11/09

My first appointment on Monday was with a student working on a cultural ethnography paper, one of the papers I’ve already worked with in the Reading Writing Center. These students are all required to come to the RWC and all have forms that I have to fill out and sign/date for their teachers proving they came in. Despite the requirement though, I found this tutee to be specifically engaged, my appointment after her never showed, so I offered her the time to continue going over the paper and she was eager too. Most of the issues with the paper were very basic, some MLA formatting issues, and an excess of background information. Working on this paper with other students was helpful when approaching hers, as I had a better idea of the expectations of it, and was able to explain those expectations to her. There were some structural issues, and we talked about the ‘funnel’ (?) idea when organizing papers, which was helpful. She also needed to work on strengthening her topic and ending sentences, as well as her conclusion. I did think she took a lot away from the session, but she did work on her computer while we discussed it, and I assume she tried to edit her paper as rapidly as she could while we talked, as opposed to thinking about a lot of it herself.

            My next appointment was very different, I didn’t know what to expect because the appointment sheet online was filled out horribly incorrect. She was an International French Graduate Student, and the language barrier did pose a small issue, as we needed to communicate slowly and be a little repetitive on both ends to understand each other well. Otherwise, she came prepared with a discussion board post draft, and the main issue was her having trouble translating what she meant in French to coherent and equivalent English. It was certainly difficult at times, but with the help of my mentor who tutors alongside me, we were able to work at the rough spots. Overall it went well, but it was one of my more difficult sessions, I do feel more prepared for international students after this session.