Here are three potential scenarios a writing tutor may encounter and how to handle them: 1. A student hands you their paper and says "Can you just proofread this for me?" - Politely refuse and explain that your role is to teach proofreading skills, not do the work for them. Offer to go through the paper with them and identify errors for them to find and correct themselves. 2. A student is struggling with organizing their ideas on the page. - Help them brainstorm and map out their ideas. Ask questions to help focus their topic and purpose. Model outlining techniques to help them get started. 3. A student is having trouble understanding a grammar concept like subject/verb agreement.

1. Tutoring to Promote Better Writing
and Avoid Plagiarism
Bogle Academic Center
University of Arkansas
Nancy Romig

2. Plagiarism & Collusion
 Plagiarism- “is the intentional or accidental uncredited use of source material created by
others” (“Chicago Manual”)
 For the U of A, plagiarism:
“occurs both when the words of another (in print, electronic, or any other medium) are
reproduced without acknowledgement and when the ideas or arguments of another are paraphrased
in such a way as to lead the reader to believe that they originated with the writer. It is not sufficient
to provide a citation if the words of another have been reproduced – this also requires quotation
marks” (“Sanction Rubric”).
 Plagiarism is included in the university’s policy on academic dishonesty which is:
“any act by which a student gains or attempts to gain an academic advantage for
him/herself or another by misrepresenting his/her or another’s work or by interfering with the
independent completion, submission, or evaluation of academic work” (“Academic Integrity”)
http://provost.uark.edu/academicintegrity/245.php
 Collusion- “a secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose”
(“Collusion”)
http://provost.uark.edu/academicintegrity/246.php

3. Forms
Plagiarism
Collusion
• Copying and pasting
Proofreading
• No quotation marks or in-text
Über brainstorming
•
•
•
•
•
•
citations used
Poor use of citations
Poor paraphrasing
Turning in another student’s work
Using ideas (e.g. symbols, themes,
etc.) from an online source (e.g.
Cliffs Notes, Wikipedia, Spark
Notes)
Craigslist
Self-plagiarism
Doing the work for the student
(e.g. writing, creating charts, etc.)

4. What You Need to Tell Your
Student
 Safe Assign and/or his or her professor will catch the assignment if it has been
plagiarized.
 If you have collaborate on an assignment (collusion—you’ve proofread the
student’s paper) and the professor takes issue with that, you will both be
reviewed by the department’s Academic Integrity Monitor and/or the
university’s Academic Integrity Board.
 The U of A holds the individual student responsible and expects
each student to be knowledge about and familiar with all of the
policies on academic honesty. For the university, there are no
excuses for not knowing what is expected of you in regards to
completing your work in an ethical, honest way.
http://provost.uark.edu/academicintegrity/245.php

5. University Procedures and
Consequences
 If a student is caught plagiarizing, the professor submits the assignment in
question with a report to the department’s or college’s Academic Integrity
Monitor(AIM).
 The AIM conducts the initial review of the assignment and meets with the
student individually.
 After reviewing the assignment and meeting with the student, if the AIM finds
an infraction of the academic honest policy, the student is usually assigned a
zero for the assignment, but can also be suspended or expelled.
 Sanctions can be contested, but will be brought before the All-University
Academic Integrity Board (AUAIB).
 The athletic department and the NCAA adhere to the policies and rulings of the
university, so if there is an infraction, consequences will not stop with the
Integrity Board. Both the tutor and the student-athlete will be under review.

6. How You Can Avoid Collusion and Help
Your Student Avoid Plagiarizing
During the Pre-Drafting Stage:
 Make sure the student has done the reading/class work needed to complete the
assignment.
 Go through the assignment sheet with the student to make sure the student
knows exactly what his or her professor’s expectations and instructions are.
 Ask them to do/work with them on an outline for the paper whether or not it
is required for the assignment.

7. During the Drafting Stage:
 Send the student to work in the computer lab or a study room to actually compose
the paper. Maybe have them go write 1-3 paragraphs before returning.
 Require that the student print out copies of his or her draft to bring to the
appointment so you can talk about his or her work. Doing this will eliminate the
tutor/computer issue.
Once the paper is drafted:
 Review the paper for quotation marks and in-text citations (MLA/APA style).
 Check the vocabulary of the paper (plagiarism and paraphrasing). Does it sound
like your student?
 Ask direct questions about the content.
 If you suspect an assignment has been plagiarized, talk to one of the advisors.
 Remember that ultimately it is the student’s responsibility to not plagiarize and to
know when they are.

8. How to Have a Successful Tutoring
Appointment that Involves Writing
Pre-drafting:
Make sure the student has read the assignment.
Make sure that you and the student are familiar with the professor’s instructions and
expectations.
Help the student brainstorm and outline.
Drafting:
Encourage the student to work on the paper in segments (one paragraph at a time).
Read through drafts of the paragraphs to be sure the instructions for the assignment
are being met.

9. Revision:
 Think in global or big picture terms. Focus on the content of the discussion.




Has the student answered the who, what, when, where, why, and how
questions of the subject. If not, elaboration is needed.
Has the student adhered to the professor’s instructions? (i.e. If the assignment
is for an argumentative essay, is there an argument?)
Check the thesis statement. Does it fit the assignment? If not, it might need to
revised. If it is missing entirely, the student needs to add one. **Remember,
you can talk them through the procedure, but you should NOT generate the
ideas for the student.
Check for the organization and flow of the paper. Have transitions been used?
Grammar
 Ask the student to print or bring one or two copies of their draft.
 Think about reading the paper out loud to the student.

10. Works Cited
“Academic Integrity at the University of Arkansas.” University of Arkansas. Univ.of Arkansas,
n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013.
“Chicago Manual of Style 16th Edition.” The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010.
Web.
9 Sept. 2013.
“Collusion.” Merriam-Webster. Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 2013. Web. 9 Sept. 2013.
“Sanction Rubric.” University of Arkansas. Univ.of Arkansas, n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013.

11. Conducting a tutor session
Budget your time
Establish a plan for the session
Focus on the text at hand
Wrap up: Summarize comments
Christine Scheets

12. Establishing a Plan
Use the first minutes to set an agenda.
“What questions do you have about the
assignment?”
“What obstacles are you encountering with your
writing?”

13. Focus on the Text at Hand
Let the student do the work:
Have the student brainstorm ideas for a new
project.
Ask guiding questions to help the student expand
his/her ideas.
Ask the student to select a section of the paper
s/he would like to review.
Discuss methods for revising a rough draft.

14. Wrapping Up
Summarize comments:
“Focus on incorporating more research in your this draft.”
“Pursue the idea you brought up further and see how it
changes your revision.”
Ask/Answer Final Questions:
“Do you feel more confident about tackling this revision
now?”

15. Final Tips for Success
Be a guide, not a “guru”: help the student to discover
his/her own methods and ideas.
Model, don’t prescribe: demonstrate how to apply
something once, then let the student invent on his/her own.
Review: let the student leave with a task so they stay focused
beyond his/her session.

16. Tutoring Grammar
Model proofreading strategies and have tutee apply those
same strategies to their paper
Identify grammatical mistakes for student on a separate sheet
of paper, and then have tutee find those mistakes within the
document.
Tutors may have to spend some time explaining certain
grammatical concepts to a student.
At no point should the tutor do the work of proofreading for
the student.
GOAL: The tutee will become a better proofreader.

17. Tutoring Grammar
Ultimate goal: to help students understand better the
various aspects of the writing process and to gain greater
mastery over their writing
Tutors should always ensure that it is the work of the tutee,
not the tutor, which produces results.
Taken from the OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu

18. Basic steps
Have the student explain the paper topic to you
and identify any problems she thinks her paper
may have.
2) Don’t write on the student’s paper. Let her hold the
paper and share it with you.
3) Don’t just edit. Oftentimes, students will hand a
writing tutor a papers and say, “Edit this for me.” But if
you do that, you don’t help your student learn. Offer to
teach her how to edit instead.
1)

19. Basic steps
4) Teach with examples. It’s hard to write an effective
conclusion if you’ve never seen one. Show the student a
couple of good papers on related subjects so she knows what
she’s working toward.
5) Start by encouraging the student to brainstorm
ideas and get them on paper. Have student record herself
while she’s brainstorming.
6) After brainstorming, help her start to organize her
paper. Ask her to identify which ideas go together.

20. Basic Steps
After the student has written a draft, begin the
sentence-level editing process. Encourage her to
identify her own errors and show her how to look up
corrections in a style guide.
8) Remind students that multiple drafts are
necessary. No great writer “gets it” on the first draft.
9) If a student has a lot of grammar errors, take the
time to teach the grammar principle behind the
mistake.
7)
Taken from “How to Tutor Writing: 9 Steps”:
www.wikihow.com

21. Scenarios