Writing Centers have a long history of being a “grammar fix it shop,” where tutors will mark up papers in red pen, correcting

grammatical errors and ignoring content, and then send the student on their way to self revise (Murphy and Sherwood, 3). As a tutor, I hope to do my part in casting away this unfortunate characterization of writing centers, which are meant to be places of collaboration, learning, and questioning. I believe in focusing on the writer over the writing, and my tutoring philosophy put most simply is based on that idea.

In any tutoring session, I believe expressivism should be a main component, emphasizing the importance of the writer’s

individuality and a "freely structured exploration of ideas," prompted by inquiring questions (Murphy and Sherwood, 4). An effective tutor must show genuine interest in a student’s ideas without imposing one's own opinion, and thus encourage the student to develop a dialogue with their own writing. The ability to self reflect on one’s work is incredibly difficult, but the greatest goal of a tutor is to help a student develop that internal dialogue with their own writing so that the student will be able to reflect and revise more effectively on their own. This is what I mean by focusing on the writer over the writing — in my tutoring, I hope to help students in the long term become more effective writers and revisers.

Of course, in some cases, a more direct approach may be helpful, and this is when kairos comes into play. Kairos defines the

"right time" and "right way to intervene in a paper" while still valuing differing opinions and being open to re-negotiating control (Glover, 161). This balance between knowing "when to speak and how much to say" and "how to make the best use of silence” is incredibly valuable to the tutoring experience (Glover, 160). Being able to reflect critically upon one’s own work is essential to crafting more effective writing, and I think kairos is an incredibly practical explanation about finding that balance between a “client centered approach” that focuses on allowing writers to “discover for themselves,” and the reality of tutoring sessions — sometimes asking questions can only help to a certain extent before a more direct approach should be taken (161).  

As I am mostly focused on professional/technical writing, the balance of kairos seems especially important, as

professionalism in business writing at times calls for certain standards and forms that may not be applicable in more creative texts. Still, these forms should not discourage a writer from questioning their work and finding creative solutions to improve the effectiveness of their writing. As a tutor, I hope to help students develop the ability to question their own writing and writing process, and use this skill to “discover for themselves” how to improve upon their work (Glover, 161).

 

Glover, Carl. “Kairos and Writing Center: Modern Perspectives on an Ancient Idea” Murphy and Sherwood, pp. 150-163.

Murphy, Christina and Steve Sherwood. The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.