Final Meeting with Professor Dolson...on to the Writing Center!

I have to say, the last day of class really got me excited for working in the center, and not only for the money! lol. With the work that we have done through our Boys and Girls Club experiences and also in shadowing I have come to really enjoy consulting students on their writing assignments. As I talked with Professor Dolson about the classmate consultation project and also the course in general, I began to really see how far we have come and how prepared we are for our work in the center. All the readings and class discussions all work towards an understanding of the true role of the consultant; to facilitate and encourage the writer's own thoughts as opposed to merely telling them what to write. It is about understanding the ways in which rhetoric can influence an audience and helping writers to see their own writings in this way. While it might seem selfish, I am excited to see how my own writing continues to grow and mature. Already I can see a difference in my style of writing as well as how I approach assignments in general. I really have found the importance of starting my work as early as possible so that I can have ample time for re-thinking and re-working. I know that my experiences in the writing center will only further my understanding and for this I am very excited.

College Essay Consultation 2nd meeting

So for those of you who read my post describing the first consultation with my sister, you know that it went very well and that we focused most of our time on generating and brainstorming ideas. For those of you who didn't, now you know lol. The second go around was very rewarding; I don't get to work with my sister a lot anymore on her schoolwork with me being away at college, so it was fun to be able to help her out. She had written a very impressive draft in which she used her personal experiences to create a very entertaining and powerful narrative. I thought it gave a good insight into her life and character, while successfully communicating her ability to write. We discussed a few grammar issues that she seemed to repeat a few times and went over some of her awkward word choices. I asked her what she wanted her story to convey and following her answer we brainstormed ways to better illustrate what she hoped was the moral of the narrative. One idea was to end it with a paragraph that breaks away from the story a little and gives that sort of "so what' factor that is so important in writing. To be honest, there was not a terrible amount that needed to be improved, but the discussion really seemed to facilitate some new ideas that she was excited to implement into her story. I'm thankful that this class gave me the opportunity to work with my sister, which I probably would not have done otherwise.