A Writing Coach's Guide

by Madi Hickman

When I signed up for LANG 120, I was honestly signing up because it was a requirement that fit my desired schedule. Upon realizing that it was a service-learning course where I would be tutoring high school students, I grew a bit concerned. In one instance, for as long as I can remember, I have grown disgusted at the thought of becoming a teacher. Teachers are amazing! They endure so much just to get paid so little (compared to other fields). I appreciate teachers in all aspects, but I personally would never want to become one. However, this experience has been better than I anticipated in every way! I still do not love the idea of becoming a teacher, but I am definitely less disgusted at the thought! I do not mind helping people; that is my favorite part, in fact. I just hate the thought of feeling as if I am going through high school or college all over again. Either way, I have learned that I am not as set in my ways as I thought I was!

While I have shifted in those aspects, I still find it frustrating that I question myself and how I address the tutoring. What I mean is this: I want to share my revision ideas with the student without sounding harsh or making it seem as if I think the paper is horrible. I have been attempting to do better by finding the happy medium that compliments the strengths and gives suggestions for the weaknesses. 

Although I do not personally want to invest in becoming a teacher, I have learned that I might not mind getting an actual job at the writing center! While I decide on that, though, my goals are to continue giving helpful tips and feedback to these high school students and create a comfortable environment where they will want to come back!

by Lily Balmer

So far, my work as a tutor has been pretty uneventful. My scheduled time window is between eight pm and nine pm, so I understand why I rarely have a student to tutor. Whenever I do get the opportunity to tutor, it is usually very casual and mostly deals with concerns that the students have before they finish their paper. I have never had any crazy excellent papers or crazy terrible papers. Most of the time, my people just need help with the framework so that they can get started. The appointments are never long and very stress free on both ends.

When helping the students come up with their outlines, I realized just how important it is to plan out the paper before you start writing. On so many occasions, I have just sat down in front of a blank screen with the intent of immediately being able to find my direction. Although this is achievable if I am passionate about the topic, I have learned that it is always better to plan out my paper so that my words flow better and I don’t get distracted from my main point.

My goal is to help more with finished papers. I have really enjoyed all the laid back appointments that I’ve had, and look forward to maybe getting to help someone with a solid essay. It would definitely push me and my knowledge if I had to critique an essay that is already written and established. 

I haven’t discovered anything new about myself in particular throughout this tutoring process, but I have a new appreciation for studying-by-teaching. I have heard on many occasions that one of the best ways to learn something is to explain it to someone else, and tutoring has helped me to understand that technique and put it to use.

by Izzy Jurek

Service Learning through the writing center has taught me a lot. I’ve grown so much as a writer, just through this class, and having the ability to tutor children at Asheville High School. Seeing how the kids process what they’re writing and learning to fix their mistakes reminds me of myself and how I was just there not even a year ago. It also fills me with pride being able to teach them something they’ve never learned before (or something they’d simply just forgotten).

One of the things I will remember for a long time, is helping this girl work on one of her essays for college. There wasn’t much for me to fix, she was pretty brilliant, but there were a few grammar mistakes here and there. At the end of our session, she felt content with what she had written and was ready to finish and submit her college application. While in the session, I felt like I was just doing my job or responsibility as a tutor, but afterwards I felt a sense of pride. In myself and her. While I didn’t do much other than help her with grammar, she felt that after the session she was ready to complete her application. It felt pretty good to know I helped her out with that.My favorite takeaway from this experience, is being able to help people who need it.

Once out of college, I would like to be a psychiatrist. During Covid quarantine, I wasn’t able to talk or connect with people much, and I felt like I was losing my abilities to help those in need. However, this experience has helped me get back in touch with my, “helper,” skills. And I’ve even considered applying for a job at the writing center after this!

by Chris Sarbaum

1. What stands out to you most from your work as a tutor so far? What was especially interesting, surprising, rewarding, or even frustrating?

What stands out most to me as a tutor is how casual and relaxed it is. Before tutoring I thought it would be super nerve wracking and possibly have awkward moments, but that has not been the case in any of my tutoring sessions. Being able to go over what the student and I worked on and what the student should continue to work on is very rewarding because it shows me that I accomplished something and helped someone. The only frustrating thing for me is when students schedule an appointment but don’t show up for it. It’s a waste of my time and pretty unprofessional.

2. How has your service-learning experience influenced your understanding of writing? The writing process? Of teaching and learning?

Throughout my tutoring I have been able to see many different writing styles and techniques, some of which I like, and some of which I dislike. Being able to see these different styles of writing helps me become a better writer because I can incorporate techniques that I like into my own writing. Tutoring students has helped solidify the fact that making a super rough draft for a paper is a great first step. I’m glad that this was part of the class because meeting strangers and working with them used to be nerve wracking for me, but tutoring has almost, if not completely, taken this fear away from me.

3. What are your service-learning goals for the future?  What do you hope to accomplish as you continue your work as a tutor at Asheville High School?

I hope to have classes in the future that require service learning because it was very educational and enjoyable for me in this class. This service learning helped me become a better writer and teacher, and I hope that other service learning opportunities will help me become better in different areas.

4. How has your service-learning experience influenced your personal growth?

One of the things that I have learned about myself is that I think I am very approachable as a person, even if I don’t know the person that is talking to me. I think this is an important skill to have as a tutor because it helps get rid of the possibility of awkward moments while tutoring.