in-person tutoring; synchronous online tutoring; asynchronous online tutoring; writing process;

global / higher-order / higher gravity concerns

ABSTRACT

In this training, tutors will examine academic journal articles from disciplines outside their own and observe writing style using a worksheet that considers elements like word choice, sentence length, jargon, voice, and verb tense. Through this approach, and in collaboration with other tutors looking at other disciplines, tutors can broaden their understandings of expectations in disciplinary writing and be more prepared to support writers in sessions. Beyond this training, the worksheet can be implemented in and beyond sessions to help writers begin to examine disciplinary writing themselves, providing approaches that can be adapted and help writers succeed in new contexts.

CONTENTS

TRAINING DETAILS

LESSON OVERVIEW

Our writing center has become increasingly interdisciplinary in recent years. Formerly, we were staffed solely by graduate assistants in one of our English tracks (literature; creative writing; linguistics, literacy, and composition), but we have recently loaned GAs to students in programs like counseling and computer science. Even with this variety in our staff, writers from other majors come to the center. In fact, tutors tend to be unfamiliar with the stylistic conventions of these disciplines; in observing my tutors, I’ve noticed instances where stylistic suggestions seemed shaped solely by tutors’ own majors. Handbooks (e.g., Ianetta & Fitzgerald, 2016) and writing center websites (e.g., UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center, n.d.) frequently include resources on tutoring writers in other disciplines. Dinitz and Harrington (2014) discussed how disciplinary expertise affects feedback, but centers like mine face challenges pairing students with tutors in their discipline. 

I developed this lesson, which includes a set of slides, an in-person set of instructions, and an in-person collaborative activity, to provide tutors hands-on practice with identifying how stylistic conventions vary across disciplines (Zendall et al., 2018) in response to increased sessions with writers in different majors. Following Bond and Garner (2021), who highlight the importance of training tutors to work with writing style and tone in the STEM disciplines, this training aims to make the often “slippery” term of style (The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, n.d.) more concrete through an individual, then collaborative, gridding activity that can help elucidate stylistic conventions and differences among disciplines. For the sake of this lesson, writing style refers to “the way a writer constructs their sentences (syntax), chooses their words, and uses their tone” (Purdue OWL, n.d., n.p.).

By participating in this lesson, tutors can learn how to identify academic styles of writing beyond their own through analyzing existing writing (in this case, peer-reviewed journal articles) from other disciplines. As tutors, they can acquire a framework for tutoring sessions, and they can apply this framework as writers.

Anecdotal feedback from participants who completed earlier iterations of this lesson was largely positive, with tutors stating it was helpful to have tools they could show writers in sessions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES

In this lesson, tutors will:

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN

PRE-WORK (ACTIVITY )

Prior to the activity, facilitators present some materials on disciplinary writing style, included above as slides with speaker’s notes.

The slides focus on helping tutors better understand how writing can differ among disciplines and contexts. They present two lists of conventions in disciplinary writing: global considerations (e.g., genre, audience, purpose, context, organization, and citation style) and surface considerations (e.g., sentence structure, specialized vocabulary, person, active/passive voice, and verb tense). After these lists, the slides describe how to use and build this knowledge in writing center sessions, focusing on the ideas that organization and style vary depending on discipline, that what sounds “good” (or what fits the audience/context/genre) in one discipline may not in another, and that practice is key. Four specific strategies are provided to tutors to help them help writers build awareness of disciplinary style: using examples if they’re available, comparing a student’s old writing to expectations of new writing, organizing similarities and differences visually, and emphasizing that writers can use these approaches on their own. Before closing with a recap, the slides provide an example of expectations from a high school 5-paragraph essay and those for a composition II research paper in list format.

Facilitators can use these slides to present in real-time, create a video lecture, or even simply distribute them with comments as reading materials. The speaker’s notes are an intended starting point to develop a real-time presentation or video recording.

INTRODUCTION (10 MINUTES SET-UP; 2 HOURS MAXIMUM additional preparatory work)

Part 1: Introducing the Activity (10 minutes, first of two sessions)

Once facilitators present or provide the slides, they can begin the activity by distributing or assigning majors to all participants. Tutors could select from a basket or they could choose a major individually or in small groups, but the most beneficial list is shaped by institutional context. As an example, my list included the following:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Social Work
• Psychology
• History
• Art
• Forestry
• Computer Science
• Criminology

After tutors select majors, facilitators spend about 10 minutes providing instructions for the activity, which will be completed during the next training session. Facilitators instruct participants that the activity aims to help them understand how writing style varies across academic discipline by using peer-reviewed articles as stylistic examples and explain the objective of tutors reading these articles is not to understand their content but to analyze their stylistic conventions.

Facilitators then provide and explain the “Exploring Disciplinary Research Writing Worksheet.” The worksheet includes three sections. The first, Article Information, provides some basic information about the text being analyzed, and participants are instructed to fill in the relevant boxes. Next, the Full-Article Features section asks participants to examine more global considerations, like organization, what citations look like, and how sentences sound overall. Some of these answers, like the Thesis/Hypothesis/Main Focus box, require participants to copy information verbatim, where others, like Sentence Structure, ask them to describe their perceptions of the writing. The third and final section, Stylistic Conventions, focuses on sentence-level choices, like person, inclusion of transitions or signal phrases, voice, and verb tense. Each of these includes a box where participants circle yes or no, space for an example from the article, and space to write where the convention is used and not used.

Once the worksheet is presented, depending on center context, facilitators can either provide example articles from relevant disciplines or task participants with locating a peer-reviewed article in their assigned/selected discipline. If facilitators opt to task participants with finding their own articles, it is best to provide time and a way to review best practices for searching databases. Options include a demonstration before the preparatory session for this activity ends, individual meetings with facilitators for walkthroughs, collaboration with other participants, or a library guest presentation. In this review, it is relevant to mention that some databases are better for different disciplines (e.g., ProQuest focuses more on scientific disciplines). It is also worth highlighting the “peer-reviewed” and “full text” check box features, which participants can use to limit their access only to materials that are available. After ensuring there are no questions and responding to any that come up, facilitators ask participants to bring the completed worksheet to the next training/meeting.

Additional Preparatory Work (2 hours maximum prior to next training session)

Prior to the second training session, participants fill out the Exploring Disciplinary Writing Style Worksheet. It is recommended that tutors have one or two weeks between the preparatory session and the activity. This allows tutors enough time to fill out the worksheet and (if assigned) locate examples.

BODY OF LESSON (25-30 minutes, during the next training session)

Collaborative Gridding (10 minutes)

At the next training session (recommended 1-2 weeks after the preparatory session), participants organize their worksheet responses using a collaborative grid on a Giant Post-It note. The Collaborative Grid Template included with this lesson plan is intended as a model. Disciplines are listed across the top, and conventions appear along the side.

While tutors are filling out the grid, facilitators can ask them questions about their experience with the articles, including the following:

• What was the process of finding this article in the databases like? How can that help you in sessions? And as a writer?
• What was the process of reading this article like? How was it different than articles you read in your academic major/course of study?
• How long did it take you to read this article and complete the worksheet?
• What stylistic conventions were easy to locate? Which ones were more challenging? Why?

Discussion of the Collaborative Grid (15 minutes)

After the grid is complete, I ask tutors to consider the following questions:

• What similarities do you see in stylistic conventions across these disciplines? Why are those important?
• What differences do you see in stylistic conventions across these differences? Why are those important?
• What surprises you about this grid? Why does it surprise you?
• What does this grid suggest about stylistic conventions across disciplines?

Full Wrap-Up/Conclusion (5 minutes)

To wrap up, I restate main points that came up during our discussion of the collaborative grid. Then, I ask three questions:

As the conversation closes, facilitators can emphasize three key takeaways. First, one way to learn about disciplinary writing style is by analyzing an example using something like a peer-reviewed article and the Exploring Disciplinary Writing Conventions Worksheet. Second, the collaborative gridding activity revealed both similarities and differences between disciplinary writing styles, and knowing these can be helpful for writers adjusting to new writing expectations. Third, and finally, like all other elements of writing, learning to recognize conventions of writing style within and among disciplines occurs over time and with ongoing practice.

ASSESSING FOR UNDERSTANDING

Assessment of learning primarily occurs in the collaborative grid created from worksheet responses and from closing discussion questions. Discussion of the collaborative grid, particularly questions keyed to similarities and differences, serve as a secondary assessment component. Further, questions at the conclusion of the lesson aim to check for understanding and ideas for application within and beyond sessions.

Synchronous Options

While this training includes asynchronous components, centers with on-site or synchronous training, as well as peer tutoring courses, could integrate modified versions of slides into meetings or classes. Depending on the length of meetings or classes, samples could be provided, and this lesson could be condensed into a single period instead of divided over two sessions.

Asynchronous Options

Administrators at institutions that offer fully asynchronous training can use cloud documents to share the Collaborative Grid Template. Tutors can respond to closing questions on discussion boards within LMSs. 

Disciplines Included

The disciplines used in this lesson reflect local context and will likely change over time. It’s recommended that facilitators include disciplines that are relevant to their own campuses and changing them over time.

Depending on participants, facilitators could also generate a list of disciplines tutors would like to look at as part of the activity and why. This could help them both in the writing center and in their majors.

Writing Samples

Writing samples can be selected by the facilitator and given to participants. Samples could also be sample assignments provided by instructors, particularly those who require sessions.

Tutors required to find samples could also explore the requirements of the journal where the peer-reviewed article is published, which could help them understand that stylistic conventions are often determined by academic communities, not simply by individuals.

Optional Database Reviews

Tutors who are unfamiliar with library databases can receive brief overviews (either from an administrator or from another tutor) during their regular working hours. At my institution, these optional reviews often result in them locating an article for the worksheet and collaborative gridding activity.

Collaborative Gridding

My center is small, so it was realistic to lead a full-group discussion. Depending on the size of the center, the gridding activity could include overlapping disciplines and utilize small groups.

Other Contexts

I have adapted this training into an in-class workshop for thesis students in chemistry, a professional development activity for faculty and writers, and into an upcoming composition course as a preparatory assignment for the research paper.

The in-class workshop, which was presented to a group of chemistry graduate students preparing to write theses, drew on three chemistry samples provided by the instructor. A similar worksheet was used, and writers discussed both stylistic similarities and differences across articles.

The professional development activity also utilized a similar worksheet, and I provided an example from writing center studies (a discipline I am most familiar with). Participants were asked how this was similar to and different from conventions of research they relied on when publishing scholarship in their disciplines and brainstormed ideas for using this activity with students in their classes.

The composition assignment utilizes a revised worksheet that focuses on two texts they used in prior assignments, one from the everyday (e.g., social media, news articles, video essays, etc.), and one peer-reviewed academic article. The goal is to help them see differences in writing style between these two texts. In a one-page reflection with the worksheet, students consider how they will integrate the academic elements of writing style from their peer-reviewed journal article into their final two assignments: an annotated bibliography and a research paper.     

RESOURCES & REFERENCES

RefeRENCES

Bond, C., & Garner, J. (2021). Preparing professional writing center staff to work with STEM populations: A training model. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, 21(2). https://www.praxisuwc.com/212-bond-and-garner

Fitzgerald, L., & Ianetta, M. (2016). The Oxford guide for writing tutors: Practice and research. Oxford University Press.

Dinitz, S., & Harrington, S. (2014). The role of disciplinary expertise in shaping writing tutorials. The Writing Center Journal, 33(2), 73–98. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43443372

Purdue OWL. (n.d.) Style. Purdue OWL. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/graduate_writing/graduate_writing_topics/graduate_writing_style_new.html.

The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Style. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/style/.

Zendall, A., Pearson, B., & Crocco, F. (2018). Introduction to writing in the disciplines [Video]. Educator Resources: An Excelsior University Site. https://owl.excelsior.edu/educator-resources/writing-in-the-disciplines/intro-to-writing-in-the-disciplines/recorded-webinar/

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Fitzgerald, L., & Ianetta, M. (2016). Tutoring writing in and across disciplines. In L. Fitzgerald & M. Ianetta, The Oxford guide for writing tutors: Practice and research, pp. 139–163. Oxford University Press.[1] 

Ryan, L., & Zimmerelli, L. (2016). Helping writers across the curriculum. In L. Ryan & L. Zimmerelli, The Bedford guide for writing tutors, pp. 72–87.

U of L Writing Center. (n.d.). Teaching students to write in your discipline. University of Louisville, https://louisville.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/resources-teaching-writing/teaching-students-write-your-discipline

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Amanda M. May

New Mexico Highlands University

Amanda M. May is the Writing Center Director and an Assistant Professor of English at New Mexico Highlands University. Since beginning writing center work in 2008, she has worked as an undergraduate tutor, graduate assistant, and administrator at several writing centers. A short break from higher education took her as far away from her home state of Michigan as she could get: Japan. There, she taught conversational English for two years. In her current position, she primarily teaches composition and technical writing. When she’s not at work, she’s usually at home relaxing with her cat while writing, knitting, crocheting, or playing video games.

May, Center Moves, no. 5, 2026.