Email Consultations and Word Choice

This week I observed my first email consultation. I feel that the emphasis on increased awareness of terminology and word choice was even more  apparent in email consultations than face-to-face consultations. Tone, word choice, and terminology were things that Sierra paid a lot of attention to in her email consultation.

First, I noticed that she wrote the entire response as a conversation. She said things she would have said in a face-to-face consultation, but she said them in very specific ways. She referee to herself as "the reader" throughout, saying things like, "As a reader  I wanted to see more detail in this paper." This terminology reinforced the equal power structure between the consultant and the writer, in a way that could have been reinforced in more subtle ways and through body language in a face-to-face consultation. She also talked about things in terms of "this confused me" or "I wondered about this..." Rather than saying, "You were unclear."

One of the most interesting terms Sierra was very specific about was talking about the paper when she was making negative comments, and talking about the writer when she was making positive comments. In other words, she would say something like, "This paper needs smoother transitions," and, "You did a great job introducing your topic." I think this fits the values of the Writing Center in empowering writers to be better writers in the future--focusing on their strengths, and realizing a draft does not define them as a writer. She went a step further with this, as well, but stating suggestions in positive rather than negative statements: rather than saying, "Don't include so much detail in your introduction," she said, "Trying putting the important details in your body paragraphs."

Sierra also formed most of her statements as questions, realizing that she couldn't necessarily have a dialogue with the student in an email consultation. This was her way of helping the writer think through what she wanted to say in her essay, something that is important in any consultation.

Finally, I was struck by how careful Sierra was with her word choice. She mentioned how great it is to be able to think through every word you say to writers because of the asynchronous communication, and how it's important to be as unambiguous as possible since body language isn't there to back up your message.

I got a lot out of Fulwiler's piece this week, too. It reinforced the fact that consulting really will help me become better writer. I read that entire piece with my own current draft in mind, and got excited about the fact that I'll be able to relate to writers when they're struggling through the revision process. It helped me think through what we read the first week in North's piece: that rewriting is at the heart of the writing center's work and philosophy. Rewriting is crucial in my own writing process, so seeing a more theoretical approach with some practical suggestions was helpful.