Stress Relief

Reading over some blogs, I’m noticing a trend: this week is stressful for just about everyone.  It’s as if the professor’s got together and planned to have their quizzes, exams, and projects fall in the same week. Sadly, my to-do list is about 20 items long, and I have some major studying to do.  On a happy note, I think Mike was absent from the professor’s meeting because our assignments have been relatively low-key; I am truly grateful for that. J

I must admit that this blog doesn’t have a significant purpose, but it does serve as a great stress relief.  For me, writing means so much.  It can be a way to escape, a mode of expression that can take on multiple forms (comma splice?).  When I write, I can be any emotion—happy, sad, confused, or excited.  As an author, I can be sophisticated, immature, poetic, or sarcastic.  The path is wide open; I create the scenery as I go.

When I noticed myself getting frustrated with my schoolwork, I turned to writing.  Now, I am much more relaxed, and extremely excited to share a great quote I found about writing:

Detail makes the difference between boring and terrific writing. It’s the difference between a pencil sketch and a lush oil painting. As a writer, words are your paint. Use all the colors.
Rhys Alexander

I don’t have a lot to say about this quote, other than I really love it!  I think it’s worthy of a small spot on a Writing Center wall!! 

With regard to my writing, I love to trigger a sensual connection between the reader and my words.  After all, words don’t have to be restricted to things you see—they can be what you feel, smell, touch, or taste. 

In an honest attempt to relate this post to work in the Writing Center, we are going to read some great writing.  We are going to learn about topics we’ve never heard of.  We will be challenged by what people write.  We will be impressed.  The most exciting part will be reading the “lush oil painting,” and having the words come to life.  

Mini Session Reflection

All I have to say about class today is…lucky me!!!  I am not trying to be sarcastic; I’m really happy that the wait is over and I have a mock session with Mike under my belt.  I feel that this practice scenario will help make future sessions easier, and I have certainly, “eaten the frog first” (Shout out to Mike’s comment on my blog).  As happy as I am that I’ve had such an experience, there are definitely aspects of the session to reflect on.

 Before I get into the nitty-gritty aspects of my performance, I have to share that I was not anywhere near as nervous as I normally would be!!! Praise God!! Usually when I’m called in front of the class, or placed in the center of attention, I get so nervous that it hinders my participation.  Thankfully, such was not the case. 

 Ok, back to the criticism.  I did make a conscious effort to get a lot of information about “Jeffrey’s” work before we began reading.  Thinking back to our mock sessions with the English 101 students, I was guilty of jumping into the essay before I fully understood the writer’s assignment and brief background of her ideas.  Today, however, I was aware of the need for pre-textual conversation, and thus attempted to foster such interaction.  Sadly, the conversation was still lacking.  I thought I knew enough about what Jeffrey was going to discuss in his paper, but could have never predicted the complexity of his thoughts.  I think I still need to work on getting more background information, and even ask the writer to outline what they hope is expressed in their paper. 

 Another fear I have is not grasping the writer’s ideas as well as I should.  I understand that Jeffrey’s paper was very dense, but by the time he read onto the second page, I had completely forgotten what was discussed in his introduction.  I think I would prefer to read the paper aloud, and at a slow pace.  At times, I find myself trying to find things to critique, grasp all of the writer’s ideas, and read all at the same time.  I know the multitasking is not unique to me, but I feel like each paper is still a huge challenge; my novice experience has not allowed me to jumble all of these tasks with ease.

 I think all of this will come with time, and I agree that there is no perfect session.  I don’t mind criticizing my efforts, so feel free to name any other flaws/ list suggestions.  Also, I can’t wait to work with the 101 students!!     

Response to Jeanne Simpson’s Article

As I was reading Simpson’s article, I was really intrigued by her ideas.  I liked the way she opened the piece by utilizing different people’s perceptions of the writing center.  She included a lot of interesting points such as: “We need to accept a simple principle: people’s perceptions come from their legitimate experiences and reference points, even if they lead to conclusions we don’t share.  Just as we do in tutoring, we need to find out what people actually know, how they know it, and what they believe about their knowledge.” I think this point serves as a great reminder that there is no uniform opinion/ perception of the writing center.  It is important to understand why people feel the way they do about certain institutions, and also understand how to work with those with different opinions. 

Simpson further develops her article by including anecdotes about students’ suggestions for improving the writing center.  One idea that really intrigued me was about incorporating a buddy system.  “A student asked why we don’t set up a buddy system, so that writers have someone from the writing center asking them about progress on their assignments, providing a little accountability.”  Initially, I thought this was a brilliant idea.  It’s easy to feel a sense of disconnect after you leave the writing center.  The writer may forget what was discussed, what specific flaws were addressed, or the writer may feel unmotivated to perfect the paper.  Having the “buddy system” for students would be a great way to build peer-tutor relationships, and promote conversation outside of the writing center.  Of course, it could turn into a conversation where the writer asks the tutor more specific questions, and their may be a greater potential for plagiarism.  This resource could also initiate conversation out of the center that could interfere with the tutor’s and writer’s time.  It would be more of a voluntary act on the tutor’s part, unless they were required to send/reply to messages during scheduled work hours.  Otherwise, tutors would be putting in extra time without payment.  Moreover, this program may have more negative outcomes because more blame could hypothetically be placed on the tutor.  If the student made the recommended changes in a paper and received an unsatisfactory grade, the student may be more inclined to blame the grade on the tutor’s lack of knowledge/input, etc. 

In all honesty, I have not come to a conclusion about incorporating the “buddy system” in the writing center.  What are your ideas?? 

Confidence in the Writing Center

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found the past two mock advising sessions to be a little nerve-racking…and I haven’t even been the “advisor!” (I am not complaining).  I can imagine that it’s really hard to think clearly when you’re on-the-spot and in front of the class.  It also doesn’t help that it’s with Mike, our professor/ future employer! I’ve learned however, (with the help of Fitness Magazine) that these sessions can really help us in the future.  Right now you’re probably wondering how Fitness Magazine could apply to the Writing Center.  In all honesty, I’m making a very rough comparison. 

I recently signed up to get Fitness Magazine’s, “Daily Fit Tip.”  These are great emails that have links to various articles about exercise, healthy eating, and of course, hair and makeup. J  I received an email the other day about how to increase your self-confidence.  One of the great tips on the list had to do with making a difficult task even more difficult, so when the time came to apply the task, it would be easier.  That last sentence was a bit of a mouthful so let me explain.  Start by thinking about a daunting task that many would be terrified to have to do.  I think that most would concur that public speaking falls into the category of a terrifying task (I agree!).  The article said to begin by practicing your speech in front of a friend, or small audience.  To me, this tip seemed fairly standard.  However, I loved what they suggested next.  Fitness Magazine said to do something in the middle of the practice presentation that would be more nerve-racking than the actual speech—something like singing the chorus to Madonna’s, “Like a Virgin” to your audience!  Of course, the song selection is totally up to you, and it also depends on what decade you would like to pay tribute to… 

After being so vulnerable in your practice, the anxieties of the actual presentation seem to diminish.  I thought this was a great idea!!! If you can put yourself out of your comfort zone more in practice, then the actual task becomes so much easier.

I think this relates very well to the mock sessions during class.  Not only do we become the center of attention alongside Mike, but we’re also in a very different setting than what will be the norm.  These difficult moments in class will only elevate our confidence for when we actually have to perform, in the Writing Center.

This idea that was presented by my favorite magazine really applies to a lot of areas in life.  If you can make things more difficult in practice, then the actual performance becomes dramatically easier.  As much as I want to avoid those awkward moments in class, I think a little boost of confidence can go a long way…         

Hiram College’s Writing Center

At first glance, Hiram’s webpage for their Writing Center was inviting, and clearly stated the college’s commitment to writing: “At Hiram, we take writing seriously.  Almost every course incorporates it.  The Writing Center exists to support the school’s comprehensive commitment to it.”  I like that opening series of statements.  I think it exemplifies their academic commitment, and adds credibility to their Writing Center.  In all honesty, I prefer the layout of their website as opposed to ours in terms of first impression.  It may be the color scheme, or the condensed list of related websites to the left that caught my attention, but needless-to-say, they don’t have a cool Writing Center movie!

            As my search progressed, I learned that Hiram has 25 advisors that can assist students at any part of the writing process.  I liked how we share the same philosophy that writing is a process, and that advisors are there to assist students at any stage in their writing.  It seems as though our strategies are very similar, and that we uphold similar ideals. 

Furthermore, I learned that their center is open during afternoon and evening hours throughout the week.  Their schedule is resembles ours in that they are open Monday through Friday, and Sunday.  However, Hiram’s Writing Center has restricted availability during those days.  Their day begins at 2:00p.m. and concludes at 10 p.m.  I find these times to be a bit challenging to work around, and therefore appreciate the flexibility of Wittenberg’s Writing Center.

When scheduling an appointment, it would seem as though this would be a simple process.  There is a link to the left of the screen titled, “scheduling an appointment.”  I clicked on the link and was immediately confused.  In general, the site was not as straightforward and sophisticated as our scheduling system. The scheduling page is a Word document that just lists time slots and who works at those specific times.  Also, there was no way (to my knowledge) to reserve a spot.  I’m not sure if Hiram’s Writing Center is open entirely for walk-ins, or if there is some other way to schedule. 

Moreover, it seems a though Hiram College is comfortable giving away some personal information of the advisors.  I understand that our site lists the names and majors of our advisors, but contact information is not recommended and/or allowed.  At Hiram, there is a Word document that lists the first and last names of the advisors, their email, cell phone numbers, and majors.  I think the majority of this information is harmless material to publicly display, but I do not agree with giving away phone numbers.     

All in all, Hiram’s Writing Center seems comparable to our Writing Center at Wittenberg.  However, I don’t find their scheduling process to be as sophisticated as ours, and I am uneasy about their decision to list personal information.  I know I’m biased, but from the websites alone, our Writing Center looks better. J I would definitely be interested in seeing how Hiram’s center looks, and how they go about scheduling and advising.

What to Do, What to Do…

I would like to revisit the “Writers’ Corner: Policies and Procedures” document that Mike sent us a few weeks back.  In short, this document identifies a series of expectations for both writing tutors and student writers.  One concept challenged me: “…when offering advice about arrangement/organization, tutors should use models with different content than that of the client’s assignment.  However, tutors may also refer to client’s drafts when working on arrangement.”  I understand that the writer’s ideas and effort should be visible in the paper, but I can’t quite grasp the concept that using another topic may be the key to understanding.  For clarity’s sake, I am not undermining creative analogies and various teaching strategies to help students with obscure learning capabilities.  I am, however, unsure of how to confidently incorporate poignant advice for a student when I am perpetually concerned that I may be plagiarizing by using their exact, written words. 

I understand that the document I am referring to is not one that we have in Wittenberg’s Writing Center, but I do know that plagiarism is an issue that all writing centers must avoid.  With that said, I would like to incorporate the writing sample from today’s class in hopes of learning how to handle this situation.

It’s obvious that the foreign student who wrote about soccer is very talented.  The way his ideas seemed to flow (when read aloud!) and the imagery he utilized was captivating.  The issue was not content, but rather, the paper’s overall structure.  His ideas were not separated properly, and several sentences went on a bit too long.  How then, do tutors effectively explain where to use punctuation and separate ideas without using his exact words?  I feel like the whole advising session would be a jumble of different topics unrelated to his personal story.  To me, this would not be successful.  It’s hard enough to explain grammatical conventions to a native speaker, let alone a foreign student.   

I know one way to approach this dilemma is to do what Kari said: make an outline from the preconceived text.  Ok, so we’re not plagiarizing by organizing ideas using his words.  The next issue is addressing grammar.  I’m curious, what do you think we should do?

Grammar!

Hey group! For the record, a clause has a subject and a predicate J

As interesting, complicated, and frustrating grammar can be, I must admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed this past week in class.  Although Gordon’s book can be a bit overwhelming, I think it is important that we, as native English speakers, learn the grammatical components of our language.  I think that retaining knowledge about grammar not only enhances our personal writing, but can help us address writing issues we experience in the Center.  How much we might actually use specific terminology and reasoning is debatable, but I would argue that having a basic understanding of grammar is an extremely useful tool as writers.

I think I have enjoyed the past week so much because it was a refreshing change from our previous focus of writing center theory.  I think this enjoyment stems from my math/science-based brain that favors absolute answers and formulas as opposed to theory and philosophy.  To me, grammar is relatively straightforward.  You’re given the definition of a specific concept, and several examples of when and how to use it properly.  Of course, there can be ambiguity about what grammatical concept is presented in a sentence, but the general grammar rules apply.  On a side note, I found Mike’s PowerPoint to be extremely helpful because it gave clear-cut examples of specific sentence structures.  I was able to connect those structures with my own writing and understand the importance of proper punctuation to a greater extent.         

Throughout the week, I have been challenged by the numerous grammatical components of the English language.  At times, I get disheartened because I don’t know if I have a lack of knowledge/understanding about grammar, or if I’m just so used to applying the tools that it’s hard to think on a basic level.  As many students have generalized in class, we understand what sounds right/wrong in written language, but we may not always know why something is incorrect.  I know that I want to be able to explain to any writer why something is grammatically wrong, and not by simply saying, “Just because.”  Therefore, I think that it is important to understand grammar in both a colloquial and formal manner.  If we can think of grammar as being a formula for writing, then I think it can be an enjoyable topic of study—not just a tedious and boring way to pass the time.        

Response to “Writer’s Corner: Policies and Procedures” Document

I really liked the document that Mike sent about the model of one writing center.  I thought it addressed some key issues that may be experienced, namely the idea that the writer is in control of their work.  Not only does the document present the expectations of the writer and tutor very clearly, but it also serves as a comfortable invitation to come to the writing center.  For example, I really liked one of the first points that stated: “If you have a draft started, no matter how rough, bring it to your tutorial.”  The way the authors wrote this point made it clear that writers should feel very comfortable and that it’s perfectly OK to struggle throughout various stages of writing.

Another point I found really insightful was for the tutor’s benefit.  The document was very keen on the writer doing all the work, even when offering suggestions.  In other words, the examples that tutors use should not relate to the ideas presented by the writer.  I never thought about explaining how to write a thesis using a different topic than what is given in a student’s paper, but I think this is an important strategy.  Describing issues or concepts in this manner helps ensure that the writer is the sole author of a piece and that the tutor is not offering their own ideas.

I know that Mike asked if a similar document would be a good addition to the Writing Center.  In my opinion, I think that having a poster or framed version of a similar set of expectations would really help eliminate the notion of our Center being a “fix-it shop.”  Such a document makes it very clear that the tutors and writers play a significant role in a session, but that the writer is ultimately responsible for the paper.  I think this list could also serve as an additional excuse if a tutor is asked to do something contrary to the ideals of the Writing Center.  Hypothetically, a writer may ask, “Oh common, can’t you just write my thesis, or just read over it and fix any mistakes, and then just tell me what grade you think it will get?”  The tutor could simply deter the writer’s requests by saying, “I’m sorry, line 3 of our expectations document says I can’t!  We can go over your paper together though!” 

I’m curious to see what you guys think about this document and whether or not we should implement a similar set of expectations in the Center.

Grammar & Basketball

I am opening this blog with the disclaimer that I am a biased athlete because my favorite sport is basketball.  This is not to say that grammar cannot be related to any other sport, but my basketball expertise exceeds that of any other competitive sport.  For those of you who enjoy/ know the game of basketball, then you will quickly understand how grammar and basketball can be related.  For others who may not understand, bear with me. 

When discussing the key components of writing, many would agree that basic sentence structure and grammar are the most important, fundamental skills that any writer should understand.  I would argue that with time, these skills become second-nature.  When writing becomes an ordinary task, however, I believe that knowledge about fundamental writing skills decrease.  To me, this diminution of fundamental knowledge can be compared to basketball.  As a basketball player from elementary school through high school, I learned that practice means everything.  You would probably think I was crazy if I told you that the summer following my sophomore year of high school, I shot 25,000 shots.  Yes, that’s the right number of digits.  The summer before my senior year, I shot until I made 5,000 three-pointers.  Both were tedious tasks, but the immense practice made my shooting more consistent.  As I analyzed every shot, I thought about the position of my elbow, decided if I had the right amount of leg support, and considered if I held my follow-through sufficiently.  The point I am trying to make is that sometimes you learn to make decisions based on feeling.  I think this applies to all sports and in the Writing Center as well.  If I were to try and explain how to shoot a basketball to another individual, I would struggle.  I know what is effective for me, but many times, I made in-game adjustments that I didn’t even know about.  My brain and body were able to adapt based on the success/failure of my last shot attempt.  With regard to grammar and working in the Writing Center, it’s easy to lose sight of fundamental writing skills.  I think we can all agree that we’ve written what seems like a ton of papers, summaries, and essays throughout our educational career that sometimes explaining the basics is the hardest aspect of working with writers.  We may be qualified based on our abilities to write, but I think our ability to explain why certain writing conventions exist is the most difficult task.  If you’re like me, you decide if a sentence is grammatically correct based on the way a sentence sounds or “feels,” not by grammatical limitations and rules.  So what’s the solution?  I think a little Schoolhouse Rock and practice working with others in the Writing Center will help.  Oh yeah, the book we’re going to read over break should help too!! Enjoy your breaks!