February+26,+2010

After only a few weeks of class, I recently began shadowing shifts in the Writing Center. One of the first sessions I saw was something that we had mentioned only briefly in class: a student entered the WC, so I gave him a Client Need Survey and waited for him to fill it out. When he was ready, the actual consultant set the agenda by asking about the assignment, and I thought that I was about to experience just another normal session. When the client opened his mouth to speak, however, I immediately knew that I would be glad that I was only shadowing this session. He told the consultant that his professor had graded the assignment, had handed it back, and then had required the class to come in for a session without giving them the opportunity to revise their work. The client concluded by saying that the professor just wanted the students to get WC feedback on what she graded. The consultant expressed her frustration with the professor, and the student began repeating “I’m sorry, I know I’m wasting your time.” We both reassured the fact that we were there to help, and the consultant began the session by telling the client that we would just go through the paper and pick out some general aspects of the paper that may need revision. The session lasted only ten minutes, and the student left, apologizing once again but thanking us for helping him. Before this session, I had no idea what I would do in this situation, but now that I have seen this scenario played out, I have some suggestions to offer to the rest of you in case you encounter a similar experience:

1. Make sure that you keep any negative opinions that you may have to yourself. When our client saw that the consultant was even the slightest bit frustrated with the professor who required the student to visit the WC, he felt like he was inconveniencing everyone involved, which is definitely not a feeling we want to give our clients. We are there to help them, regardless of how silly we think their reasoning for coming may be. 2. Even if a situation like this occurs, treat the session just as you would any other. Pick out some aspects of the completed assignment that may need some revision because the client may be able to use these suggestions on a future assignment. Don’t let the session be a complete waste of time!

Now that I have encountered this experience, I will be much better prepared to deal with a situation like this. I will definitely be keeping these tips in mind for the next time (if there is a next time, of course) that a client walks into the WC with a completed and graded assignment for feedback.

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