Writing Tutor Training

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<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="box">Congratulations on your new job as a writing tutor at the Learning Center! You'll see a wide variety of students in this job, and maintaining the balance between their agenda, their professor's expectations and your expertise as a tutor is sometimes difficult. While there's no real substitute for experience, this scenario will simulate some common situations you might encounter, and will give you the chance to make decisions about how you approach them. When you're done, you'll be able to use effective techniques that will help students compose better essays while meeting the professor's expectations. You won't have a lot of feedback along the way - just as you wouldn't in many situations where you're working with a student. At the end, though, the scenario will give you a chance to reflect on how well you did and provide you with some tips to help you improve. Are you ready to begin? [[continue]]</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="box">It's your first day as a tutor in the Learning Center. You'll be meeting with students today who want help with writing their papers. You only have a short time with each student, and your job is to be an effective audience for their writing - meaning that you'll want to give them the best advice possible in the time you have. As you [[review your notes from orientation|orientation]], your first appointment of the day walks in - Todd, a freshman. You greet Todd with a handshake and introduce yourself, and you both sit down at one of the small tables where you can work comfortably. "I have a paper for my English class, and I want you to look it over for me, and tell me if it's any good," Todd says, pushing the paper in front of you. How do you respond to Todd? [["Let me have a look."|Look at paper][$directive to $directive +1]] [["Can I have you read your paper aloud?"|Look at paper together][$readaloud1 to true]] [["Let's just talk for a bit first."|talk]]</div> <<set $agenda to false>> <<set $assignment to false>> <<set $readaloud to false>> <<set $readaloud1 to false>> <<set $ideas to false>> <<set $thesis to false>> <<set $grammar to false>> <<set $proofread to false>> <<set $citations to false>> <<set $topic to false>> <<set $directive to 0>> <<set $highLow to 0>> <<set $report to "Nothing here!">>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><div class="box">"Uh, O.K." Todd says, pulling the paper over in front of him. He reads the paper aloud - it's only about a page long. As he's reading, he catches a few grammar and spelling errors, and he makes the corrections, occasionally reworking sentences to be more clear. As he's reading, you notice a few things about the paper. His thesis seems a little unclear. The ideas aren't clearly developed with examples. There are grammar issues he didn't catch. There seem to be some missing citations from his research on Wikipedia. As he's working on fixing up some errors, you wonder if having him read the paper aloud at this point was a good idea. What do you think? [[Yes, because he caught a lot of his grammar and spelling mistakes, so he's learning good proofreading strategies.|YesProofing]] [[Yes, because he maintained ownership of his paper in the process|YesOwnership]] [[No, because there are more important issues to work on.|NoHigher]] [[No, because you could have caught more grammatical errors than him|NoGrammar]]</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><div class="box"> "Sure," Todd says, digging through his backpack. After a minute or so, he pulls out a crinkled piece of paper and puts it on the table in front of you: [[Assignment Description|descriptionsheet]] <<if $assignment is true>> Knowing what Todd's teacher wants is important for you to give him good feedback on his paper. Now that you've looked it over, you turn your attention back to Todd, who has been texting on his phone while he was waitiing.<</if>> [["Let me have a look at your paper."|Look at paper]] [["Can I get you to read your paper aloud for me?"|ReadTogether][$readaloud to true]] <<if $agenda is false>>[["What did you want me to look at, specifically?"|agenda][$agenda to true]]<</if>></div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<if $directive gt 0>> <<set $directive to $directive -1>><</if>><div class="box"> Todd picks up his paper and leafs through it. "Well, I think I'm pretty happy with most of what I have. The ideas are pretty solid, and I like the thesis. Maybe you could just proofread it for grammar and spelling?" Todd puts the paper back on the table. [["Let me take a look at it for you."|Look at paper]] [["Can I have you read your paper aloud for me?"|ReadTogether][$readaloud to true]] <<if $assignment is false>>[["Can I see the assignment description?"|assignment]]<</if>></div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><div class="box">Todd sits back as you read his paper. It's a short essay about spelunking as a hobby, and how it's scary and dangerous. As you read over the paper, you notice a few things that could be fixed up: His thesis seems a little unclear. The ideas aren't clearly developed with examples. There are grammar issues he didn't catch. There seem to be some missing citations from his research on Wikipedia. <<if $assignment is true>>He may not have followed the assignment.<</if>> What feedback do you want to give to Todd? [["You might want to think about a rewrite, if you have time."|DirectiveTopic]] [["You should probably fix up your grammar and spelling."|grammar][$grammar to true]] [["Your thesis might need some work."|thesis][$thesis to true]] [["Let's talk about some examples to better develop your ideas."|ideas][$ideas to true]] <<if $assignment is true>>[["You may want to consider shifting your topic a bit to meet the assignment."|topic][$topic to true]]<</if>></div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $directive to $directive +1>><div class="box">"Really?" He asks, picking up his paper and looking down at it. He flips through the pages as he reads. "I mean, I guess it might be a little weird to write about a hobby I don't do." Todd looks at his watch. "I'll have to get started on this if I want to get it done before class. Thanks for your help." Todd gets up, shakes your hand and leaves the Learning Center to go work on his paper. You had better get started [[writing your report|report]].</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<if previous() is "Look at paper" or previous() is "NoGrammar">><<set $highLow to $highLow +2>><</if>><div class="box"><<if $proofread is true>><<set $directive to $directive+1>>You take a few minutes to go over Todd's paper in some detail, pointing out misspellings and grammar errors. You have Todd look up spellings and talk to him about maybe turning the spell-check feature on in the software he's using.<</if>><<if $ideas is false or $thesis is false>>You take a few minutes to go over Todd's paper in some detail, pointing out misspellings and grammar errors. You have Todd look up spellings and talk to him about maybe turning the spell-check feature on in the software he's using. You notice some patterns to his grammatical errors in the paper, so you give him some handouts and point him to some websites for those types of grammar errors, and for others, you explain the rules to him as he makes corrections.<</if>><<if $thesis is true and $ideas is true>>You talk with Todd for a few minutes about patterns you've seen in his grammar that may be an issue for him as he continues working on the paper, and you point him toward some resources that could help, explaining to him how to use them as he writes. "We won't go over your grammar in detail yet because you'll still be writing some more on the essay, and what you have may end up changing a lot before the final draft." "I understand," Todd says, smiling. "But I have a pretty good idea of what to look for when I'm finished writing."<</if>> Is there anything else you want to say to Todd before he goes? <<if $topic is false>>[["Let's take a look at some other topics you could write about."|topic][$topic to true]]<</if>> <<if $thesis is false>>[["Let's nail down a thesis before you go."|thesis][$thesis to true]]<</if>> <<if $ideas is false>>[["Let's talk about developing your ideas a little more with examples."|ideas][$ideas to true]]<</if>> <<if $citations is false>>[["Let's talk about citations before you go."|citations][$citations to true]]<</if>> [[Say goodbye to Todd and get started working on your report.|report]] </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><div class="box">You remember from your orientation that it's important for students to feel comfortable, and that you need to have an idea of what the student wants to work on in their paper. "So, what's the paper about?" You ask, leaning back in your chair and smiling. Todd lets out a breath and his shoulders drop a bit. Seeming a bit more relaxed, he picks up his paper and leafs through it. "Well, it's supposed to be a paper about a hobby and how it changes you, or something like that." He puts the paper down on the table. "I chose spelunking - you know, exploring caves. I've never really done it, but it seems really cool, and I did a bunch of research on it, on, like, Wikipedia and stuff, and so now I know a whole lot about it. It seems like it would be scary, but kinda in a good way." He points down at his paper. "That's my thesis - that it's scary, but in a good way, so it would make me less scared of other stuff." [["Don't you think you should choose a hobby you've actually done?"|DirectiveTopic][$directive to $directive +1]] [["Do you have the assignment description?"|assignment]] [["What do you want me to look for, specifically?"|agenda][$agenda to true]]</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $directive to $directive + 1>><div class="box">Todd looks a little surprised. "Well, I guess, maybe." He picks up his paper again. "I think this pretty much hits what the teacher wants, but if you think I should write on something different..." He trails off. Todd seems a little uncomfortable with your suggestion, but he makes some notes. "Should I just go ahead and rewrite the whole paper?" He asks. "I have a few hours, I guess. This isn't due until tonight at 7:00." [["Yes, you should rewrite the paper."|rewrite]] <<if $agenda is false>>[["What did YOU want me to look at in the paper, specifically?"|agenda][$agenda to true]]<</if>> [["Let's talk about some other topics you could write about."|topic][$topic to true]] <<if $assignment is false>>[["Do you have the assignment description?"|assignment]]<</if>></div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="box">You took some sparse notes - just the highlights - from your orientation last week: [[Return|previous()]] <div align="center"><img src="https://brainchaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Notes.jpg" width="90%"></div> </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="box"> Please take a few minutes to write a short report recapping what you did, and how well you followed the advice in your [[orientation notes.|orientation]] <<textarea "$report" "">> [[Review your experience|review]] </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $directive to $directive +1>><div class="box">"That sounds pretty easy - we have some good stuff here." After a while, he glances at his watch. "I should get going soon so I have time to make these changes." Is there anything else you want to say to Todd before he goes? <<if $topic is false>>[["Let's take a look at some other topics you could write about."|topic][$topic to true]]<</if>> <<if $ideas is false>>[["Let's talk about developing your ideas a little more with examples."|ideas][$ideas to true]]<</if>> <<if $grammar is false>>[["I want to take a quick look at your grammar."|grammar][$grammar to true]]<</if>> <<if $citations is false>>[["Let's talk about citations before you go."|citations][$citations to true]]<</if>> [[Say goodbye to Todd and get started working on your report.|report]] </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><div class="box"> "When you put together a thesis, it should lay out what your position is - the point you're trying to make, and it should also give your reader a sense of why you think that way." "So I don't just say something like 'videogames helped prepare me for life?'" he says, a little puzzled. "That is my position, right?" "If you had a thesis like that, I would ask you why you think that." "Oh, because they teach you stuff." "Yeah, and if you say "<i>"what "</i>"stuff they teach you - in a general sense - you've got it." You sit back in your chair as Todd puzzles through that. "So, like, 'video games are important because they teach you critical thinking?'" <<if $assignment is true>> "Yep, now link it to what the assignment asks." Todd looks over the sheet again. "Oh, it's supposed to be about hobbies, but my examples and experience are video games. So something more like 'Hobbies are important because they can teach you valuable life skills, like critical thinking or perseverence.'" You feel like crying a little. Todd's got it.<<else>>"That sounds like a great start, Todd."<</if>> After a while, he glances at his watch. "I should get going soon so I have time to make these changes." Is there anything else you want to say to Todd before he goes? <<if $topic is false>>[["Let's take a look at some other topics you could write about."|topic][$topic to true]]<</if>> <<if $ideas is false>>[["Let's talk about developing your ideas a little more with examples."|ideas][$ideas to true]]<</if>> <<if $grammar is false>>[["I want to take a quick look at your grammar."|grammar][$grammar to true]]<</if>> <<if $citations is false>>[["Let's talk about citations before you go."|citations][$citations to true]]<</if>> [[Say goodbye to Todd and get started working on your report.|report]] </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $highLow to $highLow+3>><div class="box">Todd seems happy to have the grammar and mechanics of his paper in tip-top shape. "I have a good idea of how to proofread my paper better, and I'm pretty confident that this bad boy will get an 'A'!" He thanks you again and shakes your hand. <i>Wow,</i> you think, <i>that was really easy!</i> But as you walk over to the computer to write your report, you can't help but think you may have missed something - all the other tutors are still working with students, and they seem really engrossed in their conversations. [[You should get started writing your report|report]]</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $highLow to $highLow+3>><div class="box">"This was good! We worked on exactly what I wanted to, and I feel like the grammar and stuff is really solid," Todd says as he picks up his paper and stuffs it into his backpack. "I know what to look for when I'm proofing my paper, too, so I'll be able to make a couple little changes, proofread it, and get it turned in tonight with time to watch Game of Thrones. Thanks!" He walks out with a smile on his face, and you're happy that you didn't push him away from working on what was important to him, but as you walk over to the computer, you can't help but think you may have missed something. All the other tutors are still working with students, and they seem really engrossed in their conversations. Should you have dug a little deeper? Was Todd right about just working on proofreading his paper, or would it have helped him more to push him outside what he was comfortable with? It's something to think about as you write your report and wait for your next appointment. [[Get started writing your report|report]]</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $highLow to $highLow+2>><<set $directive to $directive+2>><div class="box">Todd did a pretty good job catching most of the grammatical issues in his paper, but as a novice writer, he missed a few things. And there's still the other issues with the paper. [[Fix up Todd's grammar for him.|grammar][$proofread to true]] [[Talk to Todd about some other other issues in the paper.|talk]]</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<if previous() is "grammar" or previous() is "citations">><<set $highLow to $highLow +2>><</if>><<if previous() is "thesis">><<set $highLow to $highLow +1>><</if>><div class="box"><<if $topic is true>> "Videogames!" Todd yells. "I love to play video games!" "Do you think you could write about that?" you ask, happy to see Todd excited about his paper. "I think so... but what would I say?" [["Write about how they prepare you for life."|DirectiveIdeas][$directive to $directive +2]] [["We can look at how they're similar to spelunking."|LessDirectiveIdeas][$directive to $directive +1]] <<if $assignment is true>>[["How do videogames play an important role in your life?"|NonDirectiveIdeas]]<</if>> <<elseif $assignment is true and $topic is false>> "Seems like you might want to stick to something you've done," you say. "Would you agree with that?" "Yeah. I guess I didn't read it carefully enough." He flips thorough his paper for a second. "Videogames!" Todd yells. "I love to play video games!" "Do you think you could write about that?" you ask, happy to see Todd excited about his paper. "I think so... but what would I say?" [["Write about how they prepare you for life."|DirectiveIdeas]] [["We can look at how they're similar to spelunking."|LessDirectiveIdeas]] [["How do videogames play an important role in your life?"|NonDirectiveIdeas]] <<else>>"What do you want to say about spelunking?" Todd gives you a blank look. "I'm not sure. I know it's dangerous and scary, so maybe I could write about that?" "Do you have an example you could use for that?" you ask, sipping your coffee. "There was this guy who got crushed to death when a cave collapsed. Do you think that would work for this?" "I'm not sure..." you say. "I have an assignment sheet from the teacher here." He pulls it out and looks at it. "It's hard to tell, but it does say I should use my own experience." He hands you the [[assignment sheet|descriptionsheet][$Fassignment to true]]<</if>></div>

<<set $assignment to true>><div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="box"> <img src="https://brainchaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Assignment.jpg" width="90%"> [[Return|previous()]]</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><div class="box"> "Uh, O.K." Todd says, pulling the paper over in front of him. He reads the paper aloud - it's only about a page long. As he's reading, he catches a few grammar and spelling errors, and he makes the corrections, occasionally reworking sentences to be more clear. As he's reading, you notice a few other things about the paper: His thesis seems a little unclear. The ideas aren't clearly developed with examples. There are grammar issues he didn't catch. There seem to be some missing citations from his research on Wikipedia. <<if $assignment is true>>He may not have followed the assignment completely.<</if>> What do you want to work on with Todd? [["I think your thesis should come first. Let's take a look."|thesis][$thesis to true]] [["Before we look at anything else, we should talk about the ideas you want to cover in the paper."|ideas][$ideas to true]] [["Let's go over some of your citations."|citations][$citations to true]] <<if $assignment is true>>[["We should make sure you're covering what your teacher wants."|topic][$topic to true]]<</if>> <<if $agenda is true>>[["Since you're most concerned about your grammar, let's keep going over that. There are some spots you missed."|grammar][$grammar to true]]<<else>>[["We should take another look at grammar. I noticed some issues there."|grammar][$grammar to true]]<</if>> </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<if previous() is "grammar" or previous() is "citations">><<set $highLow to $highLow +2>><</if>><<if previous() is "development" or previous() is "lazyThesis">><<set $highLow to $highLow+1>><</if>><<if $assignment is true>><div class="box"> "Let's take a closer look at the assignment sheet for a sec," you say, sliding the sheet between the two of you. Todd puts his phone away and leans in to get a better look. "What's your understanding of what this is asking you to do?" "Well," he pauses for a second to take a closer look at the assignment sheet. "Oh." Todd picks his paper up and looks at it. "I think I should probably write about a hobby I already have." "That's how I understood it too." <<if $ideas is false>>[["Let's work on getting some ideas together for this."|ideas][$ideas to true]]<</if>> <<if $thesis is false>>[["Why don't we put together a thesis."|thesis][$thesis to true]]<</if>> <<if $grammar is false>>[["Now that you have an understanding of the assignment, we can take a look at your grammar."|grammar][$grammar to true]]<</if>> <<if $citations is false>>[["I want to go over your citations with you."|citations]]<</if>> [[Say goodbye to Todd and get started working on your report.|report]]</div> <<else>><div class="box">"Let's brainstorm some topics you could write about other than spelunking." "I don't have a lot of hobbies. Does it have to be my own hobby?" "I'm not sure..." you say. "I have an assignment sheet from the teacher here." He pulls it out and looks at it. "It's hard to tell, but it does say I should use my own experience." He hands you the [[assignment sheet|descriptionsheet][$assignment to true]]</div><</if>>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] to check how you did against what you learned at orientation. You may also look at the [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]</div><div class="box"> Your tutor report is printed below with some feedback on your performance. Compare the two to see how you compare. Your report: <<print $report>> <div class="h1" align="center">Did you ask Todd what he wanted to focus on?</div> <<if $agenda is true>>Yes! You did a nice job talking to Todd and finding out what his concerns were with the paper. Even though he wanted to work on grammar when there were other issues, it's important to see what a student wants to work on so you can get a gauge of their concerns, as well as their awareness of themselves as writers.<<else>>No. You should have asked Todd what he wanted to work on in his paper. It's important to see what a student wants to work on so you can get a gauge of their concerns, as well as their awareness of themselves as writers.<</if>> <div class="h1" align="center">Did you ask to see the assignment?</div> <<if $assignment is true>>Yep! You were right to look at the assignment sheet. Your first concern is whether the student is completing the assignment correctly. If they aren't, they may have to do a lot of rewriting.<<elseif $Fassignment is true>>You didn't ask to see the assignment, and, instead, waited until Todd reminded you. You still looked at it to see what his teacher wanted, but try to remember to ask for this as soon as possible so you don't spend too much time looking at the wrong concerns.<<else>>No, you didn't. Remember to ALWAYS ask for the assignment description. It helps you see whether the student is addressing the assignment correctly, which can avoid working on unproductive things.<</if>> <div class="h1" align="center">Did you ask Todd to read aloud too early?</div> <<if $readaloud1 is true>>Unfortunately, you did. While it's good to have the student read their paper aloud, doing this before you know their agenda or the assignment often puts the focus on the wrong concerns.<<else>>You didn't do this. Good choice!<</if>> <div class="h1" align="center">Did you ask Todd to read aloud when it was appropriate?</div> <<if $readaloud is true>>Yes! You were right to have Todd read his paper aloud. Doing this often helps students catch their own errors and develop good proofreading habits.<<else>>No, you didn't. After you found out Todd's concerns and looked at the assignment, you should have had Todd read his paper aloud. This would help him catch his own errors and develop stronger proofreading skills.<</if>> <div class="h1" align="center">Did you proofread Todd's paper for him?</div> <<if $proofread is true>>Unfortunately, you did. Proofreading Todd's paper was a wrong move. Your job is to be an audience and help students develop as writers. If you proofread for them, they will rely on you and not become as able to find their own errors.<<else>>You didn't do this - a wise decision. Your role is to be an audience, not a proofreading service.<</if>> <div class="h1" align="center">Were you too directive?: <<print 5-$directive>>/5</div> <<if $directive lte 3>>You were fairly directive with Todd, either telling him what topics to pursue or giving him too much of your own ideas to use in his paper. In the future, try to ask more questions to help students develop their own ideas, or address concerns that are in line with the assignment.<<else>>You did a pretty nice job staying non-directive with Todd. It can be difficult to avoid directing a student toward what you see is the "right" path, but you did well in asking questions and allowing Todd to choose his own topics and examples, and develop better instincts as a writer.<</if>> <div class="h1" align="center">Addressed concerns in order of importance: <<print 5-$highLow>>/5</div> <<if $highLow lte 3>>Remember to address higher level concerns (like checking the assignment or developing ideas) before addressing concerns with a thesis, and leave grammar and citations until last. A lot may change in the text of a paper when a student is revising, so addressing grammar, citations, or even a thesis too early can waste a lot of time.<<else>>You addressed the concerns with Todd's paper fairly well from higher concerns (like the topic, or idea development) to lower concerns (like grammar and citations)<</if>> [[Start Over?|Start]] </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $highLow to $highLow +1>><div class="box">Although Todd seems pleased that the mechanics of his paper are in better shape, you decide that the paper has some other issues that should be addressed. You feel a little bad that Todd spent this time working on his grammar and mechanics when he may have to make more substantive changes to the paper, but ultimately, talking about the other concerns in the paper will make it stronger and will ultimately help Todd see the importance of having solid ideas that are clearly organized, developed and expressed. [["Maybe we should talk about some other concerns with your paper, Todd."|talk]]</div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $directive to $directive +1>><div class="box"> "You should write about how they prepare you for life," you say, happy to contribute to a stronger essay. "Yeah, like how I learned to skate from playing Tony Hawk, or how GTA V taught me how to avoid the cops." "Not exactly what I had in mind," you say. "I was thinking more about how videogames help teach you valuable skills - like critical thinking, or how they present simulated danger that you can learn to react to in a safe environment." You go on describing how the idea would develop, coming up with some examples that Todd could use in his essay. Todd diligently takes notes while you talk, writing down every one of the ideas. After a while, he glances at his watch. "I should get going soon so I have time to make these changes." Is there anything else you want to say to Todd before he goes? <<if $thesis is false>>[["Let's nail down a thesis before you go."|thesis][$thesis to true]]<</if>> <<if $grammar is false>>[["I want to take a quick look at your grammar."|grammar][$grammar to true]]<</if>> <<if $citations is false>>[["Let's talk about citations before you go."|citations][$citations to true]]<</if>> [[Say goodbye to Todd and get started working on your report.|report]] </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><<set $directive to $directive+1>><div class="box"> "Since you already have some ideas about spelunking, you might be able to use some of what you have to talk about videogames." "What do you mean?" Todd seems a bit confused by the connection between the two. You take a few minutes to lay out the similarities between how spelunking involves danger and video games have simulated danger in them. "Since you've already written about how danger is important, just change it to discuss how that relates to video games instead of spelunking." "That's genius!" he says. "I never would have thought of that on my own." He looks at his watch. "I should get going if I want to get these changes done before it's due." Is there anything else you want to say to Todd before he goes? <<if $thesis is false>>[["Let's nail down a thesis before you go."|thesis][$thesis to true]]<</if>> <<if $grammar is false>>[["I want to take a quick look at your grammar."|grammar][$grammar to true]]<</if>> <<if $citations is false>>[["Let's talk about citations before you go."|citations][$citations to true]]<</if>> [[Say goodbye to Todd and get started working on your report.|report]] </div>

<div class="header" align="center">The Learning Center</div><div class="top">You may [[refer to your notes|orientation]] at any time. <<if $assignment is true>>Look at [[assignment description|descriptionsheet]]<</if>></div><div class="box"> "Besides my mom and my meal card, I would say they're the most important thing in my life." Todd gets a bit of a far-off look. "Why?" You ask, sitting back in your chair. "I've learned so much about life. Like in GTA V, how you can avoid the cops, or how to ollie up on a handrail from Tony Hawk." "O.K. - write those down. Is there anything else you've learned from video games?" "Oh, like something not illegal or about skating?" He asks. "Sure, if you think there's something important you've learned." Todd thinks about his for a second, and you can practically see him going through the catalog of games in his head. "What about how to solve problems?" he says. "What do you mean?" Todd takes a few minutes to talk about how some of his games have helped him get better at thinking through a situation or coming up with alternate approaches to problems. "Do you think that will work?" "If you're good with it and you feel like you have some good examples - which it sounds like you do - you might have something there." He looks at his watch. "I should get going if I want to get these changes done before it's due." Is there anything else you want to say to Todd before he goes? <<if $thesis is false>>[["Let's nail down a thesis before you go."|thesis][$thesis to true]]<</if>> <<if $grammar is false>>[["I want to take a quick look at your grammar."|grammar][$grammar to true]]<</if>> <<if $citations is false>>[["Let's talk about citations before you go."|citations][$citations to true]]<</if>> [[Say goodbye to Todd and get started working on your report.|report]] </div>