After our discussion about creative writing on Monday, I got really excited about our second literacy narrative remix. Creative non-fiction isn’t a genre I usually work with, and I had initially been a bit nervous. However, after thinking about it, I started seeing this assignment less as a challenge, and more as an opportunity to try something new. With that mindset, I visited the Writing Center for another session as a client (since I forgot that I had already done two).
The consultant I worked with was someone I already knew pretty well. She was surprised that I was coming to the Writing Center, but she found the prospect of working with another consultant interesting. I brought in my original literacy narrative, and explained my plans to remix it as a piece of creative non-fiction. We spent most of the session going back-and-forth, bouncing ideas off of one another. We discussed narrative methods, implications of dialogue, and various other stylistic concerns. Talking with her helped me gain some perspective as to what direction I wanted to take my writing in. However, it also brought to light some potential difficulties that I will have to consider.
Between my session at the Writing Center and reading Lauren’s post, I’m starting to reconsider my original plan. I had intended to show the development of my traditional literacy in a scene featuring my younger self and my cousins. However, if I go that route, I don’t know how I would incorporate anything about my digital literacy. Can I change the focus of my literacy narrative between pieces? I feel like the development of my traditional literacy has had a more significant impact on my overall development than anything else. If I choose to focus on that to the exclusion to my other literacies, would that be okay for the scope of this piece?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Remix #2
I've been trying to think of what to write for my second literacy narrative remix for a while now. It feels difficult to think of a good genre to use since I'm not all that into poetry, and many of our narratives cover a long period of time. Not to mention that since they are such personal pieces in the first place, it's hard not to see them as creative nonfiction already.
I honestly think I might just do poetry anyway because it seems like the easiest genre to work with. Prose just wouldn't seem to fit in doing a piece that jumps around so much and focuses on so many different times--even more so because a piece that tried to cover so much material would get really long really fast. It wouldn't feel right to write a short story about just one time in my literacy narrative because the whole narrative works together. It is supposed to show a synthesis of literacies, in which an original literacy led to me discovering and developing multiple others. Poetry allows for a condensation of these things, as well as a much looser notion of time and place, so I think that is the genre I will ultimately use.
I honestly think I might just do poetry anyway because it seems like the easiest genre to work with. Prose just wouldn't seem to fit in doing a piece that jumps around so much and focuses on so many different times--even more so because a piece that tried to cover so much material would get really long really fast. It wouldn't feel right to write a short story about just one time in my literacy narrative because the whole narrative works together. It is supposed to show a synthesis of literacies, in which an original literacy led to me discovering and developing multiple others. Poetry allows for a condensation of these things, as well as a much looser notion of time and place, so I think that is the genre I will ultimately use.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Leading a Session - #5
Ironically, today I worked with a creative writing student. She had a piece for her nonfiction class about working at a homeless shelter on an alternative spring break trip. While the consultant who would be shadowing me made copies, I asked her about the assignment and the class (I had actually worked with her before on a piece for the same nonfiction class). I asked how her last piece went, and she said it didn't do as well because the teacher found it cliche and sentimental, so she asked me to watch for anything I felt was cliche or sentimental in this piece.
The client read the paper aloud, and as she read I made small grammatical corrections on my copy, and underlined other things I wanted to go back to. I think my notes here were helpful even though they were short. For example, she initially considered herself a humanitarian and that she would be doing the homeless a great service, but her explanation of herself wasn't very clear, so I wrote "define" and underlined "humanitarian." I was also able to point out one or two metaphors and phrases that I felt were cliched.
Instead of focusing on these smaller things (she obviously understood the grammar the cliche-ness in some areas) I brought up a larger point that I wasn't sure exactly what she learned from her experiences, and this was supposed to be the main point of her paper. I told her that I wasn't sure how she fit into her paper and that she needed to be somewhat more explicit rather than just providing exposition of her experience.
Afterwards, the consultant who shadowed me told me that I did a good job focusing on the broader issues in the paper. I then asked if she thought I explained myself well enough, because part of the time I wasn't sure that I was making enough sense to the client and that she might not see my points as very valid. The consultant did say that at first I seemed uncertain, but that my interactions improved as the session went on. She also said that my explanations were good for this particular student, and that obviously more detail or clarification would be needed with an ESL student, for example.
The client read the paper aloud, and as she read I made small grammatical corrections on my copy, and underlined other things I wanted to go back to. I think my notes here were helpful even though they were short. For example, she initially considered herself a humanitarian and that she would be doing the homeless a great service, but her explanation of herself wasn't very clear, so I wrote "define" and underlined "humanitarian." I was also able to point out one or two metaphors and phrases that I felt were cliched.
Instead of focusing on these smaller things (she obviously understood the grammar the cliche-ness in some areas) I brought up a larger point that I wasn't sure exactly what she learned from her experiences, and this was supposed to be the main point of her paper. I told her that I wasn't sure how she fit into her paper and that she needed to be somewhat more explicit rather than just providing exposition of her experience.
Afterwards, the consultant who shadowed me told me that I did a good job focusing on the broader issues in the paper. I then asked if she thought I explained myself well enough, because part of the time I wasn't sure that I was making enough sense to the client and that she might not see my points as very valid. The consultant did say that at first I seemed uncertain, but that my interactions improved as the session went on. She also said that my explanations were good for this particular student, and that obviously more detail or clarification would be needed with an ESL student, for example.
My 2nd Satellite Observation - the BCC
This was my first session in the BCC's Writing Center, aka "The Place".
It was Writing Center heaven... The environment was just peaceful. The green paint on the walls and the wooden panels, the big screen television, and the comfortable, yet modern furniture was so inviting. I observed people literally sleeping on the couches next to me. I'd never seen anything like it. It was more reminiscent of homesick, lost college students than hobos finding a place to sleep for the day. Students were doing homework, having sessions and/or intelligent conversations, and more. So I loved the atmosphere. It really resonated with me as a comfortable and modern place for college students to relax and yet be intelligent, responsible adults. So before I ask who the interior decorator was, the client enters.
Or does she? One of the bad aspects of this environment is that you can't really tell when or where a session is going on. The check-in person could be any one of four or five people lounging on the couches with their laptops. And there's this sleeping boy, literally sleeping on the armchair next to mine, with his feet on the table in front of me. I try to concentrate on the news: Laura Bush is giving Michelle Obama the tour of the White House!
And then the client comes in. The tutor makes a copy, and the three of us settle into a side-table. The tutor is reading the assignment sheet, asking questions, verifying the teacher's guidelines, etc. The paper is a rhetorical movie analysis.
"What would you like to focus on?" The tutor asks kindly. The student asks for grammar help the most, but also for clarity and organizational help. She then adds an extra plea for grammar help.
The ESL student begins reading the assignment aloud. (And you thought I'd never see an ESL session, didn't you!) I can barely understand what she's saying, but after awhile I become used to her accent and it gets easier after the first page. The tutor keeps jotting down little notes in the margins. It doesn't seem like she is really following along as the student reads. Although the student stumbles over areas in her paper, and although she has a pen in hand, she does not make any corrections to the paper. The instructor did not tell her that she should do so, so I do not think it crossed her mind. It appears that she does not notice the mistakes she makes. This may be because she is so caught up in trying to pronounce the words correctly that her intonation and inflection are practically non-existent.
The student finishes reading her paper, and the tutor begins by complimenting her on various aspects. And then the tutor explains her confusion throughout the paper because she did not have any prior knowledge of the film. She suggests adding a good, short summary to the introduction. The student has no idea what she's talking about. So the tutor explains a "summary" like this: Pretend like a friend asks you if you went to see a movie. She's never seen it before, and wants to know what the movie was about. What do you tell her? That's your summary.
The tutor explained many topics this way. Another great example of how good this tutor was occurred when discussing the paragraph setup. The client had excellent flow, but the organizational structure needed improvement. Together, they paired appeals with strategies, and did one pair for each paragraph. Although this part of the session felt almost like a lecture, the client obviously learned a lot from it. The student kept repeating words that the tutor said and pulls out her class notes on the 5 A's (strategies).
The session was cut short because the hour flew by, but even so, the client seemed happy, and the tutor had to move on to the next client.
It was Writing Center heaven... The environment was just peaceful. The green paint on the walls and the wooden panels, the big screen television, and the comfortable, yet modern furniture was so inviting. I observed people literally sleeping on the couches next to me. I'd never seen anything like it. It was more reminiscent of homesick, lost college students than hobos finding a place to sleep for the day. Students were doing homework, having sessions and/or intelligent conversations, and more. So I loved the atmosphere. It really resonated with me as a comfortable and modern place for college students to relax and yet be intelligent, responsible adults. So before I ask who the interior decorator was, the client enters.
Or does she? One of the bad aspects of this environment is that you can't really tell when or where a session is going on. The check-in person could be any one of four or five people lounging on the couches with their laptops. And there's this sleeping boy, literally sleeping on the armchair next to mine, with his feet on the table in front of me. I try to concentrate on the news: Laura Bush is giving Michelle Obama the tour of the White House!
And then the client comes in. The tutor makes a copy, and the three of us settle into a side-table. The tutor is reading the assignment sheet, asking questions, verifying the teacher's guidelines, etc. The paper is a rhetorical movie analysis.
"What would you like to focus on?" The tutor asks kindly. The student asks for grammar help the most, but also for clarity and organizational help. She then adds an extra plea for grammar help.
The ESL student begins reading the assignment aloud. (And you thought I'd never see an ESL session, didn't you!) I can barely understand what she's saying, but after awhile I become used to her accent and it gets easier after the first page. The tutor keeps jotting down little notes in the margins. It doesn't seem like she is really following along as the student reads. Although the student stumbles over areas in her paper, and although she has a pen in hand, she does not make any corrections to the paper. The instructor did not tell her that she should do so, so I do not think it crossed her mind. It appears that she does not notice the mistakes she makes. This may be because she is so caught up in trying to pronounce the words correctly that her intonation and inflection are practically non-existent.
The student finishes reading her paper, and the tutor begins by complimenting her on various aspects. And then the tutor explains her confusion throughout the paper because she did not have any prior knowledge of the film. She suggests adding a good, short summary to the introduction. The student has no idea what she's talking about. So the tutor explains a "summary" like this: Pretend like a friend asks you if you went to see a movie. She's never seen it before, and wants to know what the movie was about. What do you tell her? That's your summary.
The tutor explained many topics this way. Another great example of how good this tutor was occurred when discussing the paragraph setup. The client had excellent flow, but the organizational structure needed improvement. Together, they paired appeals with strategies, and did one pair for each paragraph. Although this part of the session felt almost like a lecture, the client obviously learned a lot from it. The student kept repeating words that the tutor said and pulls out her class notes on the 5 A's (strategies).
The session was cut short because the hour flew by, but even so, the client seemed happy, and the tutor had to move on to the next client.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
repeat client
During the past week I have had a client come back to me three times. I first worked with her sometime last month and on Monday she came into the center and told me we had worked together. I remembered her, but not the paper we had worked on. She came back to me because she said she had recieved the best grade in her class and she thought it was because of the help I had given her. I told her although that was a really nice thing to say, she recieved her high grade through her own abilities, I was only her to help her better clairfy her ideas. She came back to me on Wednesday with the changes we had made on Monday. It was really cool to have a forming connection with a client and be able to build on prior things we had worked on.
Creative writing comment
I realize I just posted a very long weekly, but I forgot about discussing the creative writing tips we received in class.
Creative writing knowledge is pertinent to our literacy knowledge base. But of all genres of writing, hearing a lecture on the basics may be the least effective.
We all know the elements of fiction or nonfiction, even if we can't name and describe them. Even if we don't, for some reason, the only way to know them is to do them. Maybe this can be said for most genres of writing, but we've read creative fiction and nonfiction all our lives, and by now, the only way to internalize any of the rules is to execute them.
I'm hoping we get a chance to do this before class ends!
Creative writing knowledge is pertinent to our literacy knowledge base. But of all genres of writing, hearing a lecture on the basics may be the least effective.
We all know the elements of fiction or nonfiction, even if we can't name and describe them. Even if we don't, for some reason, the only way to know them is to do them. Maybe this can be said for most genres of writing, but we've read creative fiction and nonfiction all our lives, and by now, the only way to internalize any of the rules is to execute them.
I'm hoping we get a chance to do this before class ends!
Weekly blog — two together (also, consultation #2)
I haven't posted in a while — not because I haven't had the time but because I haven't had a clear set of ideas about which to blog.
I still don't. But after our multimedia literacy presentations, my thought processes are flowing a little better regarding the foci of this course, as well as our final creative piece to our literacy narrative.
When we were first assigned the literacy narrative, I immediately began thinking about what made my "literacy journey" unique. Scott and I brainstormed a few of our ideas, and I realized that playing soccer for six years and being involved in music for ten somehow specialize the kind of person I am, and what specific talents I possess in the realm of literacy. Everyone learns how to read and write, at least those who have been accepted into MSU and are in this class, so I didn't even consider writing about and focusing on such a seemingly simple aspect of my literacy development.
The presentations last week made me see the error in my thinking. Yes, everyone learns how to read and write, albeit with slightly varied levels of expertise; however, everyone's journey is drastically different. You may be thinking, duh, right? I'm thinking duh right now, sort of. Clearly that's what Trixie wanted us to explicate; obviously she wanted us to think critically about how far we've come and what steps we took to get here. But I just wasn't thinking in that mindset, and I'm afraid that whenever I hear the word "literacy" after this class, I'll never think of it in terms of strictly reading and writing ever again.
Thanks, Writing Center. (What are people thinking about writing about for their creative literacy narrative installment?)
I'm happy for this development. The Writing Center has opened my mind in so many ways, not just in terms of writing but what writing can mean. It's amazing to see so in-depth the many degrees people are earning and the abilities they've acquired along the way. While they are using writing to expound on these abilities from time to time, I'm enlightened to how complex and unique the respective ability is.
I was planning on mainly focusing on the literacy narrative, but now I'm heading for a spiel about WC fabulousness. Get ready.
Developmental Editing
I want to be an editor. I've wanted to be an editor since I realized I didn't want to be a reporter, and I would like to think my ambition hasn't steered too far from my course of study, considering four of my current jobs revolve around the skill. What I never had before the WC was an aptitude for developmental editing. I never believed I would fully access this skill, either.
I think I proved myself wrong last Thursday.
I was tutoring a client who had composed a two-page cover letter. She first asked me to go "quickly" through the grammar mistakes so we could return to the beginning and start going over her content. For the first time in a session, I felt comfortable and confident enough to set her straight. "I'd be happy to go over a few grammatical elements with you, but correcting mistakes isn't what we do here. I'd like to instead go over your cover letter piece by piece and look at how each paragraph makes your entire cover letter work." She looked at me, nodded complacently, and we forged onward.
Now, this client didn't have many grammatical mistakes as it was. But that wouldn't have changed how I approached her cover letter — we read one to two paragraphs at a time, and I explained to her what's probably going on in her audience's mind (in this case, her potential employer's), and I asked her if this was the kind of information she wanted him or her to know most. She couldn't always give me a yes or no answer, so we tackled the tone of each paragraph and removed anything that would most simply be answered by a resume.
After the session was finished, she had a huge smile on her face and said to me, "You're a real tutor. You didn't just do grammar with me, even though I asked you. I needed a different perspective, and you gave that to me."
My heart melted a little. It's not even Christmas time (officially), and my heart was melting.
Writing Center, 4,530; me, 1
Consultation #2
So, for my second consultation session in which I was the client, I once again scheduled nothing officially. It was a spur of the moment, something I set up on the spot, because hey, we don't always have a million things to do in the WC.
I had my latest resume version. I still need to bring in my personal statement/SOP for grad school, but anyway. My audience was application readers at NYU, and I needed to make my resume shine.
I get frustrated when someone can't find stuff wrong with my pieces of writing. I realize I've been working on my resume since senior year of high school, and I've been refining and touching up duties practically on a monthly basis. But still, I was hoping for feedback that would help cut out what I didn't really need and possibly merge together a few relevant skills or jobs that communicated with the reader more concisely.
I did receive a few pointers on a few cluttered skill sentences. But the session didn't end up being what I wanted it to be.
The consultant really did try his/her hardest. I know he/she did. But resumes are trickier than traditional papers; similar to different professors, you're always going to have different employers and, in this case, an educational institution. It's a constant consideration, and the more you know, the more value there is in your content. Do I know NYU admission standards? No, not really, other than their graduate admission rate (50-60%). Does the consultant know? If I don't — and I'm the one applying — then he/she certainly doesn't.
So. We work with what we have, where we can, when we can do it.
I still don't. But after our multimedia literacy presentations, my thought processes are flowing a little better regarding the foci of this course, as well as our final creative piece to our literacy narrative.
When we were first assigned the literacy narrative, I immediately began thinking about what made my "literacy journey" unique. Scott and I brainstormed a few of our ideas, and I realized that playing soccer for six years and being involved in music for ten somehow specialize the kind of person I am, and what specific talents I possess in the realm of literacy. Everyone learns how to read and write, at least those who have been accepted into MSU and are in this class, so I didn't even consider writing about and focusing on such a seemingly simple aspect of my literacy development.
The presentations last week made me see the error in my thinking. Yes, everyone learns how to read and write, albeit with slightly varied levels of expertise; however, everyone's journey is drastically different. You may be thinking, duh, right? I'm thinking duh right now, sort of. Clearly that's what Trixie wanted us to explicate; obviously she wanted us to think critically about how far we've come and what steps we took to get here. But I just wasn't thinking in that mindset, and I'm afraid that whenever I hear the word "literacy" after this class, I'll never think of it in terms of strictly reading and writing ever again.
Thanks, Writing Center. (What are people thinking about writing about for their creative literacy narrative installment?)
I'm happy for this development. The Writing Center has opened my mind in so many ways, not just in terms of writing but what writing can mean. It's amazing to see so in-depth the many degrees people are earning and the abilities they've acquired along the way. While they are using writing to expound on these abilities from time to time, I'm enlightened to how complex and unique the respective ability is.
I was planning on mainly focusing on the literacy narrative, but now I'm heading for a spiel about WC fabulousness. Get ready.
Developmental Editing
I want to be an editor. I've wanted to be an editor since I realized I didn't want to be a reporter, and I would like to think my ambition hasn't steered too far from my course of study, considering four of my current jobs revolve around the skill. What I never had before the WC was an aptitude for developmental editing. I never believed I would fully access this skill, either.
I think I proved myself wrong last Thursday.
I was tutoring a client who had composed a two-page cover letter. She first asked me to go "quickly" through the grammar mistakes so we could return to the beginning and start going over her content. For the first time in a session, I felt comfortable and confident enough to set her straight. "I'd be happy to go over a few grammatical elements with you, but correcting mistakes isn't what we do here. I'd like to instead go over your cover letter piece by piece and look at how each paragraph makes your entire cover letter work." She looked at me, nodded complacently, and we forged onward.
Now, this client didn't have many grammatical mistakes as it was. But that wouldn't have changed how I approached her cover letter — we read one to two paragraphs at a time, and I explained to her what's probably going on in her audience's mind (in this case, her potential employer's), and I asked her if this was the kind of information she wanted him or her to know most. She couldn't always give me a yes or no answer, so we tackled the tone of each paragraph and removed anything that would most simply be answered by a resume.
After the session was finished, she had a huge smile on her face and said to me, "You're a real tutor. You didn't just do grammar with me, even though I asked you. I needed a different perspective, and you gave that to me."
My heart melted a little. It's not even Christmas time (officially), and my heart was melting.
Writing Center, 4,530; me, 1
Consultation #2
So, for my second consultation session in which I was the client, I once again scheduled nothing officially. It was a spur of the moment, something I set up on the spot, because hey, we don't always have a million things to do in the WC.
I had my latest resume version. I still need to bring in my personal statement/SOP for grad school, but anyway. My audience was application readers at NYU, and I needed to make my resume shine.
I get frustrated when someone can't find stuff wrong with my pieces of writing. I realize I've been working on my resume since senior year of high school, and I've been refining and touching up duties practically on a monthly basis. But still, I was hoping for feedback that would help cut out what I didn't really need and possibly merge together a few relevant skills or jobs that communicated with the reader more concisely.
I did receive a few pointers on a few cluttered skill sentences. But the session didn't end up being what I wanted it to be.
The consultant really did try his/her hardest. I know he/she did. But resumes are trickier than traditional papers; similar to different professors, you're always going to have different employers and, in this case, an educational institution. It's a constant consideration, and the more you know, the more value there is in your content. Do I know NYU admission standards? No, not really, other than their graduate admission rate (50-60%). Does the consultant know? If I don't — and I'm the one applying — then he/she certainly doesn't.
So. We work with what we have, where we can, when we can do it.
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