Tutoring Philosophy Without exception and regardless of their major, I believe each student I work with is a writer in progress. My job, therefore, is to help them become more confident in this role by helping them to understand that writing is a process to be done in stages. Whether they come to us at the very earliest stages of the writing process and ask for assistance with brainstorming, or whether they’ve come at the very end of the process for help with final edits (or anywhere in between), I want each student I work with to feel their time collaborating with me has been productive, helpful, and an overall positive experience. As soon as I am introduced to the student with whom I will work, I immediately attempt to establish a good rapport by welcoming them to our platform, making virtual eye contact and smiling enthusiastically. I then ask the student how they are feeling and whether they have had a good day so far. This little exchange often sets the tone for the entire session by showing the student I enjoy my job, and I am open to conversation and collaboration, thus creating a friendly environment in which to work. When they are made to feel at ease with their reasons for coming to Varsity Tutors and with me specifically, the creative juices begin to flow and I believe true progress can begin. Right from the beginning of the session, I feel it is important to emphasize that I am not simply going to correct their punctuation or their grammatical or syntactical errors; rather, I want to help them identify patterns in their writing that may disrupt the fluency or the clarity of their points. It is essential they understand they are always firmly planted in the “driver’s seat” during the session as to how we will use the time we have. What, exactly, do they need assistance with? How can I help them? By asking many open-ended questions that initiate conversation and allow the writer to clarify his/her purpose for writing, I believe the student is better able to think about the bigger picture, such as where the paper needs further development or elaboration. Just as each student is unique, so too is every tutorial session. Some of the issues I hope to address in these tutorials include helping them to understand the prompt or assignment given to them by their instructor, clarifying their thesis statement, developing their topic sentences and body paragraphs, assisting their efforts to write a unifying conclusion, identifying syntactical and punctuation errors, ensuring their method of development matches their content, evaluating their support and, when applicable, the strength of the outside sources used in the preparation of their essay. Lastly, I want to be sure that if a student comes to me to double-check their citations have been prepared properly, I give them the best advice I can on whether they have followed the formatting guidelines associated with their subject matter. This type of intellectual collaboration ensures our time together is well spent.