First shadowing experience

This was my first official trip to the writing center. I showed up on time with a mix of excitement and nervousness. I was scheduled to shadow writing consultant Megan Reilly. A senior majoring in Psychology, she turned out to be a very likable person. The office we were in had a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with a large round table in the middle and a small table for writer-consultant work. Fortunately she had an appointment at that time, and I could start shadowing right away.

The student writer was a freshman girl named Amanda, a lovely and innocent-looking Puerto Rican. Megan greeted her with a friendly and welcoming attitude, asking about her background and her experience so far with Richmond. I could tell that it made Amanda feel easier. She has sent Megan a complete first draft beforehand, making the rest of the session pretty straightforward. Although I didn't have a chance to look at the paper itself, I could tell from the conversation that it was an Art History paper about an apocalyptic engraving. Such a fascinating topic! Megan herself told Amanda that she was delighted to get to know this topic. As I half expected, Amanda's problem lied with the organization and thesis statement. She had an excellent body paragraph as Megan remarked, but only needed some synergy to synchronize it with the whole essay. A typical problem for competent first year students whose only disadvantage was some familiarity with college writing, I guessed. The rest of the time went on smoothly. One observation I made was that Megan took care to use the suggestive tense extensively, such as "I would shy off from this..." or "I suggest you do this...". This practice both conveyed a sense of respect to the writer and made them feel that she was really in control of her essay. She left satisfied. So did I.

After the session, I stayed and talked with Megan about the job. It turned out to be much more enjoyable than what all the regulations and ethic practices made it out to be. It certainly helped fuel my passion for the job. The only thing I felt uncomfortable with, however, was that sometimes when Megan gave a suggestion, I felt like I could really say something to add more weight into her voice, or to suggest something when she played safe and said "I don't know what to say here". I refrained from all of that, however, fearing that it would undermined her authority and the exclusivity of the writer-consultant relationship. I really don't know if I should take this to her next time.

Overall, it was a pleasurable experience. This job grows more interesting to me day by day. I get a chance to look at all different kinds of writing. I have a serious boss who is very easy going yet has a take-no-shit attitude when it comes to the job. Yes, Dr. Essid is definitely a figure to aspire to. Finally, I get to meet with all these people and a chance to improve my social and writing skill.