Barton Questions for Week 2

Barton questions for Week 2:


The Bedford Handbook notes that, as tutors, we should avoid making negative comments about the content of a writer’s work. It does clarify that in instances where violent or threatening material is present, we should inform the director of the content needing to be flagged. I’m wondering, though, if it is ever appropriate to indicate to a student that their content may be offensive. For instance, what do we do if a paper we are reading seems to be making racist/misogynistic/queerphobic arguments? Would it be appropriate to at least tell the student, “Reading this, I’m interpreting your argument as meaning “this.” Is “this” what you’re intending to say?” Or would that also be considered an inappropriate intervention?

In terms of our Writing Center, is it okay to briefly use our laptops during a session to help a student look something up? This could include CV templates, grammatical rules, the Purdue Owl, etc.? Or would it be better to have the student use one of the Writing Center computers and/or texts from the back bookshelves?

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