From the training manual used by Highline's writing consultants...

One process for dealing with drafts with multiple editing errors

(a compromise between the Socratic and the didactic methods)

Assuming you’ve addressed more global issues (relevance to assignment, thesis/focus, development, organization), you’re satisfied that the global issues are adequate, or the student insists that editing is his or her sole concern, continue on to focus on editing strategies.

Be kind but honest. For example:

Q: "Do I have many errors in this paper?"

A: "Yes, you do have a lot of errors, but you can’t learn it all at once. Let’s work on one kind of error at a time."

Q: But my paper’s due tomorrow. How can I get all the mistakes corrected?

A: If your teacher sees no mistakes all of a sudden, s/he is going to wonder how you became a perfect editor overnight. But if your teacher sees progress: that you understand how to correct certain types of errors and that you’ve caught a number of them, s/he is going to be glad to see that you’re learning.

Once you have "opened the door" to learning editing strategies, follow this process.

Adapt, if necessary, to the needs of the particular student and session, but try to follow these guidelines in principle.

1. Tell the student writer what the two or three most predominate types of errors are in the draft and ask him or her which one s/he wants to work on first.
2. Go through a few paragraphs of the draft—circle where the student has made the error and underline where the student has correctly applied the editing principle. (Or highlighting in different colors works.)
3. Explain the basic principle as directly, simply, and clearly as possible. Use handouts, handbooks, and/or help from other tutors as needed.
4. Go over where the student has used the principle correctly.
5. Then go to the first occurrence of the error and ask the student if s/he can correct it. If this works, great. Move on to the next one and repeat the process. Be sure to give the student writer enough time to think. If the student writer can’t correct the error, ask questions (like "Is this past, present, or future tense?") to help them focus and figure out the edit. If all else fails, show him or her how to correct it, compare to one of the correct uses if possible; then move on to the next one. It’s fine to go through all occurrences of that particular error if the student wants to and time allows as long as you’re getting the student writer to work through the editing issue each time.
6. At the end of the session, encourage the student to make another appointment to work on other writing issues. However, try to avoid fostering "learned helplessness." If the student anxiously asks when you’re going to be available to go over every editing issue in his or her paper, reassure the student that the paper is already improved. Remind the student that if the teacher sees gradual improvement from one paper to the next, he or she will be impressed.