Week Two, ESL Finance Student

"The point is this: We can discuss error in two ways: we can discuss it at a level of consciousness that places that error at the very center of our consciousness. Or we can talk about how we experience (or not) what we popularly call errors of usage as they occur in the ordinary course of our reading a text" (Williams 167).

This week at the writing center I experienced the first tutorial in which I have taken part. The tutor, who was nervous about working on a paper for a finance class (a class which she knew nothing about), first showed me how to check the calendar to see what to expect at your appointment. We waited for a few minutes until the student, a girl from eastern Europe, walked in with her 12 page paper.

A bit overwhelmed by the length of the paper, the tutor skimmed through the first pages, looking for any obvious errors. The first thing she could tell was that the paper was very well researched, but it had very little citations. The only in-text citations the student gave were authors' names before a quote. The student acknowledged the problem, but also told us that she did not know the proper form for citation. At this point, the tutor decided to move on and discuss citations later.

The student asked if the tutor could tell if anything was missing, but since the tutor was unfamiliar with the topic of the paper, she referred the student back to her professor, saying, "I'm not a good judge to tell you what's missing here."

I think I might have handled this a little differently. I probably would have asked a bit more about the assignment, and read through to see what questions arose from the paper. A well written paper can answer most of the reader's questions, and still raise more questions for further consideration. If there were a point in the paper in which the text was unclear, or needed more explanation, I probably would have looked to ask the questions I had about that part.

Having said that, the tutor moved on to grammar. She brought up three grammar points for the student to consider. First, she asked the student what the difference was between "balance of payment" and "balance of payments", if any. The student said she would look up the answer and make the term uniform throughout the paper. Next, the tutor turned attention to comma usage, explaining to the student that a comma is used to separate transition words (however, moreover, nowadays, on the other hand, etc.) from the sentence. This was a pattern of error the student had in her paper, so it was probably a good point for discussion. Finally the tutor told the student that there were other individual instances of translation issues, and that if the student had time to set up another meeting, she could go over those on the next draft.

After looking at some of these usage problems that hindered the reading on the first time through, the tutor tried to show the student how to use Noodlebib. Unfortunately, the student was only further confused because she did not know what format she was supposed to use for the paper. The tutor decided to show the student how to do MLA style citations, and used an example of a bibliography entry in MLA form.

I would have told the student that it was extremely important to find this out from the professor, and then come back to learn how to do the in-text citations and bibliography. Giving the student information about MLA style citations before knowing what format the professor wanted was probably not to the benefit of the student, especially if the professor wanted something else. This could only confuse the student more.

Overall, I enjoyed this meeting despite being sick with a stomach flu. I feel like I would have been able to help a lot more if I were feeling better. I tried to keep my distance because I didn't want to scare anyone off with my germs, so next time I will hopefully be able to interact a bit more.

Week One, Getting Acquainted With the Writing Center

The small, windowless room or two that is the UR Writing Center is located in the Administrative wing of the Boatwright library. Tucked away where no students can see or be seen, the center is not very welcoming to first time students. The dark shadow of the large clock tower keeps the red brick surroundings outside the entrance chilled and discouraging. Pulling open the heavy wooden door reveals a skinny hallway with a low ceiling and bare white walls. The hundred feet to the entrance of the Academic Skills and Writing Center is lit brightly by stinging UV lamps. I, already nervous about what I might find here, am tempted to turn around and walk briskly out the door. But met with the smiling face of a UR Writing Fellow, I begin to relax and recall my purpose here: learning through observation.

The warm face of my assigned fellow is perhaps the only warm thing about the writing center. The atmosphere is clearly not one that allows for students to relax and learn, and being that a student’s emotions should be taken into consideration during a tutorial, this place does not seem like an appropriate one for any type of learning. The five by five room, cloaked with the intrusive rumbling of a noisy air vent, was definitely crowded with just me and my fellow, leaving no room for a third should a student ever come into the center during one of my apprenticeship times.

However, since my writing was not being scrutinized by a strange set of eyes, I felt at ease after my introduction. My Writing Fellow, Claire, introduced me to the writing center, since we did not have a student scheduled to come in during her hour, and no one came in without an appointment either. She showed me what a valuable resource Writer’s Web can be, and told me that in her last session it helped her to explain comma use to a foreign student. I watched as she filled out the report form for her last session. I saw that not only was she kind in appearance and person, but her reflective thoughts were also very positive and encouraging. She seemed to truly take to heart what some of our readings have said about considering the emotion of a student who has worked up the courage to come in for help. I will take this to heart, especially after taking that first intimidating walk down the narrow hallway to the writing center.

Welcome!

This blog will be a reflection on my work as an apprentice to a Writing Fellow in the UR Writing Center. I will be posting once a week, so enjoy!