Blog Post #1: Two Questions

1. On the whole I found Chapters 1 and 2 of The Bedford Guide quite straightforward, but one point that stuck out to me was the notion that tutors are often considered a "practice audience" (p. 20). On the one hand, this makes sense to me, as it may help the student to consider the tutor as a warm-up to the "real" audience, namely the professor. On second thought, however, I wondered if the idea of a practice audience is superficial. In other words, shouldn't all audiences count? It could set a bad precedent for students to think that the only "real" audience is the professor - students need to learn that everyone's feedback and perspectives matter, even if they differ. This is especially true once the professor disappears.

2. I found "The Writing Center Tutor's Guide" much more meaningful. One question I have - and this has personal implications for me because it is related to my research - pertains to p. 3, which notes that "It's helpful to have student read their writing aloud so they themselves can notice and locate problems in logic, phrasing, grammar, etc." I know this applies to native speakers of English, but I wonder how often it applies to ELLs as well?

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