The Practical Tutor

In the classroom, the workplace, and the home, more and more teachers, professionals, teaching assistants, peer tutors and parents have need of a practical, hands-on guide to helping their students, associates and teen-agers improve their composition skills. Designed to meet the needs of those who lack formal pedagogical training in composition, The Practical Tutor is an invaluable tool for writers at various levels in both formal and informal educational settings. The book alerts its readers to issues that frequently arise in the writing process, explores typical writing problems and their causes, summarizes recent research and thinking in the field of composition, and suggests strategies for helping writers overcome their difficulties. By analyzing samples of writers' compositions, and by including sample dialogues between tutors and writers, the book suggests, in the most practical terms, how to formulate questions that will spur writers to make their own corrections, and how to help them write critically and independently. Appropriate as both a course text in the training of peer tutors, or as a reference book for home or office, The Practical Tutor includes exercises and bibliographies for getting acquainted with writers, helping them generate ideas, shape essays, master basic writing mechanics, and even use computers to improve their work.

Louise Z. Smith is at both at University of Massachusetts, Boston.