Here is a series of worksheets that will help you in three common tutoring situations:

1) Brainstorming how to approach assignments (Breaking the Assignment Code; Making the Muse at Home: Knowing What Works for You);

 2) Critiquing drafts of critical analysis of argumentative and critical papers (Understanding What Your Paper is Really Saying, Evaluating Your Own Paper);

 3) Editing for cohesion and conciseness (Keep the Reader on the Road, On Being Nice to Your Reader: Avoiding Nominalizations, Part I and II). 

The last worksheet, A Tutor's Checklist, is a summary of all the tutor's concerns with a student's draft--from main idea to style.  

 

BREAKING THE ASSIGNMENT CODE

Genre

What type of writing is this?  Critical Essay, Research Paper, Personal Essay, Narrative, Response, Summary, or Rhetorical Analysis?

Terminology

What terms need defining?

Teacher's Goal

What skill is this assignment attempting to develop?

Interpretation

In your own words, what is the assignment?

Thesis

What would a thesis look like in this assignment?  Not your thesis per se, but any thesis?

 

In the below table, record the teacher's expectations for this paper, and how you plan to meet them.

Expectations	Strategy

 

Questions

What questions do you need to ask your teacher at this point?

 

MAKING THE MUSE AT HOME: Knowing what works for you

Writing is inherently a creative process.  Even business writing, or writing that follows relatively prescribed rules, is creative.  YouÕre choosing which words to use, and just how to put them together; and, of course, these are your thoughts, and thinking is the first creative process.

Creative thinking, however, isn't something we just turn off and on.  It's finicky.  It's hard to get started, and it's hard to get focused just exactly when you want it to.  But if we get into the habit of waiting for inspiration to hit, we can get into the habit of never getting anything done.  Creativity requires nudging.  You may have heard "Inspiration is 90% perspiration?"  If you're a slacker, I'm afraid it's true.

But it's also good news.  It suggests that with a little effort, you will arrive at creative thoughts and creative works.  The trick is knowing your personal style of creating writing.

When you get a writing assignment, what's your first reaction?  Excitement, boredom, anxiety, irritation?  And just as importantly, why do you react this way?

Teachers love to tell you start with an outline.  The problem is that an outline requires that you already have an idea of what your idea is.  So how do you generate ideas?  Do you talk with friends, write in a journal, read, brainstorm?  At what point, if any, do you create an outline?

Once you have an idea, what do you do?

How will you go about your research?

What role does revision play in your writing?

UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR PAPER IS REALLY SAYING

What's your thesis?

Paragraph	What is it saying?	Support/Evidence?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

With the paper laid out like this, what can you say about:

Paragraph Order (does the paper proceed logically?)

EVALUATING YOUR OWN PAPER

 It's great to have a peer review your paper to let you know where he gets tripped up in the writing, or to find gaps in your reasoning.  Ultimately, of course, it's up to you to edit your paper.  Sometimes this is difficult because we get so familiar with our papers that we can no longer really see what's in them.  Instead we see between the lines--everything we mean to say, regardless of whether we've actually said it.

Take a moment and pretend your paper is, in fact, not yours, but your student's.

1.     Critical thinking:

a.     What's the thesis?

b.     Is the thesis appropriate for the assignment?

c.     List all the assertions made, and how they're supported:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

2.     Organization

a.     Does the opening get right to the point?  Or if not, is it engaging?  Does it keep from making general, self-evident statements (i.e., AIDS is a big problem in society)?

b.     Given your thesis, is your conclusion appropriate?

c.     How do each of your paragraphs begin?  With topic sentences, or with an engaging thought?

3.     Writing

a.     Do you avoid unnecessary nominalizations?

b.     Do you make use of active voice?

c.     Is your tone consistent?

d.     Are there particular words you repeat?

KEEP THE READER ON THE ROAD

Taking in information can be a chore.  Reading academic thoughts often requires coffee-aided attention, and rereading, and dictionaries.  But this doesn't mean it has to be painful for a reader.  If a writer has done his or her job, the reader shouldn't lose attention halfway through the essay, wondering just where she is.  To keep the reader  on the road, use signposts.

Signposts are basically small "marker" words and phrases that let your reader know where you're going.  They're like directions to get to your thoughts; the reader could probably get there without them, if the thoughts are still clear, but it'll take more time.  Think of your reader as someone in a rush, though, about to turn back the second they get too confused.

A way to get used to using signposts is to keep a list like this one with you while you write your essays.  If you get used to seeing them, you'll get used to seeing them in others' work, too.*

Above all	First	Instead	Similarly
Accordingly	For example	In summary	So
Admittedly	For instance	Likewise	Still
Again	Furthermore	Moreover	Then
Also	However	More specifically	Therefore
Besides	In addition	Nevertheless	Though
But	In conclusion	Nonetheless	Thus
Certainly	Indeed	On the other hand	To sum up, in sum
Consequently	In fact	Rather	Yet
Finally	In particular	Second

 

The idea is to keep your reader with you every step of the way.  Use these words in sentences like these:

           

Instead of "The original treaty of 1923..." try "Three examples will bear this out.  First, in the original treaty of 1923..."

*Taken from: Trimble, John R. Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing.

ON BEING NICE TO YOUR READER: Avoiding Nominalizations, Part I[*]

One way to create unclear writing is to suffuse it with nouns known as nominalizations.  Nominalizations are abstract nouns made from verbs and adjectives, and they often (but not always) make writing more indirect and dense than it needs to be.  Simply converting them back into their noun or adjective form can make complex thoughts easier to swallow.

Here are some examples of verbs and adjectives made into nominalizations.  Note that they often end in -tion, -ment, and -ence:

Verbs	Adjectives
express: expression	careless: carelessness
move: movement	different: difference
react: reaction	proficient: proficiency

In the following table, try to find the "nominalized" equivalent of these verbs and adjectives.

Verbs	Adjectives
predict:	intelligent:
explain:	thorough:
disappoint:	blue:

Now consider the following sentences:

The quarterback intends to win the game.

The second sentence is more direct because it's free of the nominalization "intention."  It's a subtle difference, but you'd feel it if you came across a paper written entirely in nominalizations.

Here's another example:

If the offense can successfully execute the secret plays, it will score more points.

In the following sentences, identify the nominalizations and rewrite them more directly.

The intention of the committee is improvement of morale.

The loss in sales was a result of their competitors' expansion of outlets.

ON BEING NICE TO YOUR READER: Avoiding Nominalizations, Part II[**]

Why is it we prefer reading sentences that are free of nominalizations?  Generally, we find information easier to take in when the subjects in our sentences are characters (We, the quarterback, Little Red Riding Hood), and when the verbs are in active voice.

What that means is that we like to see the characters actively doing something.  To hear the difference, note the characters and the subjects in the following two sentences.  Then note how the sentences can be rewritten in more direct prose.

The throwing of the ball was made by the quarterback.

      Subject:  "The Throwing"

      Character: "the quarterback"

      Rewritten: The quarterback threw the ball.

The problem was the topic of our discussion.

      Subject: "The problem"

      Character: "we" (as implied by "our")

      Rewritten: We discussed the problem.

Try the following:

 

Subject: ______________________________________

Character:_____________________________________

Rewritten:_____________________________________

 

 

Subject: ______________________________________

Character:_____________________________________

Rewritten:_____________________________________

 

 

Subject: ______________________________________

Character:_____________________________________

Rewritten:_____________________________________

 

TUTOR'S CHECKLIST

What's the main idea/thesis?

Does it follow the assignment?

Is it sufficiently focused?

What are the main claims and assertions?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Do they advance the thesis?

Is there sufficient evidence for each of these claims?

Are sources appropriately documented?

Are quotes introduced and given context?

 

Organization

Are the paragraphs in a logical order?

Are transitions clear?  Signposting?

 

Writing Style

Nominalizations?

Active or Passive Voice?

Word Choice?

Consistent Tense?

Subject and Verb Agreement?

Consistent Tone?