3/6 Eleanor

For me, the most challenging aspect of asynchronous online tutoring is that there are a lot of times when it would be so much easier to just ask the student a quick question, and that's not an option. I think online tutoring is a better option for someone later in the writing process, but someone who's brainstorming or outlining isn't going to find it very helpful, because there's no conversation happening.

I do think there are a few key advantages to asynchronous online tutoring, though. For example, if you're working with nonnative speakers who have patterns of error, it can be easier to identify the error and the context it happens in, rather than getting caught up in individual sentences. That means you can provide the student a clearer answer as to what the problem is. In person, it can be hard to say exactly what the problem is, just that there is one. I also think it's easier to give more thorough feedback on smaller concerns--but it's harder to draw out a narrative of response the way we do in face-to-face sessions. In face-to-face sessions, you collaborate to build a narrative together, but online, you're kind of on your own building a narrative of only your perception.

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