working in the library, more observations, catch-up

so, i noticed that i haven't posted on here in a week or two...my apologies. i'll try to wrap a few things up with this post.

first, i have completed all of the observations with consultants, moved on to taking clients on my own, and done far more than the five required. i have worked with esl undergrads a majority of the time, mainly in wra classes, but have also spent time with several grad. students and many american students, both graduate and undergrad.

i have helped clients working on cover letters for grad. school apps and scholarships/grants, memoirs, master's theses and dissertations, research papers, reading responses, and a variety of other projects and papers. i have also tried to help several students through the prewriting process.

as of three weeks ago, i have begun working at the library on wednesdays, and, in spite of what i have been told about working there, i am actually enjoying it and the fast pace at which clients normally show up there. i'm actually glad that my longest shift is spent there, as i usually grab a coffee and take client after client, making the time pass fairly quickly. it's a bit stressful, but it is nice to help frazzled students and get them to calm down and focus on their assignments (which in many cases are due very soon, hence their being at the library and stressing out).

i'm noticing that many of my clients are coming in for the same thing: (guess!...) help with grammar! in all seriousness, it is a bit troubling to see even american-born students mistaking it's for its and their for there, along with a host of other very simple mistakes. this is where i'm really realizing how important it is to get the clients to read their own papers to you as the consultant. i think a lot of them are simply not reading their papers out loud, and therefore missing many of their own mistakes. i've begun developing a simple, but i think effective way of getting them to improve their proofreading skills.

mike's (flexible) five-step guide for consulting sessions (assuming the client has brought in a draft):

1) get the client to read their own paper out loud, paragraph by paragraph, assuming they are comfortable doing so.

2) hand them a pencil and tell them to fix the mistakes they find as they read along.

3) go back over the paragraph and find the mistakes they miss, explaining why they are mistakes and how to fix them.

4) continue on, trying to get them to recognize more and more mistakes, especially the ones that you have explained to them.

5) at the end of the paper, i generally make notes for them on particular things they need to focus on, such as flow, sentence structure, certain grammatical/spelling issues, etc. tell them to keep reading the paper out loud to themselves to catch mistakes and find awkward sentences, etc.

obviously, this system hinges upon the individuality of each client, and is flexible to their needs, and it will probably undergo a constant evolution as i develop as a consultant, but i think it brings together many of the concepts expounded in class, as well as my own observations and experience in the wc. i feel like i'm really getting into the groove of working here, and learning how to nudge clients in the right direction so that they are capable of helping themselves more and more.

also, i think the wc should consider opening an outdoor consulting center for spring, fully outfitted with a barbecue grill and lemonade instead of coffee, in celebration of the (fingers crossed) beginning of spring and end of a terribly grey winter. i need to go play some frisbee.

until next week,
m