Book excerpt: The first edition of A Tutor's Guide helped tutors across the country connect composition theory to the everyday events in their tutoring sessions. This second edition moves further into the practical realities of today's writing centers, taking a closer look at the most important issues facing writing tutors and the students who confer with them. Like its predecessor, A Tutor's Guide, second edition, provides access to the professional conversation that surrounds writing-center practices, offering a concrete sense of what tutoring sessions are really like, who uses them, and how to maximize their effectiveness. Now, new chapters take the interactions outlined in the first edition into conferences with: English language learners business and technical writers advanced composition students graduate-level writers. The second edition also includes a new chapter that helps tutors understand what happens when a session goes awry and gives them fresh tools for reflection that will strengthen their ability to respond to unusual situations in the future. With a keen awareness of both the nuts and bolts and the important theoretical and pedagogical underpinnings of good tutoring, A Tutor's Guide is an invaluable tool for every writing center.