Interviews 11 self-defined underachieving college freshmen. Synthesizes 13 definitions of achievement by students. Analyzes the interviews repeatedly to produce a list of the students' concepts of achievement, arranged from the most common to the least common. Finds each student held more than one definition of achieving, some definitions in the…

Conducts two studies that asked whether undergraduates who attended one-to-one conferences on rough drafts improved as writers. Notes the first year focused on peer tutors, so few changes remained for students to make, and results were inconclusive; but the second year focused on a professional tutor. Finds 65% of revisions made afterwards were in…

Presents a case study in which an undergraduate student brings into a writing center a poor and partial draft of a research paper due the next morning. Gives an analysis of the case study "It's Due Tomorrow: Tutoring Under a Deadline" and presents a case study response entitled "Oh What a Difference a Deadline Makes - Or Does It?" (SG)

Presents an educational case study in which an English-as-a-Second-Language student brings a draft of his argument essay for freshman composition to a tutor in a university writing center. Presents a response that examines several ways in which the study has challenged an educator to think more deeply about beliefs. (SG)

Presents a case study of a tutoring session. Includes portions of the student's essay and perspectives from both student and tutor. Presents two responses to the case study that argue for focusing on the writer as a writer of a paper, instead of on the paper as a product of the tutorial; and on what makes a tutoring session effective. (SR)

Investigates whether scores on the Learning and Study Skills Inventory (LASSI) could be used to identify postsecondary students who had deficiencies in reading comprehension and vocabulary as measured by the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT). Finds that participants who obtained low percentile rankings on vocabulary and comprehension were most…

Describes in detail a one-to-one writing conference between a graduate student tutor and a basic writer in a writing center. Raises questions of problem identification, the university context, learning disabilities, tutor training, professional development, and what constitutes good tutoring. (RS)