Dear Tutor Guru,

I had a student come to the writing center the other day who needed someone to do a peer review of her paper since she missed the in-class peer review.  At the end of the session, the student gave me a worksheet to fill out.  That has never happened to me before!  I don’t think that’s my job, but the student said that the professor needed to see this sheet filled out.  I completed the form, but I wasn’t happy about it.  What should I have done?

Overworked and Underpaid

Dear Overworked and Underpaid,

Whether you fill out a worksheet for the tutee’s class is really up to you and your center’s individual policies.  If it’s an extensive worksheet, you may want to explain to the tutee that you are unable to fill it out due to time restrictions.
Most writing centers have some type of report system to contact professors when students wish to have their visit to the center acknowledged.  Try explaining this to the student, and assure him or her that the professor will have accurate documentation of what you discussed during the session.
I often find that students are fairly compliant when I explain the center’s policies to them.  If they insist, I sign and date their worksheet and assure them that their professor will receive a report that they came to see me and can contact me with any questions.

Stay strong!,
The Tutor Guru

Dear Tutor Guru,

I have a student who comes into the Writing Center to work with me every week, and he says he thinks I'm a great tutor.  However, we always go over the same issues, and the student doesn't seem to be making any improvements.  I'm not sure if this reflects on my abilities or what.  Any suggestions?

Skills

Dear Skills,

Your abilities may be just fine, but it seems like the writing strategies you’re using aren't getting across to the student.  Next time he comes in you might try making a list of the things you work on and suggest that he tries to keep these in mind when writing the next paper.  Hopefully he’ll attempt to incorporate these ideas during the next session.  The student may better remember new writing methods if they can be visualized on paper.  Also, discussing the problem with your fellow tutors might be helpful.  You can tell them how your tutoring sessions go and see if they have suggestions on how to better help the student.  Different tutors have different styles, and you might learn a lot from hearing about their approaches to the same situation.  If your sessions with the student continue to be stagnant, you might try recommending him to another tutor who could give him a fresh perspective.

Thoughtfully yours,
The Tutor Guru