Ghada Seifeddine Thursday, February 27, 2014 Reflection on Writing Center Experience In my experience at the writing center, I observed

the way the tutor interacted with me. The session started with a warm greeting, where the tutor provided us with space on the desk to sit and discuss my literacy essay. The tutor asked me whether I had copies of my essay, and a prompt, after which I nodded in approval. The tutor then suggested that I introduce myself by saying my name and major. However, while I thought it was the right way to go when meeting a student for the first time, the tutor should have introduced herself as well, at the beginning. I believe that creates a notion of mutuality in tutor-student interaction, keeping both sides at the same level. After brief introduction, the tutor took one copy of the essay in hand, and asked me what it the essay was about. I referred to the prompt, and then explained that I was writing about my journey as a writer, and how this evolved throughout years of experience. She read the prompt in silence for a few seconds, and then looked back at me. I started reading my essay aloud, which I believed to be a great strategy when trying to assess an essay. Through reading, I found out that I could target mistakes I hadnt noticed previously. I also detected how her body language appeared like, which was welcoming, yet somehow shy and enclosed at the same time. Her movement seemed a bit fluctuating at first, which affected how I articulated my ideas at the beginning. While reading my essay, the fact that the writing center was a bit crowded did not make me very comfortable. Perhaps the tutor should have noticed that, but she was engrossed in what I was reading. What I really appreciated is the fact that she did not let me continue till the end, but stopped me in places she thought something was a bit off. She would ask questions on several particular ideas, just to see if she comprehended the message behind them. She would reread what I wrote and tell me how some sentence can be expressed in better terms, due to their unclear statement at times. I noticed the fact that she took notes while I read, and saw that as a positive action to take. After I was done reading, she told me what she understood from all that I wrote down, and asked me about my aim in all of this. Her addressing of my content to clarify my words, not only for her, but for my own sake as well, shows how essential it is to make a student restate his thoughts in a summarized form. In fact, it was remarkable that she did not tackle the issue of grammar, until I brought

Ghada Seifeddine Thursday, February 27, 2014 it up. She told me how she was busy focusing on what I had said, rather than the structure. I find that intriguing because I believe that content exceeds grammar. Nonetheless, she informed me that I had minimal errors in that area, but suggested that we read again to see if we can spot any mistakes throughout the paragraphs. Hence, her organized transition from overall goal statement of essay, to particular ideas of every paragraph and into the structuring of phrases was quite impressive. It is actually what we were taught in the first week at the writing center; thus, she succeeded in complying to that golden rule in tutoring writers. As the meeting was approaching to an end, she asked me if I had further concerns, and provided her feedback, which was positive and constructive in nature. She managed her time well, tackling priorities in writing the way I thought was logical. She kept the copy I gave her to herself, which may infer that she will refer to it again if I wish to visit her once more. I believe that is a gesture I did not think of previously, and will adopt when I start tutoring others myself. Our meeting was truly a smooth interaction between writer and tutor, and ended in a friendly handshake before parting. Going to the writing center as student opens up my mind and ideas to how future students will feel when I am their tutor, and how critical they will be of our relationship. I can safely say that it is vital to consider being in the students shoes before ever delving into the job of a tutor.