This is a listing of the academic resource centres at York.

The Counselling and Development Centre has a collection of information resources for students on a variety of subjects, such as study skills and time management.

essay trouble shooting guide

This handout addresses the essay-writing concerns most frequently raised by students, identifies the most common problems found in student essays, and recommends some solutions.

1. WHAT MAKES AN ESSAY ORIGINAL?

Many students are unclear about what makes a research essay original, given that so much of the substantive content is taken from sources. Although you do rely on the research materials of others, a research essay is not just descriptive and it is not just a summary of what other people have said. You make an original contribution to your essay in the following ways:

i) selection of appropriate materials/sources;

ii) identification of key themes in the source material and presentation of the ideas of others in a coherent, clear and accurate way;

iii) comparison and contrast of various writers on same subject which reveals your grasp of their ideas;

iv) creation of a structure and organization within which to present the material;

v) judgement and evaluation of the material;

vi) development of your own informed point of view, that is to say, a reasoned conclusion based on research.

2. ANSWERING WHAT THE QUESTION ASKS: DOING AN OUTLINE BASED ON THE QUESTION

Not answering what the question asks, or addressing only parts of the question is a serious flaw in many student essays. In order to avoid this problem, develop an outline based on the question.

First, read the question carefully. Then break it down into its constituent parts and create an initial essay outline based on this breakdown. Dissecting the question in this way helps you identify the areas you have to research and focuses your attention on all parts of the question.

Example:

One of the current public debates is about the effectiveness of the use of censorship to deal with pornography. Compare and contrast the anti-censorship and pro-censorship positions. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each position. Conclude by choosing sides: how would you deal with the pornography problem?

OUTLINE BASED ON THE QUESTION

a) Current public debates: what are they? What is the legislation right now in Canada?

b) What does it mean to talk about censorship in relation to pornography? Is the current government position pro-censorship or anti-censorship?

c) What are the arguments in favour of censorship? Strengths and weaknesses of pro-censorship position?

d) What are the arguments against censorship? Strengths and weaknesses?

e) What are the key differences between the two positions (contrast)?

f) What are the key similarities between the two positions (compare)?

g) Your own informed position?

 As you do your research and learn about the issues, new and more effective ways of organizing the material should suggest themselves to you. New questions will be raised.

You should continually be thinking about and reshaping your outline AS YOU READ THE SOURCES.

For more information about outlines, see #6 below.

3. STARTING TO WRITE BEFORE YOU ARE READY

Too often students begin writing their essay before they are properly prepared. This is usually very frustrating and can lead to writers' block, mainly because they don't really know what they want to say and they have not yet developed a clear structure in which to say it. Often the problems that students have writing essays have little to do with their ability to write and more to do with fuzzy thinking. Do your thinking work before you begin to write.

Students often begin to write before they are ready because they have run out of time. In order to avoid poor time management, you should prepare a `time schedule' as soon as you are given an essay assignment. This involves making a list of all the steps necessary to complete the assignment with an estimate of how long each step will take. You should then block out the time necessary over ALL the weeks available to you. Do not try to do all the work in a short period of time. This reduces the time available to synthesize the material.

Evidence shows that one of the keys to success as a student is effective time management skills. For more information, see TIME MANAGEMENT FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS" in your kit. If your skills in this area are very weak, sign up for a workshop with the Counselling and Development Centre, 145 Behavioral Sciences Bldg, 736-5297.

4. SELECTING SOURCES

Scholarly material comes in two forms: journals and periodicals, and books (which are either integrated texts written by one author or an anthology of articles written by different authors). Avoid using journalistic material from newspapers or popular magazines unless specifically required by your assignment.

It is important to select appropriate resources. Often students read too much irrelevant or outdated material. Read introductions and conclusions of articles and books to assess whether they are suitable to your task. Check the date of publication to ensure that you are reading current material. Do not rely too heavily on one or two sources: read widely looking for a variety of viewpoints.

Finding and selecting sources depends on excellent library skills. Take advantage of the workshops offered by the Scott library to introduce students to YORKLINE, periodical use, CD-ROM, library research etc.

Once you have selected your sources, you will go through a secondary selection process deciding what material will help you to develop your arguments. You will include only a portion of what you have learned into your final essay. Trying to incorporate too much material into your essay can create as many problems as using too little material. The point is not to regurgitate and reproduce all the material but to select relevant sources that will help you answer the question and defend your thesis.

5. PROPER REFERENCING

When you are gathering information, carefully note all your sources. Be clear in your notes the sources of direct quotes, indirect quotes and even general approaches to material. Be sure that you reference all the material carefully and correctly. It is very difficult to go back later and figure this out. Note that disorderly research can often lead to plagiarism.

Footnotes, endnotes and bibliographies require precision. Study the handout on referencing and follow it exactly. There is no excuse for sloppy referencing.

Quotations are not a substitute for a clear argument in your own words. Quotations should give evidence for, and support your argument, not be a substitute for it. Frame your quotations with explanations. Do not insert quotations in your text with little explanation and do not use two quotations back to back. Always ask yourself why you are using the quotation: does it clarify, expand, and/or build your argument?

Remember that plagiarism is a very serious offence at York University. For more information about the penalties associated with plagiarism, see the sheet attached to your course outline.

IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH ESSAY WRITING, USE THE SERVICES OF THE CENTRE FOR ACADEMIC WRITING (Ross Building 3rd floor, 736-5134), OR THE COMPUTER-ASSISTED WRITING CENTRE (530 SCOTT LIBRARY, 736-5376)

6. THESIS/INFORMED POINT OF VIEW

Once you have clarified the essay topic, you need to come up with a thesis and a working outline. A thesis is a brief statement of the main argument of your essay: it is the point of view that you will argue. It is around the thesis that the essay should be structured.

Usually students start their research on an essay topic with some sense of what they think, and also what they expect to find in the sources they read. Step #1 of your essay assignment asks you to write about your initial 'point of view'. This exercise will help you to read your sources more effectively. As you read your sources, ask if the material supports or challenges your point of view. Be open to changing your point of view based on the your research. Eventually you will develop an informed point of view which is not just an opinion but is built on thoughtful and thorough investigation that takes account of research and analysis done by others.

The more specific the assignment, the easier it will be for you to develop a thesis. For example, the question above on censorship gives a lot of direction about structure and thesis; but some questions are more open ended and require you to work harder to develop an argument and focus. For example, the following question would require more input by you: "Discuss strategies for dealing with pornography."

7. OUTLINES

An outline is a device for putting ideas into a logical order. It helps you to work out, before you begin to write, how the central themes will be developed, how the topic will be divided into manageable sections, and how the material will be presented in a logical and appropriate order. Keep your reader in mind. Will the logic of your essay and your point of view be clear to her?

As you work with the material, the outline will become increasingly sophisticated and detailed. You will move beyond the 'outline based on the question' (see #2 above) which has no content in it (an initial organizational tool) to an outline based on themes, concepts and arguments that emerge from your reading. Eventually the outline will provide the foundation to write a first draft. In fact, although an outline takes time, it can also save a lot of time. Once you have an effective working outline, you will find it considerably easier to write your essay.

8. DEVELOPING YOUR IDEAS

Often students are overwhelmed by the amount of material they have read and find it difficult to develop an outline from their notes. Rather than moving from notes to the development of outlines, some writers use an alternative strategy for developing some coherency of ideas. They set aside their notes and simply begin to write. It may mean beginning to write a middle section of the essay which seems clearer than the beginning. It may mean a `stream of consciousness' writing without structure or focus which allows thoughts to become more coherent by writing them down. This material then becomes the basis for developing some coherency of ideas and an effective outline.

9. WEAK INTRODUCTION

The introduction is probably the most important part of your essay. Usually you write the introduction in its final form when the essay is finished and you are completely clear about the organization and thesis of the essay. A successful introduction contains three key parts:

a) a clear statement of the topic of the essay;

b) a clear statement of your position, thesis, informed point of view on the topic, ie. what your essay attempts to demonstrate or argue;

c) a clear outline of the organizational structure of the essay which identifies the major sections and the order in which they are presented.

The introduction operates as a signal for the reader. It allows the reader access `into' the material, and to your thought process. It indicates to the reader what to expect and what is significant. An effective introduction can make an extraordinary difference to the success of the essay.

**Do not keep secret from the reader the main point of your essay, or the conclusion you hope to come to. Too often students only clarify their position in their conclusion. Instead, you need to outline the position you will take in the introduction and develop it through the body of the essay. In this way your conclusion becomes a summary of what you have done. You may also indicate in the conclusion the significance or implications of what you have argued.

Students who work with outlines most often come up with effective introductions. Re-read number 3 above.

10. SIGNALLING THROUGHOUT THE ESSAY

Throughout the essay you need to signal to the reader what is happening. When you move from one key point or section to the next, let the reader know. Remember that the body of your essay should reflect the structure that you outlined in your introduction. For a list of transition cues, see Appendix I.

11. WRITING AND REWRITING

Many students are under the mistaken impression that good essay writers are able to write a coherent, elegant essay in one draft. The truth is exactly the opposite: professional writers write and rewrite many times.

Recognizing the need to rewrite and revise, and building this process into your time management plan can relieve a lot of pressure. Too often the mistaken assumption that the first draft of the essay should be perfect causes writers' block.

In the process of revision, look specifically for repetition which is a sign of a weak organization. If you find repetition, re-work your essay structure. For more information on rewriting and revision, see Appendix II.

12. GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, PARAGRAPHS ETC

The final draft of your essay should be technically perfect: no spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes. But you should not be concerned with these issues when you are writing the first draft. In the first draft, focus on translating your outline into sentences and paragraphs in an effective sequence. When this is complete, you can focus one rewrite entirely on technique and grammar.

Note that you should not use the second person `you'. Generally you should write in the third person; occasionally you might use the first person, especially to emphasize your own point of view.

© Briskin 1998

style guides

** General rule: articles are placed in quotation marks; book titles are underlined.

** Information in footnotes/endnotes and bibliographies must be complete so that the reader can find your exact source.

** It is better to over-reference than to under-reference. Plagiarism is a serious offence. For more information on the penalties associated with plagiarism, see the sheet on Academic Honesty attached to the course outline.

** There is no excuse for sloppy referencing. Follow the directions below EXACTLY.

** There are many different referencing systems. What is most important is that you use one system consistently. If you are completely familiar with an alternative system to the one demonstrated below, then you may use it.

footnoting and endnoting

Footnoting is done at the bottom of the page; endnoting at the end of the essay. Except for the difference in location, footnotes and endnotes are the same. The rest of this document will refer only to footnotes. Footnotes are numbered consecutively as they appear in the text.

For Direct Quotations

Footnoting is used to identify and acknowledge a direct quotation (even if just five or six words in length). Use quotation marks to identify the beginning and ending of the quotation in your essay. If you wish to omit material in a quotation, this is done by the insertion of ellipse marks: three dots and a space for material from the middle of a sentence; four dots and a space for omitted sentences. Suppose that you find a statement by author X that you want to quote in a piece of writing by author Y. You may quote this statement but you must indicate in the footnote not only the original source for author X (if it is given) but most importantly YOUR source -- which is not author X but author Y. To fail to cite author Y is to convey the misleading impression that you are the one who originally determined the significance of author X's words and brought them to public attention. If your quotation is more than three lines long, you should indent and single space it. In such cases, you do not need to use quotation marks.

For Paraphrasing

Footnoting is also used to show indebtedness for ideas, words, concepts, phrases, and intellectual work in general. The alteration of several words in a quotation DOES NOT relieve you of the responsibility of identifying the source. A summary in your own words must also be footnoted. Each separate piece of text in your essay that substantially reproduces the form and combination of ideas taken from an outside source, even without repeating the exact words in which these ideas were originally expressed, MUST be identified with a footnote. Paraphrases must be footnoted in exactly the same manner as direct quotations. If you do not, you are guilty of plagiarism.  

STYLE FOR FOOTNOTES/ ENDNOTES

1) Arrangement in an footnote is as follows: footnote number, author(s) or editor(s) , title of book(underlined) or article(in quotation marks), facts of publication, page(s) {p. = page and pp. = pages}.

2) All items are separated by commas, except for publication facts which are placed in brackets. End with a period.

3) Publication facts should include: place of publication followed by a colon, the publisher's name followed by comma and the date of publication. These are not included for periodicals.

**If there are many places of publication, cite only the first one.

4) For the second citing of the same text, use `Ibid., p. 59.' if the text was cited in the footnote immediately preceding. If the second citing is several footnotes below the first, repeat the reference in abbreviated form: author's surname, p. 119. If two sources from same author, then include also the first few words of the title.

5) When you have used an article from a collection of articles, you must cite a complete reference, ie. author and title of article as well as editor and title of book.

EXAMPLES

a) For a book with one author: 1. Jane Neumann, The Computer and the Brain (New York: Harcourt Press, 1978), p. 45.

b) For a book with several authors: 1. Jane Neumann, Mary Sade & Paul White, The Computer and the Brain (New York: Harcourt Press, 1978), p. 56. If more than three authors: 1. Jane Neumann et al., The Computer and the Brain (New York: Harcourt Press, 1978), p. 78.

c) For an edited book: 1. Jane Neumann, ed., The Computer and the Brain (New York: Harcourt Press, 1978), p. 78.

d) For an article in an edited collection: 1. Marjorie Brown, "The Computer at Home," in The Computer and the Brain, ed. Jane Neumann (New York: Harcourt Press, 1978), p. 78.

e) For an article in a journal: 1. Marjorie Brown, "The Computer at Home," Science and Society, Vol. 2, No. 3 (October 1976), p. 78.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliographies list complete information on all sources cited in, or used to write, the essay.

1) All entries are in alphabetical order, by author's or editor's surname. Do not number the entries.

2) Items included: author, title, facts of publication, paging(for articles only).

3) These major items are separated by periods. Commas are used within each item and a colon is used between place and publisher. End with a period. Do not use brackets in a bibliographic entry.

4) Facts of publication for books are place, publisher and date; omit these for a periodical.

EXAMPLES

a) For a book with one author: Neumann, Jane. The Computer and the Brain. New York: Harcourt Press, 1978.

b) For a book with several authors: Neumann, Jane, Mary Sade & Paul White. The Computer and the Brain. New York: Harcourt Press, 1978. If more than three authors: Neumann, Jane et al. The Computer and the Brain. New York: Harcourt Press, 1978.

c) For an edited book: Neumann, Jane, ed. The Computer and the Brain. New York: Harcourt Press, 1978.

d) For an article in an edited collection: Brown, Marjorie. "The Computer at Home." In The Computer and the Brain, ed. Jane Neumann. New York: Harcourt Press, 1978, pp. 245-290.

e) For an article in a journal: Brown, Marjorie. "The Computer at Home." Science and Society, Vol. 2, No. 3, October 1976, pp. 78-94.

online resources

Electronic References and Scholarly Citations of Internet Sources

Citation guides for Electronic Documents is a good comprehensive source with plenty of examples and links.

Guide for Citing Electronic Information from the Sarah Byrd Askew Library at Wm. Paterson University at New Jersey. Addresses all online formats from FTP to the Web.

active reading

To be successful, students must take an 'active' approach to reading and studying texts (the written material).

What is an active approach to reading? What is the difference between reading the material and studying it? Most often, students pick up a text and read it from beginning to end. They consider this 'preparing for class' but they probably forget much of what they have read, much to their dismay. The problem is that reading material from beginning to end is too passive. You do not engage with the material, seek out the internal logic of the material, and identify its strengths and weaknesses. You do not think about it critically, make it your own. You do not develop a perspective on it. It is not surprising that you forget most of it.

An active text reading approach depends upon the ability to `ask questions'. Students often think that their role is to answer questions and that the role of teachers is to ask questions. This is not true. The effective student is able to ask questions: not only of the teacher but also of the text(any written material). The effective student learns to act like the teacher, has inside her head a voice asking questions.

Why are asking questions an important skill? The ability to ask questions is a test of your understanding of the material since it depends upon careful reading and comprehension (if the question is about a lecture, it depends upon careful listening). Asking questions also depends upon your ability to pick out the most important ideas, to focus on the construction of the argument, to identify potentially weak links in the evidence, and to make associations with other knowledge that you have already acquired, ie., to make comparisons between texts.

You ask questions before you read a text in order to guide your reading. This will help you to focus your attention on what you are reading and, in particular, to pick out the main ideas. While you are reading, you will be looking for the answers to your questions.

But how can you formulate questions BEFORE you have read the text? These can be generated by looking over the chapter headings and subheadings (or topic sentences) before you begin reading. For example, the subheadings in your first reading "Sex Differences, No Difference or Status Differences?" by Joyce Nielsen [from Sex and Gender in Society: Perspectives on Stratification are:

The Psychology of Sex Differences

The Size of the Difference Makes a Difference

Sex Differences

Femininity and Masculinity

Gender-Identity Tests

Androgyny

Sex Differences or Role Differences

Sex Stereotypes Versus Sex Differences

Fear of Success: Popular but Unproven

Fear of Success is Situational

Real Sex Differences

Sex Differences in Crime and Delinquency

Conclusion

Without knowing anything more about the content of the chapter, you could ask the following questions:

-What does it mean to talk about the 'psychology of sex differences'?

-Why does the size of a difference make a difference?

-What are the differences between the sexes?

-How do sex differences relate to femininity and masculinity?

-What is a gender-identity test? What do these tests show?

-What does androgyny mean?

-What is the difference between 'sex differences' and 'role differences'?

-What is the relationship between sex stereotypes sex differences?

-What is the 'fear of success'? Why is it popular? In what way is it situational?

-What are the sex differences in crime and delinquency?

-What does Nielsen conclude about sex differences?

As you can see, it is not difficult to generate such questions. And they will help direct your reading. When asking these kind of questions, it is usually a good idea to work with a small portion of the text. If you have a book to read, ask questions for each chapter, or better yet for each section of each chapter. Do not read ahead until you can answer your questions. Answers to these questions provide a framework for taking notes on the text, and also a useful mechanism to self-test later.

As you proceed along through a reading, you may have developed strategies to identify, mark, and summarize information you find of importance. The most popular way of identifying or marking key information is to highlight the text or underline passages that you can return to later. In general, the process of marking the text is a very important one.

However, some students have made a fine science out of colouring their text in an attempt to avoid having to deal with the content. Have you ever seen (or been) one of those readers whose texts are marked by four different colours? These students proclaim that one colour is for main ideas, another colour for examples, another for details, and yet another for material they either don't understand or agree with. These are often the same students who highlight or underline such vast tracts of their texts that what stands out is actually what they did not highlight. The process of colouring the page can become quite a time trap.

Students often highlight too quickly. As soon as they notice something important, they will begin marking. Students may not have actually read and processed the material but they assume, that once marked, they will return to it later. Going back often doesn't happen because the volume of highlighted material overwhelms students.

A few suggestions can save you from this time trap. First, read an entire section between headings before highlighting. In this way, you can see the development of the whole idea. You will probably find a concise re-statement of the author's argument toward the end.

Second, instead of underlining or highlighting across the page, make a vertical mark in the margin the length of the number of lines you want to note. This prevents interruption of your reading/thinking while still allowing you to identify that section for later consideration.

Third, using you own words to explain briefly in the margin an idea or note its importance is more effective than using the words of the author. Rephrasing ideas into your own words forces you to think the idea through and process its meaning, and prepares you for later reviews of the material.

Whether you make notes in the margin of the text or on separate paper, remember to be concise. The purpose of making notes on readings is to select and organize material for subsequent review. Don't be overwhelmed by the mass of details in some readings. Select the important elements and organize them in a manner that makes sense to you. Your goal is to integrate and synthesize the information into a comprehensible and memorable whole.

This section is adapted from "Reading Skills for University", prepared by the Counselling and Development Centre, York University. For more information, see "Note-Taking at University" in your first semester kit.

After you read the text and have answered your pre-reading questions, you need to step back from the details of the material and to make some assessments.

First, ask yourself if you have understood the material. Are there any words, ideas or arguments in the chapter that you did not understand? Formulate specific questions to ask about these areas.

Be aware that the more specific the questions you ask of your teachers, the more willing and able they will be to respond to them. For example, a student who says to a teacher, "I don't understand the chapter" will get a less positive response than a student who says, "I don't understand the argument on pp. 10-11." Why is this the case?

Second, answer the following questions:

-What questions are the authors trying to answer?

-What is the authors' main point? Why is it important?

-What are the key supporting details and evidence? Any weaknesses in the argument? Does the evidence presented support the point of view?

-What do they take for granted, ie. what assumptions do they make? Have the authors left any unanswered questions?

-About what are the authors trying to persuade the reader? Do you agree with the point of view, the argument, the conclusions? In what ways do you agree? Disagree?

-How does this text compare with the other texts on the same topic? Do all authors make the same argument? Who disagrees? About what? And why? Who is more persuasive?

-What have you learned that is new? How have your views changed as a result of reading this material?

Sometimes teachers will develop study questions to help guide your reading and focus tutorial discussion. Unlike pre-reading questions, they are based on a prior reading of the text. Such questions can be more specific and detailed.

Study questions will be provided to you for Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. As part of a tutorial assignment, students will be asked to prepare study questions on the assigned readings for the class. This exercise will help you develop your question-asking skills.

There are different kinds/levels of study/discussion questions, each of which involves different skills. It is useful for you to be aware of four different levels of questions.

Level One: Level one questioning involves recognition and recall; this means being able to locate and reproduce pieces of factual information. In general, level one questions ask, "What did the author say?" For example, `To what occupational categories do most black women workers belong?' Usually there is only one right answer to this level of question.

Level Two: Level two questioning requires a greater contribution on the part of the learner than merely locating or recognizing directly stated information. Level two questions ask, "What did the author mean?" The reader must be able to comprehend and interpret the material, not just recall it. Level two questions ask you to identify and explain concepts and the logic of arguments. For example, `Explain the concept of the feminization of poverty.' Or `How does the author explain the increase in the number of women who are poor?'

Level Three : Level three involves the learner in analyzing facts and inferences. This type of critical comprehension requires the reader to apply, analyze, and synthesize material. It may involve evaluation of the material as well as the integration of material from several sources. For example,`Evidence in the article by Adams and Ware suggests that there is a serious problem with sexism in the English language. Do you agree? Why or why not?' Or 'Draw out the connections between sexism in language and the problems, discussed by Ciliska and Rice, that women face around body image.'

Level Four : Level four asks the learner to utilize new information in original ways. This level of understanding requires the greatest contribution on the part of the learner. Questions of this kind could be called `creative comprehension questions' or `complex problem solving.' For example, `Toronto is facing serious problems around the issue of racism. Use concepts from course readings to explain why these problems are occurring.' Or ` Use the feminist analysis of gender relations to explain the power dynamics in the York University community.'

Note that another kind of question draws on personal experience and attitudes. These questions ask learners whether the arguments and presentation in the texts are consistent with their own experience and whether the readings have expanded or shifted their understanding of that experience. These questions also ask about emotional responses to material: discomfort, anger, excitement, resistance, denial, enthusiasm etc.

ASKING QUESTIONS TO PREPARE FOR TESTS

A student who has learned the course material should be able to anticipate the questions that will be asked on tests/exams. Teachers do not design tests to trick students or on the basis of any obscure principles, but rather to test students' knowledge of the material. Since it is not possible to cover all areas, teachers will tend to ask questions about the most important material. Students who can identify and who understand the most important material will also be able to predict the test questions. These anticipated questions can be the basis for your test preparation program. Self-testing is a very successful studying strategy and can help reduce test anxiety.

When you are preparing for tests, you should try to find out what level of questions your teachers intend to ask. It is obvious that university tests and exams do not rely on Level One questions of recognition and recall (see above). Thus you have to adjust your studying to prepare for all levels of questions. Note that memorization will only help you prepare to answer Level One questions; the other three levels of questions involve an increasing degree of understanding and creativity.

Being an 'active' learner and asking questions will help you to assess course lectures, to predict test questions and to write university level essays. Furthermore, out of this question-asking process, you will begin to develop your own informed point of view on the material -- the key to being a good scholar.

EFFECTIVE TUTORIAL PARTICIPATION

Being an active learner also prepares you to participate in the tutorial discussion. However, not only do you need to come prepared to participate, but you also need to make the effort and actually participate in the discussion. Coming to each tutorial session with at least one well-formulated question or comment often helps students to intervene into the discussion.

Many students are quite passive in classroom discussions, waiting to be asked for their opinions, fearing criticism and disagreement. A smaller percentage claim too much space, talk too much and do not listen effectively. Ground rules are necessary if discussions are to be an exciting vibrant experience.

First, everyone is responsible for the success of the discussion: raising and responding to points, and monitoring the sharing of time. See yourself in a leadership role (or learning to be in a leadership role) in relationship to the group process. Without your active participation and commitment, the tutorial leader can not stimulate an effective discussion.

Second, every question is worth asking. Remember the aphorism about wisdom being the recognition of what you don't know. Often it is the case that many people have similar questions but are afraid to ask them for fear of revealing some ignorance. This approach is truly self-defeating: you do not have your question answered and you reinforce your fear of asking questions. It is often just such a question which triggers important levels of clarification for everyone.

Third, disagreement and difference are the basis for new insights. Women are often socialized to avoid disagreement for fear of hurting another's feelings. The classroom can be an arena in which we cultivate skills of interchange which are intellectually challenging and respectful rather than competitive or personally undermining. We are all responsible for making the classroom a relatively safe place for such interchange.