Writing Center: exhausted mind yet mentally exhilarated

Bonjour Readers,

I'm realizing that it's mentally tiring to tutor back-to-back ( in a row ).  Albeit going through a similar process for every session - of introducing writing as a process, reading the writer's draft out loud, making minimal marks, and addressing the writer's concern et al within a minimum of 30 minutes - the mental energy it takes to focus can still be enervating.

One Wednesday afternoon, I experienced the craziness.  The 1st student needed help writing a critique for her health class.  She was confused , but great thing she brought her assignment description.  I gave tips on summarizing, and I gave her prompts to help her answer the questions.  I showed her how to locate the MLA section in her textbook.  In the end I briefly discussed the credibility of articles in the library's online databases.

The 2nd student needed help with her Ethics paper.  After she explained the requirements, I asked her for more background.  She summarized the movie she had to analyze plus the philosophy of Mill and Kant.  In the process, she realized that she needed to review both philosopher's stance.  By the end of our 60 minutes session, we figured out her personal stance, and we drafted an introductory paragraph.

I had 15 minutes break before the next student arrived.  The last 3 students' subject matter was easier compared to the first 2.  Their papers were of a subjective manner: developed personal opinions with structure.  However the last student was a 2nd language learner.  Brainstorming wasn't as difficult as putting her thoughts in standardized English.  I gave her a mini lesson on subject and verb, but I wasn't sure how much info she absorbed and comprehended.

At the end of each session, we come up with a revision plan, and I have students recap for me the session ( what we did ).  I encourage them to return, to procrastinate less, and lastly to practice a writing process.  Even if we couldn't address all concerns in one session, there's always the next session and the next time when we could help them.