Mentoring

This weekend was our class’s first mentoring experience. I was both excited and nervous about working with a student, because I did not know what to expect. However, once I started working with my student, Alex, I became much more comfortable and relaxed. As I started to read Alex’s paper, I realized that it was much better than I had expected. Her introductory and conclusion were the best parts of here paper, because her ideas were clear and her opinion on the subject was shown. Where Alex had the most difficulty was the body of her essay, which at times, was scrambled and disorganized. Although I could see that she had great ideas, she had difficulty conveying them so that the reader could understand the point she was trying to make.

One way I tried to help Alex, was by telling her to write as if she were writing to someone who had no idea what she was talking about. This would help her focus on specifically explaining the topics she was writing about, instead of assuming that her reader was knowledgeable on the subject. Often times, when writing, it is hard to detach yourself from the subject that you know so well, in order to explain it to someone who knows nothing about it.

Another way I tried to help Alex, was by asking her to write down, in one sentence, what her major idea or point was in this letter. By finding this one broad idea, Alex would have an easier time relating her points to the major theme or thesis of her essay. This is important because when writing, you do not want to randomly thrown in thoughts or go off on tangents that have no purpose to the central theme of your paper.

Lastly, in order to make her essay more concrete and credible, quotes would be needed. Although Alex’s first draft did not have any quotes, the article she was writing about had many paragraphs annotated and highlighted. I told her that this was a great start, because she had already made note of what was important in this article. All she had to do was extract these important points, explain why she chose them, and then relate them to the theme of her letter.

Although I would have liked to have spent more time with Alex on this assignment, I think that in the time we were given, I did help her develop ideas and think about aspects of her paper that she had not considered before. Even though we didn’t get to revise anything yet, I think that having Alex talk about her paper helped her find the meaning behind the ideas and statements used in this letter. In conclusion, I think this conversationalist approach to revision is a great technique for all writers, because often times it is easier to convey your ideas through speech rather than on paper.