Each client will be greeted at the front desk and shown to an open room in the back.  Begin each session by introducing yourself.  Clients, particularly those who have never been to the Writing Center, may feel nervous and unsure of what to expect.  You might try to get acquainted with the writer by finding out something about him or her before you start talking about writing.

Ask first about the assignment or project the client is working on and when it is due.  (The due date can significantly alter the nature of the session.)  Then ask what the client needs help with.  It’s important for tutors to address what the client came in to the Writing Center seeking.  Many times students will say they need help with grammar or with “flow.”  You may find, in reading the paper, there are more pressing problems to address, such as clarifying a thesis or organizing paragraphs.  Be sure to make time for what you think is important and what the client asked for. 

Ask the client to tell you the “story” (the gist) of the paper.  Telling the story often helps a writer focus on his or her thesis and main ideas, things that may not have been apparent to the writer before.  Listen to the words the client uses to describe his or her own writing problems.  Keep these words in mind while tutoring the paper, so that you can use terminology the client is familiar with. 

Before you begin, set the agenda for the session so that the client knows what to expect.  Try to develop realistic expectations—not of what a piece “ought to look like,” but what you can hope to accomplish in a forty-five minute session.

After finding out what the assignment is (it helps if the student shows you the actual handout from the professor), position the paper so you can both see it, and have the client read his/her paper aloud.  If the paper is more than 4-5 pages, ask the client which pages he/she would like to work on (45 minutes is not enough time to effectively work on a paper longer than 5 pages).  Tell the client you may make small checks in the margin as he/she reads.  These marks are just to remind yourself of the things you’d like to work on.  Keep in mind that it’s important to mark what the client is doing well as well as what you think needs work.  Invite the client to do the same.  Many times as people read their work aloud, they hear what doesn’t sound right.  If the client has not started the assignment, begin with brainstorming and clustering techniques.

After the client is finished reading the work aloud, begin tutoring the paper.  Here are some things to think about as you tutor:

Say something positive
Try to find something the writer is doing well in his or her paper and communicate it.  Do this as soon as the client is finished reading the paper and try to find ways to include specific praise throughout the session.  It is just as important for writers to understand what they are doing well as it is for them to understand what they need to work on.

Start a conversation 
Ask open questions and listen to your client. For example, you might ask, What part of the paper do you like best? What part do you like least?  This is a way to get students to feel more comfortable talking about their writing and to allow them to participate in their own learning.   Though conversation is the basis for our sessions, you should make sure that you are not doing most of the talking.  Though many new tutors feel uncomfortable with keeping quiet, it is a skill that can be developed.  In fact, research shows that, to be most effective, the tutor should talk 30% or less of the time in any session. 

Prioritize 
Remember that you want to start with Higher Order concerns (thesis, organization, paragraph structure) and then move into Lower Order concerns (grammar, word choice, punctuation).  It is more important for a client to grasp the larger or “global” aspects of successful writing, than to focus on small “local” concerns.  Try to limit your remarks to two or three kinds of errors or concerns so the writer is not overwhelmed.

Encourage note taking 
All tutoring spaces in the Writing Center are equipped with scratch paper and pencils.  You might suggest that clients take notes during the session—making complex revisions in a one-inch margin is usually not the most effective way for clients to see the changes they are making.  Some clients, however, especially those who feel that one trip to the Writing Center will “fix” their papers, may not be inclined to take their own notes during the session.  This reluctance might stem from a variety of cultural, social or personal reasons.  You might consider taking notes for these clients, and then encouraging them to start making their own notes as you continue to work with them.  This way you are modeling an important part of the writing process.  Even when using this technique, however, you should try to avoid writing directly on the students’ papers.  Instead write your notes on a piece of scrap paper and encourage the student to make his or her own notes on the paper.

Use intervention rather than correction 
Your goal is not to make immediate changes in the writing, but to make permanent changes in the writer.  Some immediate changes will take place, but the writer needs to understand that it took time to develop patterns and it will take time to change them.

Take your client’s writing seriously 
Just as we want our own writing to be taken seriously, our clients desire the same amount of attention to their work.  Try never to be judgmental.  Instead, be sensitive and encouraging.  Writing is a difficult, and sometimes emotional, process.  It is not always easy to show your work to other people.  However, we can attempt to break through students fears and confusions and demonstrate that it is possible to enjoy and value writing, even though it may be some of the hardest work any of us will ever do.

Rely on your own good sense 
It is perfectly understandable for tutors to feel nervous in their first few sessions, but if you rely on your own sense of how to treat people courteously and your instincts and expertise about writing, both you and your clients will survive, and probably prosper.  Each session will differ in significant ways from every other session, even those between the same client and tutor.  Consequently, there is not one “right” way to tutor.

Try to start closing the session about five minutes before the time is up.  Review what you have done and ask the client what he or she plans to work on.  You may work together to create a plan of action, prioritizing their efforts.