Tutoring others in writing can be a very rewarding experience. During my undergraduate years as an English major, I had the privilege of working in the college writing center. I tutored a wide range of students, most of whom genuinely wanted to improve their work and, ultimately, become better writers. Whether they struggled with simple grammatical errors or needed input on theme, content or structure, it was a pleasure to help.

One of my most memorable experiences involved working with a foreign exchange student during one summer. This girl came to the U.S. from Somalia with limited English language skills, but she had a great deal of determination to learn. We spent the summer working on sentence structure, grammar and exploring some of the general oddities of the English language. It was easy to work with this student because she tried so hard and made so much progress. At the end of the summer, we assessed how far she had come and we were both proud of the outcome. I even received heart-felt thanks from her parents when they realized how much she had learned.

As I continued my college career, I went on to receive my masters in Literacy Education and to work as an editor for one of my professors. I believe that my experience as a writing tutor prompted me to pursue a higher knowledge of teaching English. The prospect of helping a large number of students to hone their writing skills brought me a feeling of fulfillment.

The advice that I would offer to anyone who desires to tutor students in writing is to explore the opportunities around you. If you are a college student, check to see if your university has a writing center. If you would like tutoring to be your life’s work, you may want to consider becoming an English teacher or a Literacy Specialist. Or, if you would like tutoring to be something you do during free time, Literacy Volunteers of America is a great organization to get involved in. Ultimately, a tutor is someone who realizes the importance of knowledge and who enjoys the process of helping someone learn. My own work as a writing tutor was very positive and I would encourage anyone to pursue this experience.