Reflecting on Sondra Perl's "Understanding Composition"

Reading through these composing guidelines, I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift to the moments when I'm home staring at my computer screen; my mind acting as the stage to a great inner dialectic debate. "What am I trying to say? Where should I place this sentence? Does this paragraph flow to the next one? Is this appropriate to the assignment, or is it excessive information?" Whether many believe it or not, Perl's guidelines for composing and the cognitive processes that accompany them are actions that many of us already engage in when writing. Often when coming across an individual caught up in the writing process, we witness them stop abruptly and begin to look around after they've written something. For some this may be misinterpreted as a loss of focus, but many times this is reflective of the large stop sign in their mind that says "No". Though (as stated in the reading) many people are afraid because of this notion that they may not have the "right idea", and that the "no" that they've just given themselves is a white flag the paper is waving; this part of the process many times proves to be the most productive. When a student can keep in mind that the "No" is more of a type of constructive criticism and that it reflects revising much more than it does correcting, they are more likely to retain confidence in the piece they are working on. It is also common to see students reread their work as a whole. Most of the time, I find myself asking "Is there anything major or important that I've left out?" Here, the concept of felt sense comes into play and I can begin to ask myself other questions that will greatly improve my work and fill in the blanks I found through rereading the piece: "Did I say enough about this? Is it clear WHY this is important? Have I given enough examples?" All of this is integral towards composition, down to the bit at the beginning about how comfortable one feels. From personal experience, I understand that outside factors can also greatly harm a piece's potential. It is important to be comfortable and largely focused on writing (and its processes!) when trying to create or improve a piece.

Tutoring Do's and Don't's

As a class, we have acquired a pretty basic and balanced understanding of tutoring concepts; as well as what we should or should not do. The following is a list of actions one would do well with if implemented, as well as a list on those that can turn out to be counterproductive to the tutee.

Do's

• Show up on time
• Be as supportive as possible without blind praise
• Project your voice
• Make eye contact and be attentive of all body language
• Be engaging without taking too much responsibility of the piece
• Listen to the student
• Encourage the writer to read aloud his/her work (they are usually effective at finding personal errors)
• Be wary of High Order Concerns
• Be sure to comment on positive and negative aspects of the piece.
• Ask questions that the student can answer rather than telling them what they "should do".
• Provide guidance in teaching english only. Speak to help the piece.
• Allow the student to do most of the talking and most of the work

and lastly...

• LISTEN TO THE STUDENT

Don't's

• Allow a tutee's outside issues become the topic of discussion ("Therapy")
• Give absent or excessive blind praise ("Cheerleading")
• Be overly critical and nitpick. "Correcting" is not your objective as much as revision is
• Focus on Low Order Concerns (unless the piece has serious problems that make it difficult to impossible to read)
• Slouch, yawn, or engage in any body language that makes you seem disinterested
• "Usurp Ownership" (do not take too much responsibility for the piece). This hinders the tutee's ability to excel as a writer
• Make the student feel as if the work "should be easy", or make their overall understanding be judged by their intelligence ("You're a smart guy, right? It shouldn't be a problem for you")
• Edit the content of the piece with personal ideas ("Journalist-Editor Model"). The dialogue between the tutor and the tutee should bring forth ideas from the tutee, not the tutor