Taking Baby Steps

Hello class how are we doing? Today is the first day working in the writing center. Me, I’m just trying to get caught up and back on top of things. For me, this semester is a busy one. I got a lot of things going on, work, school, and lots more of other responsibilities that I’ve never had before this semester. I hope that all goes well for all. Let’s get back to the prompt.

What’s harder, an OK paper or a not so OK paper? Wow that’s a tough one. Well it all depends on what the problem is. It could be the grammar, tone, organization, or all of the above. The paper can be absolutely flawless besides that the paper was supposed to be an interpretation and it sounds more like a summary. What if the paper is completely illegible? Depending on what the problem is will determine the difficulty of the session. Or will it?

Back to what Wingate basically says in her essay. “The goal of the writing center is to improve the writer before the writing.” So as long as the student comes out a better writer it doesn’t matter what the problem is. I am going to treat every paper the same. I’m going to narrow it down to the biggest problem and start from there. I will try to guide the student through their paper making sure they learn from their mistakes. I know I can’t make a writer or their paper entirely better in just one session. I’m just going to take it one step at a time. I know this is all easier said than done but with practice and observation I’ll be able to achieve that goal.

So I just got done with my first session /observation it didn’t go too bad. I was a little nervous in the beginning. I started to overwhelm myself with all the thoughts in the world after I had asked her what her paper was about. I pulled myself together and I had her read over her paper. When we were through I was panicking, I did not see any problems so I asked for help. So Derek came over and read through the paper only to make one noun plural and to add an additional comma. Other than those two small errors this narrative was on the dot.

In the end I really don’t know what one would be more difficult because I only have one session under my belt. My first day with one paper tutored doesn’t give me much experience but I plan on gaining a lot more today. I'm kinda like a baby, I will learn a million things a day.