Hello to all my adoring fans who read this...all one or two of you...probably down to one now!! HAHA! As I move along in Eng 303 and learn more each week, it is beginning to make sense to me as to why we are learning the differences in writing center theory and writing center practice. While the theories that we are learning sound great (in a perfect world), I am reminded daily that we do not live in a perfect world, therefore things that make sense on paper will not always transfer over to the real world. But understanding the theories does make a big difference in how the theories relate to the actual practice. I will admit, this whole writing center concept has given me headaches, as I try to understand how the theories relate to practice. I guess I am able to pick up the way that practice and everyday hands on consultation work. I have never been big on theories, as a theory is an unproven hypothesis that must be proven to work in reality.
I have always been a hands-on disciple, because if it works in reality, then it has merit. And being a non English major, as are many of my comrades (not in a Soviet style of comrades, that is) opens up realms that I have difficulty wrapping my little pea brain around.
I can perform a task in practice much better than I can understand the theory behind it. My mentality is 'keep it simple, silly', also know as the KISS principle. Learning the proper way to open the session, and some things to look for as I work with a writer, plus questions that I should ask the writer to maintain their active participation, are things that I can grasp. And once I actually get my feet wet with writers and make my share of FUBARS, I will be able to take those lessons learned and apply them in the future, thus building my confidence and my arsenal of skills and tools which will benefit me, as well as the writers.
I had my first solo run with a writer on Friday, in which an Eng 278 student brought his final draft in to get it looked at. He still had a week before it was due and I must admit I was a little nervous as we sat down. I jokingly told him to be gentle on me as he was working with a 'new meat' consultant. As we sat down, we talked a little about some commonalities we shared. We were both prior service military and were both from the South. He was a North Carolinian, whereas I am an Alabamian. So, we were both speaking the same terminology and dialect. As I asked him about the project, he told me that his professor had looked it over and liked his introduction (thesis) and his conclusion. He wanted me to see if there was anything I could see that could make the body better in supporting his theory. As I took the paper and read it aloud to myself, I could see, as well as hear instances where his sentences and flow were choppy. For instance, he had some sentences that did not properly address the intent he wanted to convey. As I read it out loud and asked him if he thought it made sense, he agreed that the structure of the sentence was not up to par. I made sure that I pointed out good things I saw, and we were even able to tie some of the concepts he was writing about to the military. I also noted some places where he used past and present tense in opposition to each other, As I asked him questions about how that sounded, he understood what I meant, and let me make notes on his paper. I thought that his body supported his thesis and we shared some laughs over the characters that he was writing about. I felt that this familiarity and bond we had made it so much easier to objectively analyze his style and voice. Other than that, we mainly focused on LOC's as he seemed to have the HOC's under control.
For my first consultation, I felt very confident in my role as a consultant and he and I both learned some things, mainly about proper use of punctuation and grammar. Some of the material he cited needed some clarification and I encouraged him to consider some small changes. I made a conscious effort to not monopolize the conversation, and he did not really seem to care that I pointed out some minor deficiencies with his paper.
This first consultation was not the miserable failure that I had envisioned it would be. My confidence was raised as he truly understood what I was suggesting to him. I found that doing it is much easier than trying to understand how to do it. My mojo really needed a boost and it was the perfect writer to raise my level of confidence up. Now that I have had a successful (at least in my eyes) consultation, I feel that I will only get better, so long as I do not try to impose my will on the writer. The trick is to make them think that they are learning these mistakes on their own and I am just the spark to set off the recognition in their eyes.
I am eagerly looking forward to getting my hands dirty helping writers see where they can improve and helping them to realize that their writing is good and can be even better. I even used the old tried and true adage that writing is primarily a conversation that takes place in one's head. Therefore, it is much better to read it out loud to yourself once you are finished to determine if it sounds right. It has always seemed to help me out and my writer really embraced the concept.
So, in closing, I feel much more confident actually doing it than learning the principles behind how to do it correctly. I look forward to helping writers become better as they go. My mojo is back in the saddle and I plan on keeping it there. There is nothing better than getting in that cubicle and taking the bull by the horns. Will there be mistakes along the way? Of course, but learning from them and applying the lessons learned will only make me a better consultant. As the old saying goes, "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger". After the consultation, I feel like a writing ninja, and it can only get better as I do them more.
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