As someone who considers herself to have been fairly successful in school thus far, I must admit that I did not get to where I am completely by myself. Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to receive overwhelming support from family, friends, and teachers, and I have a strong appreciation for those who offer their time to help others. I have always benefited heavily from meeting with teachers and professors regarding writing assignments, so I understand the value of good help for those who need it.
I would love to be a Peer Tutor simply because I love writing and I really enjoy helping people. Knowing that I have made an improvement in someone’s life—no matter how small an improvement—is powerful. I think that being able to write well offers an incredible advantage in life, regardless of what profession one enters, and everyone should have the chance to learn how to write well. Sweetland offers this advantage to students, and through encouragement and guidance, a Peer Tutor can help their peer to feel more confident as a writer. By working closely with my peer and putting forth my best effort, I hope that I would be able to strengthen their writing. Teaching a peer the conventions of writing gives them the tools to be successful in any future class that requires writing, and this is a skill that can be used over and over again later in life. Writing tutors can make suggestions and focus on recurrent weaknesses and in turn, hope to eliminate those weaknesses from their peer’s writing.
In order to accomplish these goals, a Peer Tutor must be encouraging and patient. These qualities are important for someone hoping to offer help to a peer, because they might find writing to be tough and it is important to be sensitive to their needs. Confidence is also necessary, but a Peer Tutor must be able to admit when they are uncertain. I feel that I am a strong writer and I have confidence in my ability to help others with their writing, but I would not hesitate to tell a peer that I was unsure about something and needed to look it up. In addition to this, it is crucial that a Peer Tutor works with their peer and does not just tell them what to do. I want my peers to learn from their tutoring experience and truly absorb the suggestions that were made. Compromising with a peer instead of expecting them to follow every suggested change is an important quality that a Peer Tutor should express, as it preserves the integrity of a peer’s writing and allows them to express their voice cohesively throughout their piece of writing. Peer tutoring is not meant to produce a collaborative paper, and a good Peer Tutor recognizes this.
As an editor for my school newspaper during my senior year of high school, I had to maintain the delicate balance of making corrections and offering suggestions, while also allowing my classmates to express themselves as they wished. I read my classmates’ articles before they were submitted to our instructor—a first line of defense of sorts. I made grammatical corrections, caught spelling mistakes, and tightened up ideas that needed a little more structure. Being chosen as an editor was an honor, and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to help my peers improve their writing technique. My fellow staff would come to me with questions or ideas and I always did my best to offer my honest opinion. I pride myself on being an honest person, and this will benefit me if I am a Peer Tutor because I will not be afraid to speak up when I believe something is wrong or requires fixing. However, I am always respectful and considerate of people’s feelings.
In addition to being considerate, I am open-minded and appreciative of opinions different from my own. Peer Tutors help their peers with writing of all kinds, and disagreeing with someone’s ideas would never stop me from putting forth my best effort to help a peer improve his or her writing. I am friendly and consider myself to be approachable, which are valuable traits to have when dealing with new people and new ideas. My love for writing and my interest in the subject fuel my desire to help people for whom it does not come as naturally. I don’t expect my help to replace the influence of a professor, but I believe that I can offer useful suggestions to serve as a starting point for someone struggling with their writing.
Being a Peer Tutor at the Sweetland Center for Writing would allow me to assist my peers with their writing needs in addition to bettering my own writing skills. Helping others with writing would force me to solidify my own writing techniques. Peer tutoring for Sweetland would bring attention to certain aspects of writing that I had not considered, and by working together with a peer on their writing, my writing would also benefit. I am willing to embrace the challenge that being a Peer Tutor might present, and I am prepared to work with people who are frustrated with their writing or who feel insecure about their abilities. It will be my duty to offer support as well as constructive criticism. Working with others is a skill that can always benefit from practice, and it will undoubtedly be useful for the rest of my life.
I really hope to be part of the Peer Tutor Program because I feel that I have a lot to offer. My friendly demeanor is well-suited for helping others, as are my honesty and drive to always do my best. Writing is a strength of mine, and I want to share that with people who need assistance, whether it be major or minor help that they are seeking. I consider writing to be one of the most important skills a person can have, as communicating ideas effectively is an essential part of finding success in today’s society. Being able to help a peer refine their writing technique will hopefully benefit them not only short-term but as they progress into different stages of life as well. Receiving help and advice from many people in my life has made me want to do the same for others. I really enjoy writing and I sincerely believe that I would make a great addition to the Peer Tutor Program.