Week 5

          I have loved all the readings this week about how to practically apply some of the writing center theory we have been discussing. I found McAndrew and Reigstad’s “What Tutoring Is: Models and Strategies” to be especially helpful. It is a great compilation of strategies for all sorts of situations. I can’t see myself using all of them, but a few did stand out. My favorite is the “promise” strategy for helping writers recognize that their thesis is a kind of agreement they make with readers. I observed a session where the writer’s introduction was only tangentially related to the body of the paper. To help the writer recognize the issue, Shaun described the introduction of the paper as a promise of what’s to come. The writer was able to recognize that her personal anecdote “promised” an essay about her relationship with her dad, not about the book she was supposed to be responding to.

            I’ve also seen some of the development strategies at work in the center. Last week Heath used oral composing to help a writer expand his thesis and ultimately his essay. The writer didn’t have a draft, but he did have a very narrow thesis that he wanted to run by someone. Heath asked the writer what he thought he might write in his paper. As the writer poured out a list of great ideas, Heath encouraged him to write them down. From there, the student was able to expand his thesis and come up with a rough outline of the rest of his paper.

I believe that one of the best ways to help a writer develop a piece of writing is simply acting as a reader. I can point out areas where I’m confused, or areas where I would like to hear more about the topic. Asking writers questions about their topic indicates to them when and where development is lacking.

I thought the style categories in the section on voice and tone were great ways to describe it to writers who don’t have experience with various rhetorical situations. Most writers will be able to grasp what “tough, sweet, and stuffy” language is and be able to recognize it in their own writing once they’re aware of it. Asking if their voice matches their audience and purpose will quickly reveal any issues. In my experience, the biggest issue with tone and voice is that writers aren’t always conscious of it until it is brought to their attention.

The reading from Sourcebook really emphasized the pretextual and postextual dimensions of consultations because they are vital and yet so often forgotten. I got to do a “walk-in-ish” appointment in the center today and really focused on these two dimensions. The student couldn’t come in at any of the available times and his paper was due tomorrow. He needed help understanding the assignment, so I figured taking a look at it couldn’t hurt anything. This also meant we only talked for about five minutes and there wasn’t much of a textual dimension. I was sure to introduce myself and ask how his class was going. This seemed to help him relax. At the end of our conversation, I made sure he understood what his next steps were and encouraged him to come again (and make appointments ahead of time). It wasn’t a real consultation, but it seemed to be a helpful experience for both me and the writer. 

Week 4

          This week’s reading in the Bedford Guide (chapter 4) was full of wonderful suggestions for helping writers through all stages of the writing process. It is so easy to think that what is helpful for me when I’m writing will be helpful for other writers too. I’ve found that that’s not always the case. For example, I would never use clustering as a brainstorming or organizing tool. It’s just not the way that my brain works. However, I’ve worked with classmates that love to explore topics that way and even use a cluster diagram as their outline. It’s important to recognize that every writer’s process is a little different and it’s guaranteed that my strategies won’t always work for other people. My process is just one of many that are effective for different kinds of people. Chapter four demonstrated some prewriting, writing, and revising strategies that I wouldn’t generally use, so it added a lot to my “toolbox.” I feel better prepared to help different kinds of writers and thinkers through the writing process.

             I also loved “Provocative Revision.” I’m an English teaching major, so I couldn’t help but look ahead to when I can have students try some of Fulwiler’s revision exercises. Thankfully, I don’t have to wait until I have a classroom. I can help writers employ these exciting revision strategies right now in the writing center. I found the section on limiting to be the most helpful. Focusing in on specifics can transform an average or directionless paper into something attention-grabbing and purposeful. Some of Fulwiler’s other suggestions wouldn’t be appropriate for the writing center. I wouldn’t advise a writer to transform their piece into another genre unless that was their assignment. It is just too risky. Most professors have very specific ideas of what they want an assignment to look like and would not be happy to receive a diary entry when they were expecting a research paper.

             I do agree with Fulwiler on the importance of provoking revision. Most writers view revision as an optional and unnecessary step or something to do only for portfolios and other big projects. Type and print is the most common practice, so writers really do need to be reminded of the importance of revision. I feel like one of my responsibilities as a consultant is to help writers see the value in revision and help them think through specific strategies for how to do it. So although I may not employ all of Fulwiler’s revision exercises, I will take up his challenge of prompting writers to “re-view” their work.

As a funny side note, I actually dreamed about the writing center this week. The center had gotten so busy and popular that we expanded the consultation areas into the entire waiting/front desk area. It was a maze of cubicles and there were signs directing people to the front desk. The writing center had become a writing center factory. Although my dream was pretty absurd, it made me realize how glad I am that the writing center is a unique, welcoming place where writers can get individualized assistance. We really do have a great service that cares for students as individuals. 

Week 3

            I had the opportunity to observe three consultations this week. I sat in on two of Shaun’s appointments and one of Heath’s. I’ve been thinking a lot about the practical, consultation-to-consultation issues that I’m sure come up in the writing center all the time. What do consultants actually do when a writer needs help with something they are not knowledgeable about? What do consultants do when the writer isn’t prepared for the appointment? How do you negotiate what to talk about when there are a lot of things that need to be discussed? What about when you don’t have that many concerns? This week I got to see all of these issues come up in the writing center and it was really helpful to see how veteran consultants handle these kinds of situations.

            I picked up on the importance of finding a way to help every writer, no matter what point they are at or how prepared they are. Shaun had a student come in and ask for help on MLA poetry citations. Unfortunately, the writer didn’t have his paper with him and had no way of getting it. Shaun couldn’t help the writer with specific examples or show him how correct citations would look in his actual paper, so he had to be flexible and improvise. Shaun found a way to help the writer understand citations so he could later apply that understanding when he did have his paper in hand.

            Shaun’s consultation also reminded me of North’s famous line, “our goal is to produce better writers, not better writing.” Shaun couldn’t help the writer directly with his paper, but he did give him the knowledge he needed to do MLA poetry citations in the future. I realized how important it is to give writers not only the information they are asking for, but also the tools they will need to handle similar situations when they come up again. It is important that the writing center helps writers become more independent so they aren’t coming in with the same questions all the time, but eventually moving on to higher-order concerns.

            Finally, I recognized how important it is to admit when you’re not sure about something a writer is asking about. Most importantly, you have to find a way to get them the information and help they need. In one of the appointments that I observed, Shaun didn’t know how to do something that the writer was asking very specific questions about. He grabbed a reference book and even asked me to chime in on the subject. Together, we were able to get the writer the information he needed. No consultant can know everything that people will have questions about, so thankfully there is plenty of support and resources in the center.

            One thing that I really appreciated about Heath’s style was how welcoming and friendly he is with his writers. He took time to offer them refreshments and ask how they were doing. This seemed to relax the writer significantly and set the casual tone for the entire consultation. This is something I would like to adopt. If a writer is relaxed and comfortable, the session is more open and productive. It seems well worth the minute and a half it takes to greet them and show some personal interest.

Week 2

Two weeks in and I am still really enjoying all of my writing-center-related activities. Thankfully, I finally got to spend some time in the writing center. My first shift put a lot of my concerns at ease. I had a few different people walk me through the website and I learned how to schedule an appointment, make a record of an appointment, and register new students. I also learned the filing system, and although it’s simple, I can already see why it’s so important to keep under control. Heath showed me an email consultation he was working on and explained the various steps he had taken to complete it. I even got to meet Java, who I’ve heard is the writing center mascot. Best of all, I experienced a little bit of the contagiously optimistic environment that everyone has been talking about. My first shift really was a great one and I am looking forward to spending more time in the writing center.

One thing that stood out to me during my shift was the large number of non-native English speakers who come into the writing center. In the hour and a half I was there, five students came in and four of them were ESL/ELL students. This brought up a lot of questions for me about how to work with different kinds of writers. What do you do if there is a significant language barrier? What do I as a tutor need to know about reading an ESL writer’s text and how is it different from reading a native speaker’s writing? How do I move beyond grammar and punctuation concerns to look at the higher-level concerns? It is very likely (guaranteed) that I will encounter these and other questions while working in the writing center. I’m glad that we will be covering the topic in class so I’ll have somewhere to start when I sit down at my first consultation with an ESL writer. However, I’m guessing that a lot of these skills come with experience and practice. Even though I am a little nervous about working with ESL writers, I am also very excited. I love spending time with people from other cultures because I always learn so much about who they are and where they are from. I also feel like I can relate on some level with my own experiences in trying to learn Spanish.

As far as the readings for this week go, I enjoyed the introduction to Rhetorical Grammar, and I survived through the first two chapters without too much pain. I really like the idea of a grammar rule being a description of language structure rather than a law. This definition gives writers decisions instead of rules. The introduction also emphasized the fact that all people already have knowledge of grammar and use it correctly in their everyday speech. This makes grammar less intimidating and more accessible, which seems to be what the writing center is all about. 

Week 1

 This first week of 303 has been a great one. The articles we read have already brought up issues and ideas that I hadn’t considered before. Honestly, that shouldn’t surprise me too much since I don’t have a lot of experience with or knowledge of writing centers. My experience is limited to bringing my own writing in several times and my knowledge consists of what I’ve picked up at meetings (class and otherwise) and what I’ve read and discussed for this class. Although not having everything figured out right away usually freaks me out, I’m doing all right because I have seen how my previous knowledge and experience can be applied to my work in the writing center. That’s not to say that I have everything figured out, but I am excited to bring what I have to this Burkean Parlor.

I first started to feel more at ease after reading North’s “Revisiting ‘The Idea of a Writing Center’.” His first article was, after all, a lot of pressure. I was a little intimidated by North’s ideal of each session being magically transformative, better-writer-producing wizardry. Similarly, the idea of writing centers being “centers of consciousness about writing” for entire universities is a lot to live up to. These are truly beautiful ideals, but they are ideals.

His second article was much more realistic and addressed some of these concerns. Although it would be great if all of North’s original assertions were true (i.e. motivated writers who are enthusiastic about improving their writing), it is much more practical to recognize that the everyday writing center world is not always ideal. There will be challenging students, professors, and situations. I’m glad to know that I will have a great team to help me respond to these challenges. Even with the limited contact and experience I have had, I can tell that this is a community that supports, helps, and collaborates well.

Lunsford explains that in order for an environment to be “truly collaborative” it must “demand collaboration,” which is something that I see in the writing center. No single consultant can keep track of everything that writers could possibly need; we have to depend on each other. There is no need to worry about who is in control because the responsibility is shared among everyone: staff, consultants, and writers. Keeping the writing center environment truly collaborative will take work and dedication on everyone’s part.

Although reading all of these theoretical articles has been helpful and interesting, I’m really looking forward to seeing how these things play out in practice. I am pretty anxious to get in the Writing Center and start observing and learning the system. There’s a lot to learn in the first week and I don’t have very much time. My shifts are Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Since the Center is closed on Monday, my only shift is for an hour and a half on Wednesday. This won’t be very much time to learn everything, so thankfully I’ll have a few more weeks to observe and learn before my consultations begin.