March 1 Questions

Tips for Conferences and Reports:

-I was confused on the first point about only using the report forms for the writing center and 383. Why wouldn't you use the report forms for writing fellow work?

Reports:

-What are the consequences as a writing consultant for writing an "awful" report?

St. Martin's Sourcebook

-How can we effectively tutor the student in regards to their development if we do not fully agree with their topic? In my opinion, it is our job to help the student regardless of our stance on the issue, so how can we help the student to the best of our ability without having them feel attacked?

Bedford Guide

-Is it valid for teachers to make their students do a specific type of pre-write? If they do, and the method does not work for the student, is it right for us to provide the student with another type of prewrite that goes against the professors assignment?

Writing Center Part 3

Yesterday I had my first real experience shadowing in the writing center. The tutee was a freshman girl writing short essays for her English 103 class and she was asking for help with her third essay. The assignment was to choose 2 articles, in addition to one required article, and develop a single cohesive thesis while making the articles "speak to each other". The tutor did not read the paper before hand, so she read the paper out loud to the writer. I think that it is beneficial to read the paper before the session, but if that isn't possible for some reason, I think reading the paper out loud was an awesome way to get the writer listening and catching her mistakes on her own. In this case, the writer did stop the tutor at some points and say that she realizes that is a mistake, or ask the tutor how she could fix that because it sounded awkward.

This was an awesome session to sit in on, because a lot of the issues we have been talking about in class came up. The writer had tons of specific questions, and the tutor would address the issue at hand, usually using a single example in her paper, and then leave it up to the writer to fix the issue wherever else it came up. I felt that this was a good approach to take because it wasn't a "fix it shop" method, but the writers concerns were still being addressed.

The writer mentioned in the beginning that she wanted to talk mostly about content, because she wasn't sure if her argument made sense. The tutor used techniques that we have been discussing, mostly asking the writer to talk through her ideas and explain her argument. The tutor mentioned that she knows the writer knows what she is talking about, but her writing is not accurately reflecting that. The tutor made marks directly on her essay, and the writer was also taking notes of her own.

There was definitely a gracious attitude from the writer, and I could tell that she genuinely wanted help. The tutor was also passionate about helping her and she had a lot of knowledge on how to help her.

This session started at 5 and ended around 6:10. Generally, sessions are limited to an hour, so the question that I thought of while 6 pm neared was this: what do you do as a tutor if the session is going to run long? There is no guarantee that you or the writer will be available to stay longer. So, what is the protocol for the long session? Do you schedule another session? Continue via email? This question is something I will continue to think about.

Monday's Readings

Here are my questions for Monday's readings:

1. "This is a redneck argument!"

-If the tutor had shared his background with the student who wrote the paper, how would their session have been different? Would that make the student more willing to open up and think in broader terms, or would they feel attacked and embarrassed? Would sharing a tutors personal connection with the argument even be ethical?

2. "Reflections on Teacher Comments"

-Is there really a harm in tutors commenting on professor's comments? What is that harm, and is there any potential good that could come out of commenting on professor's comments?

3. "How to Make Sentences Clear and Concise"

-After reading this, I realize that using too many prepositions is a weakness of mine. So, ow many prepositions is too many?

4. HK ch 5

-Why isn't there a standardized system of English grammar or standard guidelines for academic writing? What does the fact that there isn't tell us about the English language and academic writing?

5. Bedford Guide Ch 4

-So far all the readings we have done have told us what to do with students who are having grammatical problems in their papers. But what about students who just can't get it even after having corrected their mistake multiple times? Do you refer them to their professor or is it your job to work with them until they "get it"?

Dr. Gayle's Visit

I really enjoyed Dr. Gayle's visit to class today. Other than it being beneficial for the obvious reasons (learning about what we're going to do on Saturday), it opened my eyes to a few other things.

1. Dr. Gayle's commitment to the kids and to their success really inspired me. Like she said, we don't have an investment in their paper or their grades. Dr. Gayle is selflessly committing herself to the success of others and her visit made me realize that I really hope my future career does the same thing.

2. Looking at the kid's papers made me think back to our previous discussion on the importance of grades. The kids who wrote those papers would most likely not receive a 4.0 gpa or get "As" written on their papers and tests. However, it was obvious to me when reading their writing that these kids were smart. They were thinking and learning from these passages and really have something to offer. Furthermore, I'm sure Dr. Gayle and a lot of us 383 students who are reading their work ARE "A" or "B" students...yet we are learning from these high schoolers whose grade point average may not even come close to ours. So, maybe grades aren't the perfect measure of intelligence, and maybe we can learn the most in places where we least expect it.

3. I'm excited to work with the kids, and I think it is perfect practice for us. I think we will get the opportunity to use the techniques we have been talking about all semester, such as asking them to talk through their ideas and brainstorm. Probably the most challenging students we will face in the writing center are the ESL students, so what better practice could we get then working with these students?

So, besides learning the logistics of what Saturday will bring, this is what I took away from Dr. Gayle's visit to class. I can't wait to see what this weekend will bring.

Round 2

Today I went for my second writing center shadowing appointment, hoping to actually get to shadow someone. Well, this time there wasn't a no show, but the consultant that I was shadowing had her appointment canceled...far enough in advance that it wasn't considered a no show, but I didn't get to shadow either way. I am disappointed, but luckily I got to the center a bit early and there was an appointment happening in the waiting area because all the rooms were being used, so I overhead a few minutes of that appointment. This consultant was tutoring a freshman boy with his Core paper, which is due tomorrow. The consultant seemed to be commenting very specifically about his paper, such as telling him words that seemed overly vague or general. However, the consultant was saying the words "I suggest..." rather than "you should do this, do that, etc" , which is something I recognized from our readings. The consultant and the student were sitting side by side in lounge chairs and leaning in toward one another. The boy seemed receptive to her comments and very appreciative of her time.

From the few minutes I heard, I did take away something from my "fake shadowing" session, but hopefully the 3rd week's the charm and I get to shadow next week!

No Show?

So today I had my first writing center shadow. I was excited for the opportunity and a little anxious to begin. I arrived at the center around 4:45 when my appointment was to start at 5. I read the collegian in the lobby of the center and soon the consultant I was to shadow, Alex, came out of the room, introduced herself, and invited me into the room where the consulting takes place. I am just getting over being really sick, so my voice was a little raspy and I was a little out of it and I hope Alex didn't pick up on that. Alex wrote her report and answered any questions that I had while 5pm quickly approached. Minute by minute passed and no student walked through the door with a paper in hand. 5:10pm came around and Alex told me that the protocol was that after 15 minutes passed, the student is considered a no show and we could leave. So Alex and I chatted about her experience with the writing center for 5 more minutes and no student showed up. So around 5:17 or so, Alex and I both left the center. I was slightly disappointed, but I did not walk away from the experience empty handed.

As I sat on the couch on the side wall of the writing center, I was in a prime position to observe the setting and think about how I felt about the aesthetics of the writing center, as Dr. Essid asked us to do. I thought about a few things:

1. I love the round table and chairs. I think this promotes a conversation between the consultant and the student, and is less intimidating than a regular table and chairs.

2. The size of the room is perfect. It's intimate, comfortable (with the couch also promoting a sense of comfort), and allows the student to feel like they can open up his or her concerns to the consultant without feeling intimidated. The size of the room has a way of saying, "what is said in this room, stays in this room".

3. Two things struck me as negative aspects to the room: while the lighting was good, the lamps were unattractive and slightly harsh looking. Secondly, the bulletin board behind the table and chairs could be spruced up a bit and made brighter, a job I think many would be willing to take on!

So those are my thoughts on my first shadowing experience...without actually shadowing! Hopefully next week I will be able to talk more about writing.

Dr. Essid's Visit

It was a relief to have Dr. Essid in class to discuss some of the nuts and bolts of being a writing consultant. It made me excited to begin shadowing, and I realized that while I will be (hopefully) helping the students in the writing center, I will also be able to learn something from them. This in turn will make me not only a better writer, but also a better "people person" as I will gain invaluable experience working with all types of students.

Constructive Criticism

Today in class, we got into a debate centered around the idea of positive vs negative comments. Do students come to writing centers looking for compliments on their papers? Our general consensus was no. Do students come to writing centers looking for a cure-all, an easy route to an "A" paper? We said that yes, some students, and even professors, may view the writing center as a "fix it shop". My stance on giving positive comments to students is this: writing tutors should by no means look for reasons to compliment students on their writing. If a paper needs a lot of work and doesn't merit a compliment, don't give one. However, if a student comes in and gives you an exceptional paper, or even an exceptionally organized or stylized paper, then point it out. This may give the student the encouragement they need to continue to enjoy writing. Additionally, as I pointed out in class, often times positive comments are remembered by the writer and that will help them become better writers by using the same methods they used in that paper.

Writing tutors are students and by no means experts. Therefore, who are we to simply tear apart their paper without giving them some type of compliment or reason to keep writing?