February 18-22

         The weeks continue to be uneventful, though I did manage to have one student come in for a walk-in on Wednesday. They were interested in having a second pair of eyes on their paper for feedback purposes. The session itself was rather uneventful as well, however it did make me realize/think of something that I will be discussing here, that being how consultants should have a few basic steps that they cover at the beginning of every session. This would differ from the usual steps of explaining the writing center's services, and focus more on basic steps to get a session rolling, so to speak.
         The thought occurred to me as I was starting the session and had to double back a few times for clarification on the assignment. This strikes me as a result of not having many students come in lately, but I feel compelled to make a short list of steps that consultants (and myself) can follow if they're having trouble starting a session. The very basic necessities would be 1) ascertaining from the client what the paper is on, the assignment, 2) asking the client what they hope to accomplish during the session, what they need help with, and 3) asking the client what method would be most helpful to them (i.e. consultant reading paper aloud, student reading paper, student discussing assignment and specific sections of paper, etc). By following these steps, most consultants can avoid a "rough start" to a session where they may feel disoriented or at a loss for direction. It's also just a good rule to follow if you haven't had a session in a while and you need a refresher on how to get things going. Personally, my Wednesday session went fine after I doubled back, and the student was happy for my assistance, so thankfully my lack of activity hasn't yet dulled my ability to assist in terms of tutoring.

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