Reading Reaction #2

After discussing our readings from the past week the two that spoke to me the most are the ones by Brook and Shamoon and Burns. Both of these articles talk about the different approaches a writing consultant may take and the positives and negatives of each approach. I also felt more of a connection to these articles after participating at the center as a client and was able to determine what it feels like to be consulted with and how it seems different approaches can affect the writer.

I like the idea of there being a spectrum of writing consultant approaches. On one side of the spectrum the consultant is completely hands-off, the session is student motivated, and the consultant does not even hold a pen. On the far opposite side the consultant is completely hands-on, the student has no input and may not even be present, and the consultant uses a red pen, if not a typewriter.

On the hands-off side the consultant allows the writer to guide the session by choosing what to focus on, where the conversation should go, and what areas they feel they need help in. The consultant only provides his or her opinion and does not write anything on the paper.

On the hands-on side the consultant competely controls the session. If the writier is present their opinions do not matter, or are not voiced. The consultant re-writes, re-structures, and re-does as much of the paper as they see fit. Esentially the writer gives the paper over to the consultant so that the consultant may reform the paper so that it is fit in their own eyes. This approach takes a lot of individualism away from the writers paper and seems like it would allianate the writer from their own work.

It seems as though the hands-off approach is most helpful to less experienced writers, even though it may seem like the opposite. A young writer needs to grow into their own voice and gain confidence. Having an honest discussion with a consultant and forming their own ideas while discussing the material will allow the writer to learn and improove their process. Allowing the writer to learn through this approach will allow them to have a more organic experience and they will be able to use the information that they gain in the session as they write again in the future.

The hands-on appoach seems to work best with writers who already have an established voice and sense of confidense. This approach works well when students are writing in a specific form, such as PHD thesis writing, that they generally have not and will not continue to write in. When it seems like it is a one time type of situation the student does not have value in or the time to re-learn their writing style.

It seems to me that the best and most effective approach for our writing center is somewhere between one third and one half of the way between hands-off and hands-on. Most of our clients are undergraduate students who are still striving to develop their own sense of voice and confidence, and this is something that needs to be encouraged, not stiffled. The session should be generally run by the writer with the consultant providing their own opinions, where appropriate. The consultant should feel comfortable to point out areas of surface concerns (grammer, spelling...), and offer options to a solution but the consultant should not actually solve the issue. The consultant should not correct anything on a students paper, but markings that reveal specific areas of concern seem like they would be helpful. Finding the correct mix between a hands-on and a hands-off approach will be the job of each consultant, but finding and correctly applying the proper mix is what will make a session helpful or not to the writing clients.