Today has been a rather strange day. Lately, I've been helping tutees who are so overwhelmed by their work loads that they're stressing out about even the most mundane issues.
When it comes to the writing process, these tutees are, instead of taking the time to think things through logically, sitting down at a computer furiously pumping out words to try to reach a quota on a deadline. Everyone keeps forgetting, though, that you can't sit down and start writing a paper until you know what you're going to write about. This quarter I'm realizing, in my own studies and here in the center, that an outline is where it all begins, and without one, you don't have a map to keep you on course towards your destination.
I worked with a tutee today whose instructor had supplied her with a blank outline sheet along with instructions for structuring a paper. I thought it was excellent, so I made copies and created a new slot in the mailbox for them.
These will be helpful, I think, when we sit down with tutees who can't stay focused on their thesis or when we're helping someone who doesn't yet know what to write about. To us, of course, brainstorming and outlining seems necessary. But to someone who isn't as well-versed in the structural components of an academic paper, this would be very beneficial. And these handouts read a little more easily than Hacker. Of course, these won't be necessary for every assignment type, but feel free to use them as tools whenever necessary.
2 comments:
I really like these types of outlines too--especially for thesis driven papers (which we see lots of at this time in the quarter)!
Also, in my 150 class, we are reviewing the value of topic statements for each body paragraph which should support the thesis. These sentences can provide foci for each paragraph and help the student make connections between individual paragraphs and their over-all point.
Although I try not to rely too much on quick formulas, I do think that outlines, particularly the ones students come up with themselves, are fabulous for providing ground work.
So glad to hear the concrete ways in which tutoring is influencing your own writing! Dreamy.
I'm so glad you made copies, Jenn! For the first time a couple weeks ago, I saw one of those blank outline papers, too. What a marvellous idea! I think having at least that skeleton structure helps the students see the "bigger picture" of the paper, then start fleshing out their skeleton properly instead of, say, putting some thigh meat on the foot or the gluteus maximus on the forehead.
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