Requests: Knowledge and entitlement in writing tutoring

•This study uses conversation analysis to examine writing tutoring interactions.•Tutees use distinct request forms during the agenda-setting phase.•Tutees invoke the domains of knowledge and entitlement as meaningful alternatives.

Contributing to research on request forms and their relation to the various dimensions of authority, this conversation analytic study examines how the tutee requests for the tutor's help during the agenda-setting phase of writing tutoring interactions. In particular, this study analyzes two distinct request forms (e.g., I don't know x vs. I want x) used by the tutee and argues that the tutee invokes the domains of knowledge and entitlement as meaningful alternatives in making a request. The data consist of approximately 14 h of video-recordings collected at a U.S. university writing center. The investigation shows how the interactional goal (e.g., knowledge development) as well as the external reality (e.g., writing stage) are conveyed and utilized in real time interactions.