Audience Awareness

I have to say, I absolutely love how the work that we do in our Writing Center bleeds into our work in the classroom, into the conversations we have with peers and instructors, even family and friends.  I understand that the overlying theme of our work is effective communication and collaboration.  This foundation is evident from day one.  This week has happened to be one where I found example after example of how my "mad skills" from 303 and my experiences with writing center peeps offers so much to all of my collegiate experiences.  

Another week has passed, and I gained so much insight working with our international, ESL, and English 90 students.  Recognizing that this is the majority of our clientele I wanted to make sure that everything that we've talked about in 303 was at the forefront of my mind when each student arrived to discuss their writing.  

I know that a first time ESL student that was required to meet with me to revise his play review expected me to rewrite the paper for him.  But our conversation was rich in thoughtful questioning from me--the pencil was solely in HIS hands rather than mine.  I learned more about South African culture and mannerisms that explained the overall flow to his writing.  He learned how to translate how he spoke into what we expect on paper.  It's funny how we all want to write how we talk, but recognize that audience dictates what ends up on the page.  I could tell that he appreciated the insight about audience awareness (would you talk like this to your parents? Oh, no, no, no, no that is disrespectful).  

All in all, a great week that I expect will be followed by a great week.