Charlie Tango Lima!

Throughout the first half of my freshmen year, I heard many classmates express their disdain for the mandatory visits to the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) by describing it as unnecessary, boring or annoying—sometimes in combinations thereof. At the age of 28, even I initially found tutoring to be a bit degrading. However, over the course of the following two semesters, I have come to realize that every appointment has taught me something new; therefore, I conclude that the CTL is perhaps one of the most underutilized, best, free resources available to students.

It is not my intention to boast, but nearly all of the professors I have studied under have said that I am a good writer. And while I appreciate the compliments, I know that I still have much to learn, which is why I continue to visit the CTL. For example, my latest tutor, a graduate student named Lindsey, has taught me how to use more professional-sounding nouns (i.e., instead of ‘a blue-collared worker,’ ‘a blue-collared employee.’), eliminate ‘roadmapping’ (paragraph one says, “First…” paragraph two says, “Secondly…,” etc.), avoid ambiguous terms such as ‘they,’ or ‘it’ if ‘it’ isn’t mentioned earlier in the sentence, and explain topics in order to afford somebody who has no prior knowledge the ability to follow along. These tips are not only effective in the literal sense, but they also help provide an overall sense of direction for the paper. In order to effectively teach this, each tutor has their own methodology.

Lindsey has a very straightforward, no-nonsense approach. She will read the paper aloud, and if anything in the paper does not strictly pertain to the topic—even the tiniest item—consider it deleted. She despises clichés, cop-outs and fluff with a passion, but this passion does not compare to her unwavering devotion to her red pen! These are all remarkable qualities I am thankful she has, and I am certain the other tutors in the CTL share certain aspects of them. The tips the tutors provide may seem like simple, basic rules that should have already been noticed in the paper prior to the appointment, but they find these faults and teach students just how surprisingly easy it is to fall into traps in writing. Of course, procrastinating doesn’t help matters either.

Again, in typical Nick-fashion, I delayed writing my paper until approximately 4 days before the due date; thus, when I submitted my paper to Lindsey for review, she only had about half of the paper to look over. As it turned out, if I had received one half of one percent better overall in the class, my grade would have been 90% (A-) vice 89% (B+). Perhaps if the entire paper was reviewed, I might have received the 3 percentage points needed to achieve the higher grade. Partially because of this fact, my cumulative GPA was docked .06 points. O woe is me!

Time management continues to be my arch nemesis, but I am hopeful I can turn things around and manage my time more effectively this semester. Several appointments will be made by yours truly to visit the CTL this semester with the hope of becoming a more effective writer--I strongly encourage my fellow classmates to do the same. After all, we all attend UIS to learn.

Visit the CTL today!