Santa Clara University

Download the English 190b Syllabus

Celebrating and Supporting SCU Writers and Writing

The purpose of this directed reading is to prepare students who have successfully completed English 190(a): Practicum for Writing Tutors for certification through Santa Clara University’s Writing Center: the Hub and, if so desired, through the American Tutoring Association and/or College Reading and Learning Association.

For SCU certification, students will

• Complete 30 hours supervised tutoring;
• Compile a reading/reflection journal based on the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of different writing and tutoring issues;
• Complete a group project, presented to the SCU community the last week of class,
• All of which will be documented in a portfolio students may then submit for professional certification.

Texts

• Chartbook: A Reference Grammar : Understanding and Using English Grammar, Betty Schrampfer Azar
• Various readings duplicated/posted on Angel, including The Secrets of Body Language (HBO History film)
• Textbooks from 190(a):
  • The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring (2nd ed.), Paula Gillespie and Neal Lerner
  • A Rhetoric for Writing Teacher (4th ed.), Erika Lindemann
  • Tutoring Writing: A Practical Guide for Conferences, McAndrew and Reigstad

The specific focus of the group projects will be determined; however, they need to relate to some aspect of teaching/tutoring writing, such as using technology (implementing SCU’s HUB in SecondLife); English as a Second Language issues in higher education, generally, at SCU, specifically; importance of nonverbal communication in understanding student learning; teaching and learning issues related to grammar, etc.