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            Oh, what an honor we have to call ourselves “writing tutors.”  We know what that entails, though everyone else may deem us “proofreaders,” “editors,” or worse, “English nerds!” Here, my colleagues, I provide a simple list, a tutor tutorial if you will, of must-dos for each tutoring session.  Go grab a cup of Earl Grey, writing tutors; you deserve it. Prop your feet up on the ottoman in your library and take some time to read this short checklist before you return to your Dickens novel.

1. Did you log your next student into the computer? (Or however your center keeps track of student visitors.)  You must make sure this process is complete before even starting the session since the livelihood of your very center depends upon accurate numbers!  Your writing center needs credit for every patron that sets foot in that room.
2. Grab your favorite pen or pencil; however, do not hold it.  Lay the writing tool down on the table.  I know, it hurts.  You are a writer! Losing your writing utensil is like a soldier losing his gun; you are disarmed, and it just feels wrong.  Still, you should refuse to claim the pen.  The student is the writer; you are the teacher. 
3. Ask the student’s name and tell the student yours.  It is so much fun to make new friends, and this is a quick and easy way to make the student feel more comfortable and make him or her realize you are a person, too, not just some English nerd.
4. Ask your student to show you a prompt from his or her teacher.  It is possible that he or she has misunderstood the entire assignment, causing you to spend a half hour laboring over a paper that must be completely redone when the realization hits that the paper does not fulfill the assignment. 
5. Ask the student to point out the thesis statement.  If he or she shoots you the blank look we all know so well, explain what a thesis is and its inherent importance in the world of writing.
6. Ask the student if he or she feels comfortable reading the paper aloud.  If students are of the ESL persuasion, I would not push it since they probably are not too comfortable with the language, and you can probably help them more by allowing them to hear you read it than by having them read it themselves.  On the other hand, if native speakers claim to be uncomfortable reading aloud, I would push it a little further.  Tell them how much good it can do; tell them it could raise their grade a letter grade.  If they appear extremely uncomfortable, there is nothing wrong with acquiescence.  Read it aloud yourself.
7. Go through the paper with the student.  I point out errors at first and explain the rules pertaining to that particular error.  Then as the paper continues, I say, “You need a comma in this sentence; can you show me where?”  Toward the end of the paper, I start saying, “There’s a problem with this sentence; can you find it?”  The goal here is independence.  Just as our mothers took us from bottle to sippy cup to big-girl cups (this is true in my case; you may insert “big-boy cups“ if you wish), we have to guide our students to be able to drink from the writing cup without our assistance.  Just like a cake baked with love from scratch is so much more rewarding than a Hannah Montana cake from Wal-Mart, an A on a paper is so much better if achieved on one’s own.
8. Ask the student if there are any more questions he or she wants to ask before you end the session.  Make sure to tell the student that he or she is welcome to come back for more help.
9. Smile and say, “Bye! Have a good day/weekend/holiday/Twilight Eve”--whatever happens to be the biggest event happening in the near future.
10. Take a deep breath and prepare for your next tutorial!