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That sounds like a tough situation. You mentioned that you thought she was on the right track. Don't be afraid to tell her that, sometimes when students want a tutor to "look over" or in your case get a "second opinion" about a paper they might just be looking for reassurance. (But if you're not sure yourself don't forget the disclaimer).

Also, if I was in a similar situation, I may have tried probing questions, such as "do you want me to look at organization, arguments, transitions....." If I didn't get a response to that, well, then I might just have ended up reading the paper.

I think this is a good question. I wonder if anybody else has suggestions.

Agreed, a tough one. I think the request for a "second opinion" is often looking for a "rubber stamp" of approval, as Jeff suggests. And, that is when we are on dangerous ground. I think I would have held her on that "I don't know" about whether or not she was fulfilling the assignment. Often, when I probe about what the teacher has said in class about the assignment, what other students are writing about, what kinds of feedback has she gotten on papers in this and other courses, more comes about about this particular writer's struggles, confusions, and understanding. I'm curious if working with Jim today gave you some more open-ended questions to work with. He's the master at those, I think.

Oh, and check out my post from earlier today for some more theoretical thoughts about motivating students to do more than they originally planned. I do think part of our job is inspiring students to think more seriously and to apply more effort to their writing. What do you all think?

This is sticky. I had a roommate who doesn't like the writing center because of an experience she had as a freshman. She asked the tutor to look over her paper, and he told her it was a good paper. She got an F on the paper, and the grudge she got that day is still alive and well.

Because of listening to her and other tutors or students I've heard, I always try and put disclaimers on my opinion of how the paper will be graded. I hate it when people ASK the question. These people have been in classes with these people for weeks, and we're supposed to know better than they would? I know people want their ego/anxieties/insecurities stroked, but we can't know how another person will think.

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