Blog 8: Bedford Guide Chapter 5; Johnson et al

11/17/2022

Summary:

    The readings for Week 13 were on the topic of tutoring for papers in subjects with which you may not necessarily be familiar.  In the Bedford Guide, they specifically mention and detail how to assist with a variety of papers you may not have initially considered, such as lab reports, research papers, film reviews, group writing assignments, PowerPoints, résumés, and cover letters.  In the Johnson & Co. reading, the focus is on assisting with engineering papers specifically, and it is noted that despite what one may think, it was found that tutors with little to no background in engineering were able to provide more meaningful assistance.  

Commentary:

    The Bedford Guide, as ever, goes well out of the way to make sure prospective tutors have a solid idea on how to handle a wide variety of situations.  Differences in wording conventions are noted, such as in the example from the subsection on lab reports, where it is said that "The writer of a lab report, for example, should use the passive past tense: 'Solution A was centrifuged,' not 'I centrifuged Solution A'".  Small inclusions such as this are very useful for any tutor who finds themselves working on any of these uncommon forms of writing.  The reading from Johnson (and others) provided some insight into how tutoring in fields out of your comfort level can be beneficial to the student.  As explained, it seems that a tutor who is unfamiliar with a given subject (engineering, in this case) will be asking more questions, leading to more of an in-depth look at the writing than they may give to something like the 847th Shakespeare paper they've seen that week.  Though I will more than likely not be tutoring next semester, it is quite interesting to be made aware of this phenomenon, as it goes against what I would have assumed to have been the case.  For a prospective tutor, knowing that ignorance is a virtue in tutoring for things like lab reports would be quite comforting.  

Question:

    Have any other wacky forms of writing to note come about since the Bedford Guide was published?