What happens in a tutorial?
Students bring in what they have written, if anything, along with the assignment or prompt (if there is one). If you don’t have a paper yet, that’s fine–we work with students during the brainstorming process as well as the revision process. The tutor will read your paper during the first 15 or 20 minutes of the tutorial and then discuss the paper with you. You’ll get a chance to clarify your own ideas by discussing organization, development, structure, focus, introductions and conclusions, and more. We also talk about style and some of the sentence-level issues like word choice and clarity, but we do not proofread. Instead, we will identify patterns of error and help students learn to strengthen the mechanics of their own writing.
You will meet at least once a week with a college tutor, either on a one-to-one basis or with one or two other students, to discuss an essay or solutions to set problems which you will have researched in advance. The purpose of the tutorial is to review your answers and theories and to raise any new points that result from the discussion.The tutorial system’s success relies on the active exchange of ideas between you, your tutor and other students present. You do not need to be an experienced debater to do well in tutorials but you must be prepared to give and defend your own opinions, whilst conceding to others and accepting constructive criticism and advice. Through this method of teaching you will develop your ability to think independently, which will not only benefit you academically but will provide you with one of the many transferable skills employers find attractive when recruiting Oxford graduates.
You ask some questions and we ask some questions, such as what you want help with. We may read only part of your paper or all of it, and you talk about your writing concerns. We answer your questions. We talk with you about strategies you can use. We offer personal help with planning, revising, and any other aspect of your writing. We don’t write papers for you, but we help you write better ones. See our tutorials page for more information.
Usually you come in with a question, a frustration, or just to get feedback. It is best to know specifically what you want to work on when you come in, and it is also a good idea to bring in the prompt given to you by your instructor. Be aware that we may read all or part of your paper. Our tutors will answer any questions you have or talk with you about strategies you can use in your assignments. We offer personal help with planning, revising, and any other aspect of your writing. We don’t write papers for you, but we help you write better ones.
The answer is….. a lot! In the Writing Center , students, whether experienced or inexperienced, can work with experienced readers (our tutors) and gather ideas for creating and improving writing assignments. Writing assignments need not be limited to just English class! Tutors can also aid students in writing research papers and essays for any writing need. What happens in a tutorial? 1. We ask questions! What is your assignment? What have you written and how do you feel about your writing? What is your main argument? What are your concerns with your writing? 2. We read out loud! Reading a paper out loud tells us what to listen for in your paper. It also helps you catch mistakes that you may have made in your draft. 3. We look at the global issues in your paper. By global, we mean, does your paper express its main idea clearly? Is your paper organized and do your arguments have enough support? 4. We look at the late concerns in your paper. These concerns would be sentence level issue
