1. Crafting Responses to Student Submissions

2. Before viewing this module, complete the online training at https://etutoringcanada.ca https://etutoringcanada.ca Select “Login Now” Select “Tutor Training Area” Username: tutor1 Password: password Review “Writing eTutor – Option One Platform Only” Complete Review eWriting lab training video eQuestions module

3. Video Resources Throughout this presentation you can review short videos on key aspects of WriteAway tutor responses Make sure that you are viewing slides in “Slide Show” view Click the icon to view the videos in a web browser To review the entire document created during the videos, click here.here

4. Take the First Submission from the Queue Once you have opened, renamed, and saved the student’s document to your computer, you’re ready to craft a response Select the first submission by clicking on the title

5. Key Components of a WriteAway Response Opening Embedded Comments Next Steps Closing

6. Key Components of a WriteAway Response Opening Welcome Acknowledge Student Concerns Identify Strength(s) Issues Needing Work Embedded Comments Next Steps Closing As you gain experience with WriteAway and develop your customized template, response times should be close to 30 minutes Core of WriteAway Response

7. Opening Respond to student by name and introduce yourself Briefly explain WriteAway process for new student or welcome back returning student Explain your understanding of the assignment as described by the student MATERIAL CAN BE MODIFIED FROM YOUR CUSTOMIZED TEMPLATE Getting Started - Opening Response to a Student Submission: http://screencast.com/t/P9m0IVydqr4J http://screencast.com/t/P9m0IVydqr4J

8. Acknowledge Student Concerns Paraphrase or repeat the student’s concerns as described in the submission form Acknowledge which concern(s) you will focus on If you determine that other HOCs take precedent in your review, let the student know that you are aware of what matters to him or her and describe why you will focus on particular HOCs If a student asks for “editing” or “proofreading” – review the submission with HOCs in mind and, if applicable as an LOC, use and/or adapt the proofreading script available on the WriteAway website or eTutoring platform MATERIAL CAN BE MODIFIED FROM YOUR CUSTOMIZED TEMPLATE

9. Acknowledge Student Concerns Remember: tutors are experienced readers, not content experts. Tutors can respond to assignments from any discipline. If a student is concerned about interpreting content – refer him or her to the course instructor. Even if you are familiar with the material, focus your feedback solely on the student’s writing skills.

10. I’m a WriteAway tutor who has researched and written extensively about penguin races Respond to Student Writing not Content I’m a WriteAway tutor. I have also researched and written extensively about penguins racing cars. If I pick up a submission where a student is writing about penguins racing cars, I must focus on the student’s writing and address appropriate HOCs and LOCs (for example: is there a clear focus? Is the discussion well organized?) and not respond to the content being discussed.

11. Identify Strengths Identify at least one strength and offer a specific example from the student’s paper Include an embedded comment that acknowledges a strength of the student’s writing MATERIAL CAN BE MODIFIED FROM YOUR CUSTOMIZED TEMPLATE Comments from students: “[I] appreciated that the tutor took the time to point out things that I had done well and it made me feel confident” “[The tutor’s] directions and encouraging words, eased my anxiety and I was able to focus my thesis, introduction, and paragraphs.”

12. Identifying HOCs and LOCs Lower Order Concerns Logic/Content Thesis Structure/Organization Introduction Conclusion Paragraph Structure Use of Evidence Integration of Sources Explanation of Evidence Clarity and Flow (Coherence) Transitions Style and Voice Grammar Punctuation Mechanics Sentence Structure Format Higher Order Concerns Reading and Reviewing to Identify HOCs and LOCs: http://screencast.com/t/2fGQeY27 l81

13. Reviewing a Student Submission (Second & Third Submissions) Comments from a student: The coherence between tutors was not there for my second and third draft. They provided contradicting advice and left me not knowing what to fix and not to fix. Comments from a tutor: I have been frustrated with the feedback of previous tutors when the focus is not on prioritized HOCs. This makes for an awkward experience as a tutor responding to a second or third submission.

14. Reviewing a Student Submission (Second & Third Submissions) Review submission form Review previous tutor’s comments Read introduction Read conclusion Skim body of paper Use this method to identify the key HOCs and LOC(s) that you will focus on in your response Acknowledge where student has made improvements If there are no changes - use WriteAway script: “New Draft Submitted Without Making Changes Suggested by Previous Tutor” Look at how student has incorporated feedback into his or her revisions

15. Issues Needing Work Define the concern Identify what the student is currently doing (or not doing) Provide an actionable suggestion or model for the student to consider in revision Offer a specific and well-framed resource (where applicable) MATERIAL CAN BE MODIFIED FROM YOUR CUSTOMIZED TEMPLATE

16. Issues Needing Work Prioritize concerns based on HOC and LOC list included with the template Use examples from the student’s own writing where applicable to highlight areas for improvement Pose questions that require more than yes or no answers MATERIAL CAN BE MODIFIED FROM YOUR CUSTOMIZED TEMPLATE Drafting Issues Needing Work and Adding Embedded Comments: http://screencast.com/t/GgVAO8d5q http://screencast.com/t/GgVAO8d5q

17. Embedded Comments Embedded Comments should directly relate to the points that you have explained in “Issues Needing Work” In general, if you have not brought up an issue in the “Issues Needing Work” section, avoid bringing it up in the embedded comments Stay Focused Raise questions in the comments that are designed to help students reflect Point out at least one specific place where you notice a strength of the student’s writing Ask Questions and Offer Praise Lots of embedded text can overwhelm and discourage a student Avoid pointing out every instance of an error. Instead encourage the writer to find additional errors. Practice Restraint

18. Embedded Comments Describe your experience of reviewing a student’s writing For example, when a paragraph is not well structured you might tell the student: [I thought that this paragraph was about penguins, but you switch to talking about race cars in the middle – I’m not sure how these ideas fit together. How can you develop a connection between the two ideas? Would it be better to separate the ideas into different paragraphs?] You can also use this strategy to identify strengths, for example: [Your topic sentence clearly introduces the main idea about safety harnesses in penguin races; I know what to expect in this paragraph] Report on Your Reading Offer strategies to recognize and revise rather than simply indicating or fixing errors Resist Editing Comments need to be embedded in [Black font, bold, and brackets] Do not strikethrough text or use commenting functions in word processing programs Avoid Formatting Changes

19. Next Steps Summarize the concerns you identified in the “Issues Needing Work” section and in your embedded comments Include no more than five items Comments from a student: “the checklist at the end is a great idea and helped me to address all of the feedback” Next Steps and Conclusion: http://screencast.com/t/ B32M22w90Bm

20. Closing Thank the student by name for using the service If this is a first or second submission, remind the student to come back for additional help If applicable, identify areas that you have noticed but not addressed yet in this response. Encourage the student to ask for help with these areas from future tutors. Remind student to complete email survey MATERIAL CAN BE MODIFIED FROM YOUR CUSTOMIZED TEMPLATE

21. Upload Response Save file Upload to eTutoring platform Include a brief message to the student in the text box MATERIAL CAN BE MODIFIED FROM YOUR CUSTOMIZED TEMPLATE

22. Logging Off At the end of your shift make sure that there are no red flags in either the eWriting Lab Archive or the Student eQuestion Archive No flags = no outstanding submissions or questions in need of a response

23. Outside Scope of WriteAway Take home exams Group-written assignments Graduate level writing Course numbers above 500 may be graduate courses Comprehensive exams Graduate school applications See scripts for responding to submissions outside the scope of WriteAway on the WriteAway website: http://writeaway.bceln.ca/tutors/scripts http://writeaway.bceln.ca/tutors/scripts