CAPS Writing Center Specialist Erik Hinnov has a special relationship with the students he tutors. He goes above and beyond to help, from writing to revising to brainstorming and creating
resources for students. He visits classrooms, provides mini-class workshops, mentors other tutors—and even brings snacks to some sessions.
Erik recently reflected via email on his commitment, his personal style, and why his work matters.
What do you enjoy most about tutoring?
What’s not to love about seeing and working with students acquiring, organizing, preserving, and communicating new knowledge, and connecting it to their own lives?
Why is tutoring (the tutoring space) such a vital component of college life?
The Writing Center is more than a “fix-it” center for mechanical-grammar “problems.” Whether it’s a small group or an individual, one-on-one session, tutoring is an extension of the classroom learning experience. A tutorial session can provide clarification, solidification, and extension of the initial knowledge shared in a professor’s lecture.
I am told that you visit classrooms and even provide snacks. How do these personal touches help students feel more comfortable seeking help?
Professors often take me up on the offer of a visit to a classroom, while others bring their students to the Writing Center or “WC.” We’ve also hosted classes in the WC for writing-related workshops. Still others visit the Writing Center to refer students, get advice, and ask for resources they can bring to their students.
As a community of scholars, we’re in this together. We work as a community. We’re interdependent on one another. We ask questions. We’re working for the same end.
Snacks are an icebreaker. We marvel about how “UNREAL” a coconut-chocolate bar is, then we pivot to the writing task. A mango chew helps de-escalate a tense problem, a Kind Bar eliminates the “hangry,” and then “easy-peas-y,” an assignment gets submitted on time.
What is the biggest difference between high school writing and the type of support students receive at the GBCC Writing Center?
The most enduring remark about the difference between high-school writing and college-level discourse came early in my own college experience: “we don’t write book reports in college; we want to know what you think and why.” We focus on the second part of that statement, particularly in the early stages of the writing process. Even editing and proofreading support can be about clarifying what a writer thinks and why.
How do you help a student who feels “stuck” during the brainstorming or early drafting phase? What is one tip you share most often with students?
Writers often want to begin their essay “at the beginning,” and with a perfect sentence (perfect structure, perfect spelling, perfect punctuation). I suggest to a writer that an essay starts with notes, phrases, and fragments, and to ignore punctuation and grammar (for the time being: edit later!).
I shift the focus from: “I don’t know how to start!” and away from “writing.” I encourage the writer to talk about their topic, sometimes while I transcribe (shout-out to Field Notes pencils and Steno Pads!) what the writer says, or I’ll encourage the writer to jot it down (no typing!) themselves. At the end of a session, the writer has enough material to shape into sentences and paragraphs, which they will typically start doing in the Writing Center.