Primary Consultant #4

In addition to realizing that I didn't have enough weekly blog posts, I also realized that despite having several sessions a week for about three months straight, I have neglected posting primary consultant descriptions. So here's a #4 from about two weeks ago.

I met with a Lyman Briggs student for a gender and society paper. That was a first for me. I believe he was an international student, but he had a solid grasp on the general grammatical concepts of English, so nothing of that nature was a concern for me. I liked that he was very engaged with the session from the get-go and very clear about his goals. He wanted help with organization and would like a different perspective on whether or not everything seemed relevant and useful to his topic/thesis.

His thesis was buried a page and a half into the paper. I asked him what his professor's position on thesis placement was, and he said that she preferred the thesis to appear at least in the first three-quarters of the page, so he accordingly asked for help to cut it down. But that's three-quarters of a page. So I tried to look at the validity of his introduction and how it related, exactly, to his thesis. The first page didn't! I asked him how it correlated, and he saw for the first time that it didn't, so he cut an entire page, which left him room to expand on his conclusion.

I think by the end, he was pretty much done with it. We went paragraph by paragraph and made sure each somehow related and the point was clear and well-developed. I don't think he was very used to the topic nor the writing style, being a scientific writer in Lyman Briggs, so by the end he was surely mentally exhausted. But I feel he was satisfied with the work we put into it, and we set a few goals together for him to accomplish. So that was exciting.

I like that I've been able to assert authority in sessions but have taken plenty of steps back for the client to brainstorm solutions to potential problems. I've had a lot of trouble maintaining that balance, and his enthusiasm particularly made me realize that interaction, although dependent on both parties, can be facilitated by a non-directive but nonetheless leader-ish consultant.

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.

Leading a Session #3

(The following is an observation that I typed up last week but forgot to post.)

Today I had an experience that I considered a good example of what an ideal consulting session should be like. The client and I both arrived early and immediately got down to business. The assignment in question was a paper she had previously submitted and the teacher had returned, offering her a chance to make corrections. As we went over the assignment sheet, I noticed how closely the student had paid attention to the requirements, which doesn't always happen. Furthermore, she had taken all of her teacher’s comments into consideration when making her revisions. Overall, she made my job as the consultant much easier by thinking critically about what was being expected of her.

As we progressed, the student was attentive and courteous. She remained actively engaged throughout the session. When I asked questions about her ideas or development, rather than shrugging them off, she really thought about them. We were able to have a meaningful dialogue with plenty of give-and-take. To my delight, the way the session unfolded allowed me to focus almost exclusively on Higher Order Concerns. I sometimes get caught up on mechanics, which I realize is a problem, but in this case, I was able to see beyond those issues. Together we looked over the presentation and development of her ideas, to see if they fully addressed the professor's expectations.

By the time the session started to wind down, we had made significant changes to the paper. More importantly, I think the student changed her way of thinking. Through our discussion, she saw how the structure and flow of an argument affects its effectiveness. Our session took almost the full hour, but the student was so pleased with the experience that she took the last few minutes to make another appointment with me next week. After such a rewarding session, I can honestly say I'm looking forward to working with her again.