Observation #4

Going through my notes, I found my observations on a session from a month ago. The assignment the student brought in to work on was a “précis,” which the consultant and I were both unfamiliar with. My first reaction to the situation was to be intimidated, but the consultant took it in stride. Fortunately, the student also brought in the assignment sheet, which the consultant used to understand the format. For me, this emphasized the importance of having the actual instructions when trying to interpret the professor’s intent. The consultant then asked the student to explain what he thought the assignment was about. This had several uses. First, the student was forced to think critically about the assignment objectives, clarifying them in his own mind. Second, the consultant gained further insight about the nature of the assignment. Third, the consultant could compare his own interpretation of the instructions with the student’s understanding, and see how closely the two matched up. After this brief discussion, the consultant concluded that a “précis” was essentially a summary, which was a genre he was familiar with. I was impressed with how smoothly he handled himself, rather than panicking, which would have been my initial response. Like any good consultant, he adapted quickly to the situation, doing his best to meet the client’s needs.

Part of the consultant’s strategy involved sticking to broad, conceptual comments, rather than using concrete, specific examples. He advised the student about how best to conform to the genre, based on his own related experiences. Throughout the session, the two of them sat leaning over their copies of the paper, making notes as necessary. I was surprised by the amount of give-and-take in this session, compared to ones I had previously observed. The student didn’t passively accept the consultant’s advice just because he was the “expert.” He actively questioned the consultant’s suggestions, not because he was being contrary, but because he wanted to understand the consultant’s reasoning. The student was invested in making his writing as effective as possible and that came through in his behavior. By the end of the session, the student seemed pleased with the progress that had been made. The consultant explained that sometimes you get sessions like that, where you aren’t familiar with the format. That best you can do is to make use of the resources available in the Writing Center and try to use your own experiences as a guide.