Oxford Chaperts 8&9

Justine Mack

In chapter 8 of The Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors Fitzgerald and Ianetta discuss different kinds of research and how they can answer specific questions in writing. The Lore method draws upon experience and stories heard from others. The Lore method can answer questions such as what strategies do tutors think work well within the writing center? Theory based research answers the question of how researchers can fully understand the current situation when it is viewed through a specific critical lens. Also, how they can use this view to better plan for future exigencies. The Historical method answers what precedents exist to assess options in the current situation? For example, historically speaking, what has been the relationship between the writing center and the college of certain disciplines? The Empirical Research answers how individual and groups interact and understand their world or how can the perception of others improve practice? I believe audience and argument to be two very important aspects of researching. In order to make an argument you must know your audience that you plan to convince or know what to argue to a specific group. Reliability and validity in research are extremely important in successful research. Validity means your evidence/ research demonstrates what you intend to demonstrate. Reliability means your methods collected from was correctly created and could be used to do so again by another researcher. Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to establishing your argument/audience and checked the reliability/validity the last thing you need to make sure you’ve evaluated the ethics of your project.

Chapter 9 of the Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors discusses theories and looking through certain lenses at these theories. In the writing center theory can help you answer the following questions such as, “what is the fundamental definition of a writing tutor and why does it matter? How can we understand the relationships among the writing tutor, the program, and the institution at large? How do these relationships affect writers? What is the relationship between one’s sense of self and one’s tutoring practices?” (Fitzgerald, 210). Theory is important in a writing center because in order to have a successful writing tutor session it is vital that the tutor establishes what their theory is and they discuss what the tutees theory is. If the two theories differ tremendously then that needs to be discussed so the session can over smoothly. Outside the writing center theory can be used to describe what you perceive and that creates an argument and encourages the reader to change his/her thinking and/or actions. Theory can be used to compare two or more things, like tutoring practices and tutoring goals. Theory can provide a better understanding or understand in a new way a current practice. For example, Nancy Maloney Grimm states that theorizing doesn’t solve daily writing center problems, it can change practices. Revision is a prime example of this because it can lead to new ways of understanding a sentence or topic. Theories can also argue for a certain set of values. Theory can be applied on a more broad level to argue these points answering questions like, is a writing center a writer or a tutor? Theory can be applied in several different ways. Theory can be persuasive, argumentive, demonstrate familiarity with immediately relevant scholarly conversation, make clear what the idea is, and make a change in action or attitude.