempt a First Draft

Your tutor will expect you to have attempted a first draft.  Both of you will look at your paper and talk about it. Your tutor will point out problems, then ask you how you might fix them.  Remember, this is a learning experience for you, so the tutor cannot fix the errors for you. 

If you do not know how to fix the errors, your tutor will use your textbook and other class information to teach you.  Then, the tutor will ask you to try to fix the problem errors.  Tutoring and receiving tutoring in writing will require a lot of patience on both your parts.  Stick with it, and you will learn a great deal.

Writing is multi-tasked and time consuming.  You will likely do numerous drafts before completing your final draft.  This is normal, even for professional writers.  However, the more you practice, the easier it will become.

The TLC offers many resources on writing, grammar, and punctuation, including books, two videos, four CD-ROMs, and the internet based program SkillsTutor.

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 Areas of Discussion  Since writing encompasses many areas, your tutor will always discuss with you the following:

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 Writing - again, and again, and again, and...

Even professional writers do many drafts.  When you begin writing, your thoughts often come in jumbled torrents.  Later, you want to start organizing these thoughts.  You want to search for just the right word or the right phrase.  Rewriting is making sure that your writing is organized and easily understood. 

Whether you're writing a technical paper, article, or book, whether you're completing an academic essay, or whether you're crafting a creative work, you are basically making sure that your audience can interpret your foreign language - your writing.  The way readers interpret your writing is through your use of punctuation, grammar, and style. 

In essence, you are painting a picture that your readers can only see through your use of these devices.  Your use of adjectives and descriptions of places, people, things, and feelings are your colors.  You are playing a symphony that your audience can only hear through your use of these devices.  Your use of periods, commas, and semi-colons creates your rhythms.

 Tutor's Role versus Your Role

Your tutor will help you locate errors or problems in your paper and help you learn how to correct such errors. Your tutor can help you learn how to research, how to organize, and how to revise.  However, it is not the tutor's role to research, organize, write, revise, or proofread your paper.  Why? Your instructor will be grading you on these aspects.  In addition, doing your own work helps you learn. 

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 Why Learning to Research and Write is Important

Writing is an extremely important skill to learn. You will need to know how to research and write for all of your academic classes.  In order to apply for employment, you will need to know how to organize your thoughts and write a resumé.  Furthermore, your future job will require writing memos, proposals, and letters.  Employers expect college graduates to have excellent writing skills.  If you do not learn how to research, write, edit, and proofread your own work, you will not be able to offer the proficiency expected in your other college courses and on the job.

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