Client and Satellite Observations

I had my second session as a client today, once again at the Library. I’m definitely coming to appreciate the later hours that branch has open, given my hectic schedule. For this meeting, I brought in a copy of my resume to go over. We’ve been working on them in class, and I wanted to make some improvements before I handed it in. Since I switched into Professional Writing relatively recently, I’m somewhat self-conscious about what I perceive as a dearth of relevant PW experience. One of the first things the consultant encouraged me to think about was how my various experiences could be spun to seem more significant. As we discussed the points I had included, she inspired me to think about what I had left out, or what I could explain in greater detail. More than just helping with documenting my experiences, she genuinely made me feel better about my accomplishments. I’ve gained some valuable insight into how I can present myself and my experiences to potential employers.

Given how closely form and function are intertwined in a resume, I appreciate the attention to detail the consultant paid. In each area, she urged me to think about my word choices, and to see if I could use more active words, or more concise language. We also talked about the layout and appearance of my document. Though it was already much improved from my earlier version, she provided valuable insight as to how I could make further design changes. It is fortunate that she had suggestions for increasing the amount of content that I could include. Before we began, I felt like my resume was practically empty, but after our discussion, I don’t know if I’ll be able to include everything!

I also had the opportunity to observe a session while at the Library. I immediately noticed that the consultant was consistent in her use of “I” statement when she responded to the student’s paper. She described her reactions in phrases like “I’m confused about this…” or “What’s I’m hearing you say is…” These are phrases that the Bedford Guide urges tutors to use, and I myself try to remember. I was also impressed by the way the consultant addressed issues of grammar and mechanics. Without overly fixating on them, she nevertheless managed to correct grammatical issues by clearly explaining the underlying principles. She also did an admirable job of explaining how the connotations of certain words changed the meaning of the student’s statements. In all, she actively engaged the student in a continuous dialogue to get her to think about her reasoning and objectives. Rather than simply identifying a problem, she talked the student through possible solutions.

This was my second time visiting the Library Satellite, but the last time I was there I wasn’t focused on the environment itself. This time I noticed how open the work area felt. I kept noticing people as they passed by. Surprisingly, despite all the foot traffic, the atmosphere seemed quieter than at the Bessey Center. Perhaps that’s because there weren’t a dozen people sitting in one small area, all holding separate conversations at the same time. It’s not that the main center is loud, but trying to filter out all those other conversations can be difficult. I can definitely sympathize with students who have ADHD who come to us for help. Something else I noticed was the difference made by not having a dedicated receptionist. When a new client came, rather than addressing one of the unoccupied consultants, he simply came to the closest one, even though she was working with another student. If all the tutors had been working with students, I could understand this. However, given that there were several available consultants, this seemed unnecessarily disruptive. I can see how this could be frustrating for a consultant. Perhaps there could be a sign posted, indicating how students can check the schedule to see who their appointment is with.

Client Session One

On Thursday, Sept. 18, I had my first session as a client. I brought in a few ideas I had for a column I was writing, as well as the intro paragraph.

First, the consultant asked me what I wanted readers to get out of my piece. With every response I had, the consultant had another question about my answer, how it related to the piece, and what new territory that answer opened up.

I didn't feel odd or awkward at all in being tutored. Maybe it's because I've already led two sessions and have observed the interaction several times; maybe it's because I know we're learning from each other. Either way, it didn't feel like a teacher-student relationship; I felt as an equal, someone who had ideas and thoughts to exchange and share, as well as strategies to implement in my writing. It felt pretty fantastic, actually.

The consultant often digressed in her suggestions, making me feel like she was giving me as much feedback as possible while acknowledging that she may not know precisely how the piece should be written or structured. I found the constant stream of questions to be most helpful, because I myself don't always ask enough questions about what I'm writing. What's the point of this paragraph? Don't people already know this? Isn't this common knowledge? Once you have an idea in place and think it's a great one, you don't continually second-guess yourself; this session made it that much clearer that a second set of eyes, regardless of how much experience lay behind them, is critical to the writing.

To tackle the last bullet point in the Bedford guide, the tutor made me feel comfortable the entire time. The session was productive, relaxed, and appropriately engaging. I look forward to my next one.