Tomorrow's Session

So, who’s excited for tomorrow’s session?! I know I am!! I’m really curious to see how I improve as a result of our previous sessions, and what advising strategies I incorporate.  Last time, I took an outline approach to help organize Brandon’s ideas; will this tactic will be beneficial for this assignment as well?  If not, what other strategies will I utilize?  I cannot predict what issues will need to be addressed with regard to Brandon’s paper, but I do know that I would like to both alleviate the issue of time, and engage Brandon as much as possible.  I understand that we have the full class period to work with the 101 students, but I also want to treat this session like the ones we will have in the future.  There needs to be some indication of time, and a steady working pace, so that the writers leave with a sense of direction.    
I found out last session that Brandon’s father is a police officer (just like mine!), and he is interested in writing about the texting-while-driving debate.  I am really interested in what Brandon has to say about this issue, and how he incorporates other’s opinions and scientific data.  Because this assignment requires an abundance of outside sources, I will look for clarity and flow within Brandon’s paper.  I think it is important that he successfully balance his ideas, alongside other’s, and does so in a way that engages the reader.  I will also look for strong points of argument, and whether or not the counter-argument is addressed.      

When it comes to reading style, I think I prefer working paragraph-by-paragraph.  With a lengthy work, like the papers we will be reading through tomorrow, I think it’s best to see if the individual paragraphs make sense and connect with one another.  That way, you are asking questions throughout the reading, and really focusing on the importance of each argument/piece of evidence.  The opposing, “big picture” strategy—reading the entire text without pausing, seems too complicated for me.  I feel like you can ask the writer to describe the point/main argument of their paper prior to reading, and then can look to see if those points are expressed.

With all of that said, my simple game plan for tomorrow is to be relaxed and as helpful as possible.  I hope that Brandon is at ease during the session, and continues to engage in his writing.  I think that reading paragraph-by-paragraph will be the best approach for this assignment; we’ll see how the actual session plays out!