Focused on Writing

I've been putting off this blog post for a while because initially, I was feeling like I didn't have anything to write about in regards to my writing center experiences. I kept thinking that something really memorable would happen and that I would have an interesting story to share. As the weeks have gone by though, and I've attended more shifts in the writing center, I realize that as I tutor more students, I find myself becoming a better reader/writer and that was something I hadn't really seen coming.

Reading comprehension was never my strong suit. It wasn't that I didn't understand what I was reading, or that the material was too difficult to understand, it's just that my mind seems to always travel elsewhere if not properly engaged. It doesn't matter what the subject matter; I can be really interested in something, but still find myself wandering off mentally. I thought this would be an issue when I started tutoring. Sometimes it takes me a while to read through something and stay focused enough to see how it flows; this was a flaw in my own drafting/revision process. However, as my sessions have progressed, I've realized that I'm improving. I suppose previous to tutoring in the writing center, I hadn't had much exposure to student work. But now that I am on a frequent basis, I pay attention to the various tones and voices the students chose to implement; I focus on the thesis statement and am mindful of how it is carried out in the paper. Each of these techniques allows me to stay tuned in on what I'm doing, and simultaneously allows for critical thinking skills I can apply back to my own writing. Through these tutoring sessions, I've become more familiar with the way the essay works and that has not only allowed me to focus throughout a session, but also to better analyze my own writing.