1. Outlining.

If the student comes to you before they've started writing their essay, I try to make sure they leave our session with two things, a) a thesis statement to work with and b) an outline through which to prove the thesis statement. Start by asking them what aspects of the essay topic they find most interesting or what area of the topic they would like to discuss. Use this information to guide them to create their thesis. Then ask them what subtopics would be necessary to support this argument. Use these to create approximately 3 main sub-arguments. Then ask the student to come up with a logical order to put these in. Write these all out on a piece of paper, leaving spaces so that you/the student can make notes under each sub-topic. 2. Reverse outlining. If a student comes to you with a draft that is disorganised, go through the paper with the student and mark the topic of each paragraph (in 1-5 words) in the margin. When you look at these without looking at the contents of the paragraphs, it becomes pretty easy to see how the argument flows (or doesn't flow as the case may be), and what areas need to be fleshed out or reorganised. After looking at the marginal notes, use a fresh piece of paper to write out the current outline as a way of devising a more logical outline. Write out this new outline as a map for the student to use to reorganise the paper. 3. Tutor takes notes from student. I've used this technique when the student a) doesn't know where their writing should go next or b) can't fully express in writing what they want to say. I ask the student questions to help flesh out what they want to say, and take notes as the student talks. This is often useful to do on a computer so that you can record exactly what the student said, as it will often be more clear when they speak it than when they write it. When the student has answered all your questions, show them the notes you've taken. Often they will see that what they said is exactly (or fairly close to) what they should write. Give them a copy of these notes. 4. Quantity of corrections. I have found that students find it difficult to accommodate more than three overarching corrections per meeting/submission. Pick the three most important things that need work and write these as a note at the end of the student's paper. You may not get to these all in one meeting (often focusing on one major one, like organisation, is all you can do while making sure the student has really taken the suggestion on board), but at least if other suggestions appear in a note, the student will have them to refer to. However always start this note with at least one thing you found effective about the paper so that they know what they are doing right (and should keep doing). 5. Free writing. Sometimes inhibitions about writing, embarrassment about making a mistake in front of the tutor, or stress about an assignment can get students pretty stuck. One way to get them going again is to give them a free writing assignment--5 or 10 minutes of writing about their thoughts on the topic (not essay writing, but merely thoughts about the essay writing) to get their ideas flowing. The caveat is that they are not allowed to stop and think. Some of the results will be gibberish, but in all likelihood, there will be some gem amidst them that can spark inspiration. This is also a useful strategy to get them thinking critically about the topic, especially if it's been a while since they did the reading or worked on their paper. 6. Where is your...? Thesis statement? Topic sentence? Introduction section? Ask your student to underline their thesis statement and the topic sentences of each section in their essay. In a good essay these should be really obvious and this exercise should take them no time at all. But... most of the time a student will hesitate

and not know exactly where they put these elements, where they begin or end, whether they have them at all, or what on earth a thesis statement is! When it is the student's task to find (or not find) these things in their own essay, it's often a more effective wake-up call than hearing you tell them they don't have clear topic sentences. Once you know, you can make a point of working on it with the student... 6. Topic sentences. Are soooo important. Once a student has a solid thesis statement, one of the most helpful things you can do with them is to make sure their topic sentences carry this argument through the rest of the essay. This is really good for exam prep, because topic sentences always make it look like the student knows what they're talking about! Topic sentences should come at the beginning of a new section, but not necessarily at the beginning of every paragraph. Make sure all topic sentences have three things: a) a connection to the previous section, b) a central point that contributes something new to the argument, and c) a connection to the thesis statement. 7. So-whats. This is a really simple, but effective one. The most common problem I've found with essays that already have good arguments and are well organised is that they aren't clear about the implications or importance of what they're asserting. There is, in effect, no "so-what" to their argument. With certain students I've found it effective to go through each section and ask "so-what?" seeing if what they've written does a good job of answering the question. If not, they need to be clearer (usually within their topic sentences) about the reason they are making the points they are making. This is most useful with the thesis statement, but can also be used with the topic sentences of their main points. This is particularly useful because it's such a simple mantra--encourage students to ask this of their own writing as they're writing it.