The document provides information and guidance for writing tutors in the UT Athletics Writing Program. It discusses the goals of the program, basics of writing tutoring, an overview of the RHE 306 course, the writing process, research, revision, editing, proofreading, dealing with plagiarism and academic integrity, working with reluctant writers, and addressing obstacles in tutoring sessions. Resources for tutors are also listed. The document aims to equip tutors to effectively help student-athletes improve their writing and independent writing skills.

1. For reprint permissions and information, please send your inquiry to: Tutors@athletics.utexas.edu.

2. The UT Athletics Writing
Program
 The Writing Program works toward the Athletics
Department’s goal of maximizing the academic potential of
our student-athletes.
 Writing Tutors help student-athletes grow and mature as
independent writers. They do this by:
 Assisting students to discover and develop their own ideas
and voices
 Guiding students as they learn to accurately and efficiently
develop, outline, research, edit and proofread their own
writings
 Helping students use their time efficiently to maximize their
potential in the classroom

3. Writing Tutoring Basics
Only tutors and mentors who have participated in the UT Athletics Writing Program
training may assist student-athletes with their writing assignments.
 Learn about all the courses in which your student is enrolled. You may be able
to help with writing in more than one class.
 Always ask the student what he or she would like to work on in the session.
 Make sure that the professor allows tutoring on the assignment.
 Help the student prioritize.
 Help the student to create a long range plan.
 Lead your student step by step through the development of a paper, stressing
the importance of developing the paper from an outline and emphasizing the
importance of the rewrite.
 Never arrange to work on a paper via email or outside of the study center.

4. Overview of RHE 306:
Rhetoric and Writing
This course is grounded in the rhetorical analysis of "controversies," broadly defined. It is
divided into three units, each one requiring some sort of outside research.
 Unit 1:
Describing a controversy and mapping the various positions within it
Students detail the history of their controversy, map out the central positions held in
regard to it, examine the stakes of each position, and explore the ways in which the
positions are interrelated.
 Unit 2:
Analyzing a position within a controversy
Students analyze a specific position within their chosen controversy. After summarizing
what the writer says, noting the central claims and key evidence, students will analyze
how the argument is put together as well as why the writer has made specific rhetorical
choices.
 Unit 3:
Advocating a position within a controversy
Students situate themselves within the "map" of the controversy that they have
constructed and produce an argument that advocates a particular position using the
persuasive strategies analyzed and studied throughout the semester.
From The Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies
http://www.utexas.edu/col/depts/rhetoric/firstyearwriting/overview.php

5. Tutoring & The Writing Process
Sample Meeting Plan for a Writing Assignment for Rhetoric 306
 Session 1: Dissect the assignment and brainstorm a topic,
making sure your student has found a workable topic. Help
the student to begin research.
 Session 2: Work with the student to create thesis statement
and a detailed outline.
 Session 3: Edit rough draft.
 Session 4: Review instructor’s comments on rough draft and
discuss how to address them.
 Session 5: Proofread final version.

6. The Writing Assignment
 You and the student should read the assignment carefully.
 Decide what task the instructor is asking the student to
perform: describe, summarize, analyze, evaluate, propose,
etc.
 Make sure the student understands these terms.
 Consider any other important aspects of the rhetorical
situation: audience, length, evidence needed, etc.

7. The Learning Record and
PBWorks
 Many courses in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing
employ The Learning Record, an online tool with which
students build a writing portfolio. In addition, students
maintain an observation journal and evaluate their own
development in the course.
 Instructors may also use PBWorks to create course wikis
through which students submit their work.
Please familiarize yourself with these tools if your students courses
make use of them. If you have any questions about them see the
Writing Program Coordinator.

8. Research
Tutors should help students:
 Learn where and how to do research
 UT Library Homepage
 For Undergraduates is a great resource for all kinds of “How
To’s” from finding articles using databases to evaluating
sources. You should be familiar with what the library has to
offer.
 Using key terms effectively in Google and evaluating results
 Develop a system for taking notes
 Develop a system for keeping track of sources as research
progresses

9. UT Library Homepage

10. Library Resources for
Undergraduates

11. Keeping Track of Sources
 Purdue OWL style guides
 MLA Style Guide
 APA Style Guide
 Zotero: Free Firefox extension that will keep track of
resources as you find them
 EasyBib: Free MLA bibliography and citation maker
 NoodleBib: MLA/APA/Chicago bibliography and citation
maker – Access through UT libraries

12. Zotero

13. Composing
 You should help the student prepare and write from a
detailed outline.
 Focus on the thesis statement.
 See Undergraduate Writing Center (UWC) handout on
Creating a Strong Thesis
 Read UWC handouts on writing introductions and
conclusions and on Paragraphing. These and many others
are available online and in the resource binder in NEZ 5.412.
 Always ensure that students maintain ownership of their
written work.

14. Revising
 Help the student understand that planning and composing are only the
first steps in writing; revision is just as important!
 Tutors and students work together to assess a paper’s strengths and
weaknesses and to determine the best strategies for revision.
 Explain the difference between: revising, editing, and proofreading.
 Revising: Thinking your paper through again, including clarifying
your argument, adding needed material, and taking out things that
don’t belong.
 Editing: The final stage of revision, when you make changes to your
sentences to make them read better.
 Proofreading: The final stage of editing. You are looking for spelling
errors, wrong words, punctuation errors, that you might not have
noticed after editing. You proofread when everything else is done.
Adapted from: Edgewood College Writing Center.
http://edgenet.edwood.egedu/lss/writingcenter/articles/revision.htm

15. Editing
 The goal of editing with a student is to teach the student
how to edit his or her own work in the future. The student
should be an active participant in the process.
 Show the student how to use a grammar log. (See the
Writing Program resource binder for an example.)
 Show students how to use a checklist to edit their own work.
(See the Writing Program resource binder or the UWC for a
sample checklist.)

16. Grammar Log

17. Editing Checklist
Example checklist from worksheetplace.com

18. Strategies for Editing with a
Student
 Modeling: If you notice a recurring error, work through a
few examples with the student in one section of the paper.
Then ask the student to apply what he or she has learned in
another section.
 Have the student mark his or her own paper as you go
through it together.
 Minimal marking: Instead of making corrections in the
student’s paper, the tutor marks areas that need revision.
The student is responsible for determining the problem,
considering options, and making the revisions.
NEVER write replacement sentences on a student’s paper!

19. An Example of Minimal
Marking
Image source: http://www.theillustratedprofessor.com/?p=495

20. A Note about Minimal
Marking
 Minimal marking can be an excellent tool for teaching
writers how to edit.
 It is only effective if tutors are able to spend time with the
student going over the markings. Students will likely need
help in determining what types of errors they have made
and how to fix them.
 Minimal markings should be discussed or the tutor should
provide section numbers from a style guide that has been
assigned to the class.

21. Proofreading
 The goal of your written commentary is not to correct your
student’s work, but to provoke independent thinking. Point out
problems, but never write replacement phrases or sentences.
 Avoid correcting spelling and punctuation errors that spell check
and grammar check can catch.
 Be thorough, honest, respectful, and sensitive.
 You may not proofread a student’s paper outside of a scheduled
appointment in the study center. The student may NOT email his
or her paper to you for your review outside of the study center.
 If you receive a paper via email from a student, forward the email
and the paper to the student’s academic counselor. Do not reply to
the student.

22. Plagiarism
(adapted from the UT Office of the Dean of Students website:
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis_plagiarism.php)
 Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity. In simplest
terms, this occurs if you represent as your own work any material that
was obtained from another source, regardless of how or where you
acquired it.
 Using verbatim material without proper attribution constitutes the
most blatant form of plagiarism. Other types of material also can be
plagiarized, such as the idea or structure of someone else’s work.
 Plagiarism can be committed intentionally or unintentionally—
regardless, it’s still plagiarism!
 By merely changing a few words or rearranging words or sentences,
you are NOT paraphrasing. Making minor revisions to borrowed text
is plagiarism!
The University of Texas at Austin Office of the Dean of Students. (2010, 6/10). Retrieved
from http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sis/scholdis_plagiarism.php

23. Collusion
Collusion is "the unauthorized collaboration with another person in
preparing academic assignments offered for credit or collaboration
with another person to commit a violation of any section of the rules
on scholastic dishonesty.”*
According to the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, a student
commits collusion if s/he allows someone else to edit his or her
papers:
“It is scholastically dishonest for students to employ tutors to correct,
edit, or modify essays in any substantive way. The same reservations
and restrictions apply, within reason, to any outside assistance you
may receive from a parent, friend, roommate, or academic tutor. Any
changes, deletions, rearrangements, additions, or corrections made in
your essays should represent your own work.”**
Always ensure that you are commenting and advising your students on their
writing without editing or rewriting papers.
*General Information Catalog of the University of Texas at Austin
**Department of Rhetoric and Writing
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/rhetoric/firstyearwriting/plagiarismcollusion.php

24. Academic Integrity
 Tutoring writing poses particular challenges with regard to
academic integrity.
 The student should ALWAYS make ALL decisions regarding his
or her writing.
 The student should determine how to use Tutor advice.
 Tutoring should always have teaching skills and improving the
writer as its goals.
 The tutor should assist the student in developing an awareness of
the boundaries of academic integrity and ethical behavior.
Never cross the line from “assisting” to “doing.”
If you suspect plagiarism or collusion, you must inform the student’s
academic counselor immediately.

25. Tutoring Reluctant Writers
 Recognize and acknowledge the student’s reluctance.
 Help the student find smaller tasks within the writing
assignment.
 Demonstrate how the writing prompt can be turned into an
outline and how that outline can be seen as a list of short-
answer questions.
 Ask about the student’s preferred ways of learning and
work to incorporate those into the writing process.
 Notice and affirm the student’s efforts.

26. Dealing with Obstacles
 Situation: The student is passive and does not want to participate.
 Possible reasons for the behavior:
 The student may be unprepared for the session.
 The student may be mentally and physically exhausted.
 The student may not understand the material and may be
afraid to admit it.
 The student may lack confidence.
 Try these strategies:
 Ask the student what his or her understanding of the
assignment is.
 Try to get the student to explain what s/he knows about the
topic.
 Ask the student what s/he likes the most or least about the
assignment.
 Ask the student what the finished product will look like.

27. Dealing with Obstacles
 Situation: The student wants to blame you for a bad grade on a
paper.
 Possible reasons for the behavior:
 The student meets with you twice a week and cannot
understand why she did poorly on the assignment.
 The student may be preoccupied with personal problems.
 The student may not be managing her time properly.
 Try these strategies:
 Ask the student how much time s/he spent on the paper outside
of tutoring.
 Check to see whether suggested revisions were made.
 Review the instructor’s comments and discuss areas to improve.
 Help the student devise a writing plan to overcome the problem.

28. Dealing with Obstacles
 Situation: The student wants you to write a paper for him/her.
 Possible reasons for the behavior:
 The student may not have prepared in advance to complete the
assignment, therefore s/he is feeling stressed about completing
it before the deadline.
 The student may not understand the material and feel that it
would take too much time to have it explained to him/her.
 Try these strategies:
 Do NOT complete the student’s assignment! Help the student
assess what s/he can accomplish.
 Help the student devise a plan to complete the assignment.
 Inform his or her Academic Counselor.

29. Do
 Arrive on time and
prepared.
 Ask open-ended questions.
 Listen carefully.
 Notice body language (both
your own and the students’
with whom you work).
 Be patient and relaxed.
 Be flexible.
 Show enthusiasm for
learning and writing.
 Share resources (within
NCAA rules) and
knowledge.
 Actively teach writing and
research skills.
 Be conscious of different
learning styles and be
prepared to adapt to them.

30. Don’t
 Don’t do work for the student.
 Don’t criticize classroom instructors or course materials.
 Don’t discuss the likely grade a student’s paper will receive.
 Don’t contact or speak with an instructor on the student’s behalf.
 Don’t communicate with students outside of the tutoring session.
 Don’t schedule an appointment without the consent of the
student’s academic counselor.
 Don’t allow your political, social, educational, sexual, racial or
philosophical beliefs to interfere with the tutor-student
relationship.

31. Resources
 The Department of Rhetoric and Writing has useful
information on RHE 306.
 The Undergraduate Writing Center has excellent handouts
on a wide range of topics.
 See the Online Resource List on Intercollegiate Athletics
Student Services Blackboard page.
 Check out the Writing Program Resource Library in NEZ
5.412.

32. UT Athletics Writing Program
Resource Library
The Resource Library is located in NEZ 5.412.
The library includes:
 Handbooks for writing tutors
 Style manuals
 RHE 306 textbooks
 The Writing Program Resource Binder, which is stocked
with handouts, worksheets, articles, and other useful
information

33. Questions?
 For questions regarding writing tutoring strategies,
resources, etc., see:
Marnie Binfield
Writing Program Coordinator
NEZ 5.412
512-471-5658 (office)
512-415-6485 (cell)
Marnie.binfield@athletics.utexas.edu
 For questions about scheduling, timesheets, etc., see:
Monica Paull
Tutor Coordinator
NEZ 5.424
Monica.paull@athletics.utexas.edu