Today I had my first two writing center appointments. The first one went short, over a page and a half essay written in response to something in a course textbook. I could tell the student had to come per teacher requirement, but we talked about a few things, mostly me explaining a few things about vague pronoun reference and having variety in sentence starts. It wasn’t very dialogic, but it went okay. Afterward, I immediately thought that perhaps I should have focused on the content a bit more, asking for more specifics, and I think that would have gotten him talking a bit more. I started by pointing out some of the techniques that were strong in the paper, especially the promise statements in the opening paragraph, which were pretty good.
The second appointment I had today was excellent – it was for a master’s level thesis, and the student was getting pretty close to finishing her research and had written quite a bit. Today we focused on her abstract, finding things to cut and take out and adding important parts. We learned together what went into an abstract (purpose, method, findings, conclusion, which I can now rattle off the top of my head!) and discussed what in her abstract then belonged and what she needed. It was a good conversation, and this session really showed me that talking about a topic can help one understand what he, she, or zie wants to say about the topic. I really enjoyed the conversation. To be honest, I was a bit concerned about working on a thesis with a student; no, I was scared, not just “a bit concerned.” However, once we met and got started, we had a great time discussing things and me trying to understand what she was working on, to help her get it into words. I’m so looking forward to my appointment with her next week.
Today, I also took a chance on the opposite side of the writing center binary: I came in as a writer for assistance on my Writing 593 Aristotelean Argument paper, which, to be honest, is not good at all. I barely had a start, and I still had 4 pages out of the required 6, which meant I had to cut a lot. I knew kind of what I needed to do, but it was nice hearing it from fresh eyes: “Just write and write and write, and then cut.” We also talked about ways to move parts around and parts that could probably be cut once I really get into the analysis. It also kind of rejuvenated my energy around the paper, and if I hadn’t had to go home, prepare something for class tonight, walk back to campus, and then have meetings later this afternoon, I probably would have went to the library and worked on the paper more (after writing this, of course).
This is very interesting, Michael. Your first appointment is such a good indication of what a negotiation writing center conferences are. You may have the best intentions in the world–and be a wonderful writer and writing assistant–but the conference is always with a particular writer, and you’re always thinking on your feet. It’s inevitable that there’s going to be some “I wish I’d” moments after some conferences.
Your work with the grad student sounds terrific, and it sounds like you’ll be working with her regularly, which should be rewarding. You might want to write periodically about how your conferences are going and what you’re learning from having the opportunity to work with the same writer over time.
Finally, good for you for bringing your own writing to the Writing Center!
Lisa