Friday Thoughts

Folks have been asking for more opportunities to engage professionally with the writing tutoring here at OU-C, and I am on the case!

To begin with, if you are bored and you wander here to our blog over break,
you may want to check out the IWCA blog at http://www.peercentered.org/.

I'm also looking at the ECWCA convention in Purdue this April . . .
I wonder what we could learn if we went and checked it out?

My Literature Ladder!

Hey, guys! I just finished my literature ladder for my English 356 online course. I'm really proud of it and wanted to share. Have a peek if you feel like it!

http://redscarfgirlitladder.blogspot.com/

Winter Quarter Writing Contest

So, I know Deb is going to start asking us for ideas for this, so I decided to get a jump on it.

My thought is we should ask students to write about snow, seeing as it is Winter. Not just about what it looks like or what it is or something boring like that. Write about what snow is to them. How does snow make you feel, what emotions does it invoke, what does it remind you of? Does it take you back to where you grew up? Do you love it or hate it? Does a blanket of snow make you feel peaceful or does it look like the death of all the color of Autumn.

Write about what snow is to you personally.

Wrapping Up

As we approach finals, take a moment to reflect on your own tutoring practices from this quarter . . . what techniquies worked best? What could be done better?

[Remember, since this is a public space, be careful to protect the privacy of individual tutees.]

Back from Vegas!

Back from the conference and sitting at my desk catching up.

Of course there was just a ton of information and I am still sorting it out. I met some directors with the same challenges and concerns that we are facing, and we had a great exchange of ideas.

Perhaps the most useful workshop for me was the one on assessment. Wow. I don’t know where to start! I just want to make sure folks are envolved and happy with their tutoring positions here at the Writing Center.

I hope my own 16 hours a week here will be enough to implememnt some of the neat ideas I've brought back such as establishing some Writing Center Workshops, brown bag lunches, and/or tea & cookie series.

Where do we want to take the writing Center next quarter? How could we be of more use here on Campus? What workshops could we offer that would be useful? Ideas?

OLN Initiative: Learning Communities and the Writing Center

Last Friday, October 17th, I attended a kickoff for the Ohio University Chillicothe Technology-Rich Creative Writing Learning Community at Shawnee State University.

What we are looking at, specifically, is an OLN (Ohio Learning Network) partnership between the WC and Dr. Jan Schmittauer's online writing courses.

This partnership is an exciting opportunity to begin thinking of all the benefits and challenges of online tutoring.

So, let's begin the conversation here.

What experiences, if any, have you had with online tutoring? What benefits do you see coming from this partnership? What challenges might we need to be aware of and work to overcome? Perhaps some people will be more inclined to engage in online tutoring than others--these are all issues we will need to discuss.

I'd like some type of initial response to this post by Nov. 3rd.

Also, I'll be putting a brief reading, "Protocols and Process in Online Tutoring," in your mailboxes. Please have it read by the 3rd as well and feel free to use it in your response.

Cheers,
Debra

B.t.w. I did see Tim & Kelly! What a hoot--they weren't expecting to see me at all. They are doing great and promised to stop in soon.

Let us FUEL your creativity!

Women, Politics, and Other Fairytales

As a current OU-C student, you are invited to submit any work of fiction, 1200 words max, that addresses an aspect of the theme Women, Politics, and Other Fairytales. This contest is open to all sub-genres of fiction including, but not limited to, traditional prose, fables, fairytales, science-fiction, romance, action-adventure, horror, comedy, satire, and collage. The title of this contest is meant to be both provocative and open to interpretation.
Although we gladly accept and support traditional mediums such as short stories and poetry, we also encourage those students who may be inclined to experiment with contemporary mediums such as graphic design (limit of 36”x24”), short film (limit of 6 minutes, please include script), blog excerpts, online websites (please provide links), comics, and other forms. First Place and honorable mentions will be announced no later than the first week of Winter Quarter.

First Place: $75.oo Gas Card !

All submissions are due by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 10, 2008, at the Learning Center in Stevenson.

Submissions are limited to two per student. Entry forms are available at the Writing Center where entries will be submitted in triplicate with cover sheet. Applicants will list ONLY PID#s, on every page, in either header or footer (all entries bearing names will be disqualified). Entries will be read by a panel from the OU-C English department and undergo a fair-minded selection process involving no fewer than three judges. Students are encouraged to use the Writing Center as a confidential resource for thoughtful feedback.

Banned Books Reading

I'd like to thank Squid and Tree for a terrific hosting of Banned Books! Your topic was well-chosen, and your analysis, fresh.

The presentation also went very well. Those who attended left informed and thoughtfully provoked.

Great Job!

"Let Us FUEL Your Creativity this Quarter"

Looks like we might be given the "go" in making a series of Writing Contests with a prize of a $75 gas card for first place.

Ehem--More Writing Contest Ideas Please

Decent Presentation

The one presentation flopped. Badly. So I tried to have a better game plan for the next one.

Trying to have the students engage in the presentation helped. I wrote a simple sentence on the board and asked them to help me elaborate with detaily words. (I didn't say detaily in the classroom, it is just fun to type). The class seemed somewhat interested, and may actually come over for help.

notes for next time:

Bring a jump drive to show the class. Someone had one, but it would be nice to simply hold it up and say "These are so helpful, get one!"

Smile. it makes it seem as if you actually like presenting.

The Even Darker Side of Censorship: Is it ever needed?

If so, under what circumstances?

First Customer...

My first tutoring experience (ironically the first for the school year) was not what I expected. I figured I would look over a paper, fix a few grammar problems, and maybe guide someone to a better thesis or closing statement. Did I forget to mention that I wasn't expecting to actually do this till this coming week or the week after? [Ironically, censored close to banned book week . . .] She really wasn't what I expected and I hope that I gave her the encouragement she needs to keep up with school.

The OU-C Writing Center Reinstates the Quarterly Writing Contest

Please post ideas for the Fall Writing Contest here.

Owning the Tutor's Star/Celebrity

Deb and I briefly discussed our "stardom" or "celebrity" in the classroom. Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate a few strokes to the ego like any other grade-fearing student, but when it comes to my star I'd like it to shine on its own. I do not enjoy the classroom spotlight. I would prefer that I sit in the back of the room and flicker on and off at will. But, alas, after my discussion I have decided to get my shine on! Shine on my tutoring sisters and brothers, SHINE ON!

"Lil Star" by Kelis.
(edited lyrics)

There is nothing special about me
I am just a lil star
If it seems like I'm shining brightly
It's probably a reflection of something you already are

Just keep trying and trying
It's just a matter of timing
Though the grinding is tiring
Don't let 'em stop you from smiling
Just keep trying and trying
Sooner or later you'll find it
It's surprising how inspiring
It is to see you shining

I am just a lil star
If you try to reach out an touch me
you'll see I'm not really that far
I may not be the brightest nor am I the last one you’ll see
But as long as you notice, that’s just fine with me
Everything’s just fine with me

Sooner or later you'll find it
It's surprising how inspiring
It is to see you shining
Cause in the dark of the night you're all i can see
and you sure look like a star to me

There is nothing special about me I am just a lil star
I’ve been running and jumping, but barely
Getting over the bar
I plan on being much more than I am, but that's in do time
But until then I'm guilty, and being humans my crime

Welcome, Fall 2008!

I'm glad to be back in the full swing of classes, and I hope/trust that you are too.

Right now, I am working on a "presentation" schedule for those of us who will be visiting classrooms in the next couple of weeks. That schedule is posted on the file cabinet beside my desk.

If you are visiting a class:

1. be sure to describe our services in the context of the writing process--we want to be known as more than a mere "fix-it-shop,"

2. be sure to mention our WAC services and pass out bookmarks,

and 3. urge students to invest in a memory stick so that they can work on our computers easily.

If you have questions or concerns about your presentation (try to keep them at 10 minutes please, excluding questions), just let me know.

Have a terrific quarter, folks!
Debra

Resources

Collection of really great resource sites:

http://www.collegedegree.com/library/college-life/100_extensive_university_libraries_from_around_the_world

Some of these links lead to image sites. It's a bit like going to museum in your jammies. Might be good for visual learners, or people who need appendices in their research papers for junior comp. Others go to international libraries or topic specific places such as medical libraries or religious studies.

And number eleven is Ohio University. How cool is that?

Jesse Stewart

"And I am firm in my belief that a teacher lives on and on through his students. I will live if my teaching is inspirational, good, and stands firm for good values and character training. Tell me how can good teaching ever die? Good teaching is forever and the teacher is immortal."

- The Thread that Runs so True

Introducing...

Fall Quarter's Writing Center line-up!

Front row, left to right: Ashlee Daniels, Jennifer Slone, Karalea Lane. Back row, left to right: Leona Mount, Regan Sowers, Denver Karshner, Sarah Cook.

3-day training...

So, does anyone else think that was the easiest 3-day training you have ever been to?

And being shang-haied into pictures before even finding out I was on the schedule was amusing.

Plus that interveiw was a breeze :)

'sigh' Life should always be like this.

Cultural Diversity

OU-C does not have that much cultural diversity at first glance. My first quarter here I was surprised at how many students speak English as a second language on this campus. The differences that we don't see, become apparent when we begin to read what someone writes.

I suppose if we were to spend quite a bit of time theorizing, we could discover many things about ourselves but noting what we like and dislike in others. This was a class on writing skills thought. I have always found it interesting how we can learn about ourselves by what we know about those around us. I value true happiness, and strongly dislike fakeness.

On an aside note, I have been thinking of a conversation had over Christmas. Someone asked weather we would want to be permanently mildly ill and rich, or perfectly healthy and poor. I decided rich and healthy. having many repairs to my home (replace windows, holes in floors, ceilings falling) I decided financial stability would be incredibly important. Now with allergies, I'm beginning to realize and having a runny nose really sucks. I am used to not being that financail stable , and speaking with a runny nose is stubit....rethinking values....

Free Your Mind

I believe that I will bring a wide range of diversity with me to the Writing Center. I have lived quite a few places from a log cabin in the woods to the hustle and bustle of Kansas City, MO. I am a single mother and very family-oriented.

I will strive to have an open mind and always provide positive feedback. All-in-all I think that I am an open-minded person and am always looking for new experiences and perspectives.

Bringing diversity experience...

If nothing else, I can bring the ability to bridge the gap between academia and Appalachia. With my maternal grandparents being from the hills, and my father's family coming from farming communities, I have always maintained two sets of vocabulary that I regularly work from on a daily basis. This allows me to speak with students whose word pool could be on the smaller side, and help them expand their choices or explain what a professor is looking for in a paper.

I have no hangups about race, religion, gender, or sexual preference. I suppose this could be a good thing, as there aren't many subjects that would offend me or make my job more difficult.

Yay, Diversity!

I love diversity. I encourage as much of it around me as possible. Most of my life experience, as well as my experience with diverse individuals, comes from my time at the paper. Working in journalism puts you in a position where you must be unbiased and fair to everyone reading what you print, no matter what your personal feelings are or how well you can relate to your constituents.

I've worked with both powerful men and women, from all nationalities. But even though tolerance for diversity was necessary in my job, I was still catering to a primarily white, low-to-middle-class community. Most of our subscribers fit into those categories. However, when you print the news, you know that the information you produce is typically sent out into a vacuum, and you don't get feedback unless you did something wrong. While I was producing news for a certain audience, I had to be constantly aware of offending someone outside of the targeted community.

I plan to use this experience with diversity in my job here at the Writing Center. Hopefully, I can be more tuned in to my tutees' needs and personal convictions without allowing my own to come into play.

Day Three: Wrapping Up

Hopefully we have discussed several ways for you to approach your first tutoring session next week, and please remember that we are always here for additional questions and concerns that may arise!

This morning, we spoke briefly about those whom we admire and those who annoy us--what do these quirks reveal about ourselves? How might our own feelings and attitudes effect the ways in which we tutor?

For your last blogging assignment this week, I'd like for you to consider what experiences with diversity that you can bring to your work at OU-C Writing Center. Remember to consider lots of ways people are different: age, race, gender, abilities, geography, class, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

History made fun.

My favorite writing assignment was in a humanities class. I was told to describe a way to make learning fun. I choose to write about lesson I had personally experienced.

In middle school I had a teacher that deviated completely from the books for an entire chapter. It was Athens vs. Sparta. The class was split in two and each became a member of one of the cities. Each individual was given a job and assignments to be done throughout the week.

At the end of the week the two cities came together and had an Olympics. Athens won all of the first day's events since they were all recite this, or what is that, and our teacher told us that our grade was based on how well we did. Sparta was mad.They had not been told to memorize anything. The next day they were told to show Athens their war plan. They were allowed to take out their anger that way.

This was a smart way of submerging the class in history. We recreated what happened, and this way we understood why it happened. I've never forgot that class. Oh and by the way, everyone received an A for that week.

Personal experience always makes writing more fun as well as liking what you are writing about. The assignment was specific enough to give direction, yet broad enough not to constrict or dictate what to write.

learning to write

My best writing expirernce?.....umm...trying to think...go it!

In eng 151 the first assignment is a personal narritave. Always. We had a brainstorming session in class and it became apparent that everyone was writng about similar topics. I don't know if anyone else noticed that all were apeaking if writng on their parents (or thier) divorce, giving birth, or the death of a close friend or family member. While most of those expierences applied to me, I decided I had to write about something different.

While getting dressed the next day, and lamenting the clothes in my closet that I can no longer wear, I realized I had a topic. I could write about why my shirts no longer fit; my breast reduction!

I re-wrote that paper six times before turning it in. Then it was suggested I submit the paper to the Women's Studies literary journal. Which meant more re-writesas the word count was different. It is easy for me to make suggestions to someone else's paper of what to remove. The words aren't mine, so it dosen't matter whcihc ones go and which ones stay.

I stared at my computer for hours decided what part of my story was going to have to leave. The deadline was midnight for submission. the third page, half of the opening paragraph and most of my conclusion were deleted into cyberspace. The next day, i was told my story would be prinited int he journal. The late night was worth it.

Re-writing sucks, as I am so tired of that piece I cannot even think of it without wanting to adjusting more to the final version. This was not the most enjoyable expierence I have ever had, but it was the one that taught me the most about how to write. That is significant.

Oh, and learning to spell my name in cursive was wonderful. but i don't think that is the type of writing we are blogging about.

Fight the Power

When I heard the words 15 to 20 page research paper I contemplated dropping the class. I saw many others leaving for break and never returning. I knew the class was required so I just bit the bullet and plodded along. The professor allowed us to choose our own topic and it was to be an argumentative research paper with at least 10 sources.

My topic was re-opening civil-rights-era murder cases to make up for the severe lack of prosecution during that time period. I new I would have a unique topic and one in which that I was interested. The professor kept trying to get me to change my stance, but I wouldn't budge. I was quite proud of myself when I received an A- on the paper along with his comments that I didn't take any of his suggestions. This just proves that if you fight your side and are able to amply back it up a GOOD professor should stand behind you and your work!

My Favorite Paper

Deb asks, "What makes good writing?"

A couple quarters ago, I had the pleasure of taking Lisa Wallace's Intro to Women's Studies course. For our portfolio, we were assigned a three-to-five page paper that reflected upon a topic that we had discussed. The topic was to be one that was personally interesting to us. During the course, we had distributed surveys to gague peoples' reactions to Hillary Clinton running as potentially the first female president of our country. Because we had focused on Clinton and her influence on women today, I chose to write my opinion on the issue.

My paper was an argumentative one. I wrote it before the primary election, when emotions were flying between Clinton and Obama. I made my case for Obama as my candidate of choice, citing that I think Clinton is not necessarily the heroine women today need. I called her out for trying to be too much like a rich white man, and for backpedaling on issues that could actually improve women's lives.

I won't get into specifics here, because politics isn't the point. The point is that I had a fabulous time writing the essay because I was so immersed in the subject. I think that is the one boundary that writers must overcome above all else: You have to find a topic that interests you, that lights a fire under your butt, to produce a great piece. I got an A on the paper and would've been happy with almost any grade, just because I had so much fun writing it.

Best Writing Ever! ;)

At the beginning of spring quarter of my sophomore year, a professor approached me about writing a paper to present at an academic conference. The topic? Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the television program, not the movie). Being an obsessed fan from the pilot episode to the end of season seven, I eagerly accepted. . . And then spent weeks agonizing over exactly what to focus on and how to get everything I needed out of the subject.

While many prefer to look at Buffy as nothing more than supernatural soap opera, those of us who analyze and pay attention know better. Focusing on the character of Spike, I went on to discuss his changing style of masculinity within the confines of the show, his personal hero's journey, and how he grows as a person throughout the seasonal story arches. Spike, formally William the Bloody, formally William-the-bloody-awful-poet, styles himself in the way that he thinks men ought to behave through his interactions with the world and those around him.

Presenting the paper in Greensboro, NC, on a rainy late spring day in June frightened me, but also gave me the confidence to know that I can do that again. Besides, presenting a paper at a conference reserved for mostly masters students and those with PhDs looks quite impressive on a resume.

Day Two: Write!

We began today's training by freewriting about our worst paper/project/writing experiences. Most people focused on unclear or poor teachers, horrible topics, and other frustrations.

I hope we keep these student-oriented concerns in mind as we begin to tutor students in the fall and continue to think of ways to work productively through most difficulties.

For your blogging assignment today, I'd like for you to focus on your best writing experience! Narrate that situation. Remember: lots of sessions end beautifully, with both the tutee and the tutor feeling satisfied with the writing progress. So, as you are narrating your experience, address the question "what makes good writing?"

So, if this is a public blog...

Where's the public?

Blogging, more like flogging

I'm not into blogging. It seems very emo to me. Why must we type our thoughts and feelings when we are all setting not 10 feet from each other? Don't get me wrong, I love to read and write, but then I like to talk to people about it, not type out my thoughts for the world to see.
In other news, I'm excited to work in the Learning Center. This should be fun.

Tuesday Training

Day one of training: The muffins were tasty.

Ok, so there was more. I remember being nervous my first quarter. It is easy to forget how something that comes as second nature to me now seemed so intimidating then. What I do here has become almost a hobby for me. I proofread published books. As I am reading them, I am double cheking comma usage in my head. But I remmber being nervous someone would be offended by something I had corrected in thier paper.

Once someone came to me so proud about thier grade (I helped them get a B), I stopped being timid. People need a chance to help them get a good grade. That is my job.

Tommorow I need to rememebr to bring water. The muffins make me thirsty.

The First Day

So far, so good. It seems like we will all mesh well together and be able and willing to support each other. Am I the only one that thinks "tutees" is amusing? I have already added a new word to my vocabulary! I truly believe that you learn something new every day...Here's hoping!

Odd Companions...

The training today has certainly helped me with reconciling myself to the thought of starting school in a week. For the last few weeks, I have been occupied with thoughts of being pregnant and how that will affect all other aspects of my life. Helping others write more thought provoking, well-thought-out papers should, in turn, help me be able to focus on the important changes that are about to occur.

I have always thought of myself as a writer, so it is in the helping of others that I will find my challenges. It will be difficult to hold myself back from putting too much of myself into their work, and to keep myself from possibly changing their writerly voice.

Happy to Be Here

I'm certainly excited to be working at OUC's Writing Center.

So, here's some background info on me. I'm happily married to an Adult Services Librarian and have a gorgeous soon-to-be five-year-old daughter. We live in Waverly with our three cats. I previously worked as the editor of "The Pike County News Watchman" for five years. I returned to OUC last Winter to finish a degree I put off for six years. It's about time, is all I can say.

I've finally decided what to actually do with my English degree, which is teach. Therefore, I'll make my attempt at grad school before long. I'd like to attend OSU, since they offer a five-quarter Masters program in English Education. I've just always known that teaching is my niche, and I can't waste it. However, I've been determined to avoid majoring in education. I'd rather specialize in my field, and then learn all of the administrative/paper work/how-to-teach mumbo jumbo.

So, this new opportunity is particularly exciting for me. My goal is to immerse myself in this wonderful language we call English, while teaching others how to use it. At my job as editor, I worked mainly fixing others' writing errors, without having the opportunity to sit them down and correct their issues one at a time. Since we were constantly on deadlines, this was just the most efficient way to get the work done. However, I know that those poor writers weren't getting any better by me fixing their errors. Working here at the Writing Center, I'll be able to actually feel like I'm making a difference in my peers' education. I truly believe knowledge is power, and I want other people to have this revelation, as well. I plan to bestow it upon everyone I possibly can!

I also welcome this opportunity to learn and grow my own skills. I know everyone has room for improvement, and I'm ready to improve! I hope this experience gives me more ambition to produce my own works, as well. I've never really thought of myself as a writer, per say, but I think it's in me, somewhere, somehow. Maybe this experience will help draw it out of me!

Day One of Fall 2008 Training!

Glad all could come and participate in this WC orientation/training gig. I hope you find our time together meaningful and helpful when you sit down with your first tutee next week!

For the next 30 minutes, I would like for you to take the time to peruse our Writing Center blog and to join in on our conversations.

[I have handouts of the reading materials we have used so far. Catch up on them as you can.]

Otherwise, I challenge you to further reflect on today's topics and to create your own post here, summarizing, analyzing, critiquing, and/or simply responding to what you have learned.

Then, be sure to comment on at least one other post from today.

See you tomorrow!

A Pest Ghost! Er, I mean... a Guest Post! ...Or Was I Right the First Time?

Geia sas, agapati filia moy! Yes, it's all Greek to you... for the annual Labor Day Greek Festival is going on in Columbus and I'm a-gonna be there this year. w00t! Er, I mean... OPA!! I am an admitted Hellephile (and no, that doesn't mean I molest people named Helen), so I'm all happy about going.

I hope you all enjoy your long weekend! Don't get pulled over by cops or anything. Don't burn any body parts on the grill.

...No, there's really nothing special about this post. I just wanted to post.

From the coast.

As a ghost.

...with some toast.

Shutting up now.

Two Great Tutors

Yes, we lost Tim and Kelly at the end of Spring quarter as they transitioned to Shawnee University, but most recently, we've lost BRANDI and KATIE!

Brandi has tutored for ages and we will certainly miss her expertise and charm. Kent State's MA program is certainly lucky to have her. However, we know that no matter what Brandi does, she will excel and bring back lots of new stories with her visits to the Writing Center. Perhaps we will even be treated with an occasional guest blog . . .

And Katie is off to Muskingum to study our ever-pressing environmental issues. Will she survive dorm life? Will she find a handy Starbucks or Subway? Who will create our fliers and bookmarks? We will miss you Katie, and we hope you find a fantastic niche at Muskingum where they appreciate you as much as we did/do!

Visit anytime, folks!

Is this what we do?

Found this site, which seems more like a game to me.

http://www.telescopictext.com/

Somehow this seems like what I do as a tutor, but the angle is unclear. Do we as tutors build three word sentences into short essays? Or do we cut all the stuff out about the choice of biscuit and the color of the sky? And what are digestive biscuits?

Bye Bye Katie & Brandi!

Go ahead, leave us here to mourn your previous contributions. Like you really loved us anyway! No, I don't believe you! You SAY, you liked it here. If that's true, why are you both leaving? Oh, I see how it is, you think you're going to run off and "better yourselves." HA! Fools you both are! Remember, the devil you know is always better than the devil you don't know! Someday you'll both look back and realize what you left behind. And when you do...you'll rejoice with song and dance. That's when those of back at the ranch will know how cold and calculated you both were about "getting out." Yes, yes, one of these days you'll both get what's comming to you...a degree from a fine institution of higher learning. Good luck guys! We'll miss you both!

EBSCO Host Database

Thanks to all who participated in the EBSCO Host
database training on Friday.

Although the training was brief, I think those of us
who attended picked up a couple of useful skills
for searching EBSCO.

If you missed the session and would like more information,
contact Sarah Dilley at dilleys@ohio.edu .

Hypothetically Speaking

In Nicole Kraemer Munday's essay "(Non)Meeting of the Minds," she offers a close analysis of a tutoring scenario in which the tutee is actually empowered enough to take control of a writing session, only to have it flop.


What went wrong? If you were Sally, how would you have handled the situation? At which point?


Somewhere in your post, analyze your own tutoring approach--are you "nondirective or directive" (18)? Explain.

Can we aim for Wednesday, August 20 as a pseudo-deadline?

Response to Molly Wingate's "What Line?"

How does Wingate define/describe the difference between
"writer-centered, process-oriented"
and
"tutor-centered, product-oriented"?

Which does she seem to favor and why?
What other quotes from the text seem poignant?

Post due by Tuesday, August 5.

Focus Draft

The assignment, due in a week, is a three to five page paper on the effects that factories have on the environment. Tonight I need to write everything I can think of on the topic to sort out later. I call this the "vomit draft", because it reads like a bunch of nonsense vomited out of my brain. So environment...trees, yeah start with trees.
Trees depend in sunlight and clean air to grow, and in turn...
I like grilled cheese sandwiches...with a slice of tomato.
Where did that come from? I am kinda hungry. I'll get an apple to snack on, it'll help me focus better.
Okay, back to paper. Trees provide us many aspects of our daily lives. Everyone knows trees provide wood, but have you ever considered the living beings inside the wood? Birds, squirrels and many different species of insect would have to find new places to live if we started cutting down trees in favor factories. This means squirrels would start making nests in your house and you might have baby squirrels in your cupboards.
Do squirrels build nests? How come I have never seen a baby squirrel? When I was growing up, there was a squirrel in our neighborhood that would come up and eat marshmallows out of your hand. I bet marshmallows weren't healthy for him. Wonder what baby squirrels look like? I'll Google it. No, I have to write this paper.
Factories, while beneficial to communities, are increasingly devastating to the environment. That sounds like a thesis statement. It will go toward the beginning of my paper when I polish this up. I have an important part of my paper written already! I should take a break and check my e-mail.
Two hours later:
As I was logging in to check my e-mail, one of my friends sent me an instant message. I hadn't talked to her in a awhile, and so I chatted and did some research for the paper. Baby squirrels are cute. Learned that not only should I have never fed that squirrel a marshmallow, but it was possibly sick to be coming so close to humans. So after quickly researching rabies I discovered I would be dead by now if I had been infected. Then I got concerned over the nutritional value of marshmallows. After some quick discussion, my friend and i realized neither of us knew what was in a marshmallow. I looked it up, found out it is mostly corn starch and sugar. Disappointing, but not unexpected. However, I did find instructions telling me how to make a marshmallow bra, information that was shared with my friend over IM. Finds such as that must be shared, so I sent out an e-mail to all of my friends. I then responded to a few other messages, and logged off IM as I was getting sleepy.
As I stood up, a piece of paper fell off my desk. My assignment landed on my foot, the typed words glaring at me. Which has led me to sitting here, writing explaining why I have to close out of all open applications, turn the radio off, and begin to focus on my paper.
How often does this happen to you as a writer? Have you found anything to help combat this? Did any of you have a neighborhood pet? Does the destractibility help or harm your writings?

Responding to William Macauley Jr.'s "Setting the Agenda"

This essay is an excerpt from Ben Rafoth's A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One, which is in its 2nd edition (2005). I find it particularly appropriate for Rafoth to begin this collection with "Setting the Agenda"!
Agendas can be handy, yet particularly tricky when you do not have the slightest clue about where you should be at the end of a 30 minute session with any given paper . . . For another example, if pressed, I would have no idea how to set an agenda for this blog because I have no idea where it might take us . . .

However, my questions for you folks, for this post, would be: Did you find this essay useful? If so, in what specific ways? What parts were dull or non-applicable to our setting? Why? What observations can you make about Macauley's style or voice? Could you write something like this for, say, a conference?

Try to respond by Thursday, July 24th.

Welcome to the OU-C Writing Center's Blog

This blog has been established in the Summer of 2008 to serve as a virtual space for Writing Center tutors and staff to read, reflect, and write about shared experiences and visions of hope for the work accomplished here at Ohio University's Chillicothe campus.

We hope that this blog also becomes a public space where the work we do is not only more transparent to other students, faculty, and administrators, but also becomes an inviting conversation about the ways we can improve writing to learn strategies in our classrooms, in our careers, and even in our personal lives.