Re: Political turf problems

[PC536 <P.J.Ferst@canterbury.ac.uk>]

Re 'Dr Martin's' comments on talking about grading - I work 
in an (British) English 'writing centre' where recently I was 
faced with a student who had been given O% for an 
assignment. She had some reasonable content but it was 
loosely organised, without headings. Her grammar was not 
too bad and did not usually impede clarity. What is more,
there were some checks (we say 'ticks'), ie indications of 
positive evaluation made by the tutor in the margin.
Personally, I found it difficult not to express my surprise, in 
front of this student, who was a native-spaker returnee to 
learning.  Would you have felt the same?  

On Wed, 31 Jan 1996 15:54:18 -0600 Dr. Deborah Martinson 
wrote:

> From: Dr. Deborah Martinson <dmartin@oxy.edu>
> Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996 15:54:18 -0600
> Subject: Re: Political turf problems
> To: Multiple recipients of list 
<wcenter@unicorn.acs.ttu.edu>
> 
> Eric, Dave, Carolyn,
> 	In complete agreement with all of you in an odd 
mix, I think one 
> thing more can be brought out about what we do--the 
notion of audience.  
> When I am with a student, or my advisors (tutors) are, we 
tell students 
> to try to decide what their audience wants, and ask 
questions about how 
> well they think they are communicating with that 
audience 
> (professor/evaluator).  We feel free to say, "well, because I 
am listening 
> to you I think I know what you are saying here, but I don't 
think your 
> audience will."  (etc. etc) Or..."I love that example, but 
remember, I am a 
> flaming liberal who hasn't taken the class. Will Dr so and 
so feel it is 
> appropriate to6 what you have been studying?" Of course 
we then try to 
> talk about appropriateness and the "registers" of 
language.   I know I 
> say all sorts of evaluative things when I am with students, 
but I try to 
> remember, that their paper will be read in another context. 
 Of course to 
> save ourselves from execution, we don't even touch the 
issues of grading, 
> but try to give them the vocabulary to talk about their 
writing with us, 
> and with their profs.  This is the old "work on writing" not 
on "paper 
> argument" which thus far has worked thus far.  Of course, 
students have 
> told profs that we have said outrageous things (like "she 
said it was 
> perfect" ) but we deny this absurdity.
> Debby
>