sbally’s blog

Shawn Bally

ENG 484

4/6/09

Writing Center Observation Reflection

         On April 2nd, 2009 I observed a writing consultation in the writing center. From the moment I entered the main writing center room with the consultant and the student, I was intrigued by the setting and surrounding. The room is set in an extremely welcoming design. It is set to look like a living room with a fake fireplace, couches, center table, flowers, paintings, etc. It was obvious that this setting was placed to establish a warm welcoming for students who need help with their writing pieces. Furthermore, the consultant was nothing shy of this warm and welcoming atmosphere. Whether planned or not, her voice was also easy-going and soothing to listen to. It was clearer that the student trusted this consultant because immediately when the consultant showed up, they began talking about how each other has been doing and if things have been going well. In this way, the consultant built a relationship of trust and rapport with the student.

         When the consultation began, the first thing the consultant asked the student was if she would be ok with the consultant using the “comment button” feature as a means to correcting and working with the student’s paper on the computer. She also explained that she wanted to allocate their time together as efficient as possible. Both of these acts motivated the student to stay focused and work productively from the start.

         As the consultant read through and edited the paper, she would use both praise and encouragement with the student. For example, when she would read a passage that she liked or found effective, she would tell the student “I really like what you did here.” Similarly in spots where the consultant saw room for improvement, she would tell the student “this is not a big problem. This is definitely something we can work on.” This was effective in helping the student because it never got her down on her inabilities or flaws.

         I also noticed that the consultant focused primarily on content as opposed to mechanics when assisting the student. While she did pay attention to the student’s organization, her focus was more on the support for the student’s argument and the argument that she was making. As a future writing teacher, this correlates with my priorities of working with students’ writing. That is, that content is always more important than the craft-centered aspects of writing.

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