My second observation was completely different from my first. Firstly, I was invited into the lounge in which the tutors reside and met with the person whose session I was paired to observe. The tutor had already been given the student's sign-in sheet, which listed the reasons for visit to the writing center. Before going out to meet with the student, the tutor showed me the sign-in sheet and shared a joke regarding the reason the student listed, which read, "fix essay". The tutor then jokingly said to me, "this might be a long session". The student came in for help regarding an ENG 102 essay in which she did poorly. Having written "fix essay" on the sign-in sheet, the tutor asked the student to state her specific reasons as for problems with the essay. The student highlighted that she may have had misunderstood the assignment instructions because her professor identified her thesis to be non-related to the topic(s). English was the second language spoken by the student, and her communication was very difficult to understand at times whilst sitting a bit distanced.
The tutor firstly set about by reading over the assignment instructions, followed by the student's essay. She then immediately stated her understanding for the possible reasons for the professor's comments and the grade given. The tutor then asked the student if it was possible to re-do the entire essay, because she will have to fully understand what the assignment is asking before constructing a new thesis. The student was completely willing to re-do the essay as she seemed very bothered by the grade. Additionally, the tutor was very helpful, kind, and displayed great body language throughout. She was also very encouraging as the student, again seemed very troubled by the grade. The tutor then explained the essay instructions in-depth until the student fully understood. One of the biggest problems that arose was that the student had not read an assigned reading prior to the assignment being given, so she automatically found herself behind. It could have also been a reason as for her misunderstanding of the assignment instructions.
Nevertheless, the tutor recommended the student to incorporate aspects of the essay and use it in the revised draft as she found some interesting points throughout. The tutor also encouraged the student to revisit the writing center before submitting the second draft or if she encountered any problems in route. (I personally felt with English being the student's second language, the particular assignment may have been a bit too complex to grasp at first).
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