What can I expect in a session?
A typical session is conducted by a consultant (a student who excels in English) and is 30 minutes long.
It begins with getting to know your assignment. You, the student, are asked to inform us about your assignment, and we then can discuss questions you might have concerning it. (Sometimes, if there is something about the assignment that remains unclear, you will be asked to contact your professor for further clarification.) Then, we ask you to read your paper out loud. Most people cringe at having to read aloud to a stranger, but this is actually easier than it sounds! Reading aloud allows you to find typographical errors or surface concerns that may pop up. Then, we are able to assess your paper to see what is going right with assignment appropriateness, organization, focus (thesis), development, coherence, and, if there are any other issues that surface, we help you focus on what needs work.
However, we are not proofreaders or editors. Consultations are designed to help you discover your own power as a writer and teach you the necessary skills needed to become a good writer. Time permitting, we cover grammar issues you might have. Once the session is complete, we write you a note on the progress of the session that can help when revising your paper.