Keeping Professional, Staying Objective

Finally, my first opportunity to shadow! A blonde girl dressed head to toe in pink was our first client to date. As the appointment proceeded I noticed from their talk of Edna Ponteiller that the writer was creating an essay on The Awakening by Kate Chopin, which happens to have changed my life and is one of my favorite books. I am a very talkative person, and while we discuss often in class the difficulties of being a consultant, I think that the apprentice side of the arrangement can be equally challenging in remembering to be quiet and observant. I was positively bursting during the session to share my insight on the novel, but I held my own and watched instead.

Ernest Hemingway said, “Listen now. When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking about what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe”. I am glad I did somehow find the patience to watch and listen. Our writer was concerned primarily with the demands of her teacher using repeatedly the words “weird” and “crazy” to describe his methods. She admitted that she didn’t understand the teacher’s style, and that she was frustrated that there are, “So many ways to write”.

The writing consultant immediately asked to see the assignment sheet, a helpful move, which I noticed, was strongly recommended by Anna Kendall in her article The Assignment Sheet Mystery when a student flounders with writing for a different mode than accustomed to, or grappling with the demands of a teacher. The assignment to me did seem overbearing and a little ridiculous for a college professor to assign, for example he required a quotation in the second sentence of the paragraphs, the consultant was respectful of the teacher’s opinion and didn’t join in to criticize the professor, as a consultant fell into the trap of doing in Training for Tough Tutorials: The Friend about a reluctant client. Instead the consultant kept her cool and professional attitude giving her input within the boundaries of the assignment.

Towards the end of the consultations the writer said, “I think I might try to shoot him” I froze in my seat “(dramatic pause)…. an email” I swear to you, that I really for a moment thought that one writer’s angst might have resulted in a horror. But no, the consultants professional demeanor must have been a positive influence for instead the writer endeavored to better understand her professor and polish her writing.