Robert Taylor - Blog Post 10

One of my regulars in the Writing Center is a student who is working on his dissertation in some type of medical research. His research has something to do with the way the ratio between intracellular and extracellular water in the body affects cognition in older and younger patients. I am not exactly sure what he does beyond that, mostly because I do not understand 25% of the technical jargon he uses to describe his work, yet he continues to schedule appointments with me to discuss his writing and the research he is doing to advance his own learning. It has been a learning experience for me as well.

Something I have appreciated about working with this student is that he is a competent writer, for the most part, and our sessions are usually an exchange of ideas between him (the author) and me (the audience). It has tested me as a reader and a writer because I do not usually know a lot about the subjects of his papers, especially when they get technical and specific to his research which I am not privy to. I have found my role is to serve as a curious and untrained reader, ensuring that I understand all of the connections and implications of his scientific papers while making sure that my understanding is only hindered by the jargon, rather than the writing. It’s been a humbling experience for me as a reader, writer, and teacher.

However, it has not been an unpleasant experience at all as one might expect. Instead, I have found myself eager to meet with him when I see his name pop up on my appointment screen. We have developed a report that allows us to get right to it when we meet, and there is trust between the two of us to an extent that I have not experienced with another writer before. Once I got over my initial discomfort and unfamiliarity with his field, which included a lot of apology and self-deprecation, it was easy for me to form an intellectual partnership with this student that is built on the rhetorical relationship between the author and the audience. 

 

Comments

  1. Lucie BerjoanNovember 9, 2020 at 6:18 AM

    I think this is so great, Robert. It reminds me of some of the successful creative writing workshops I've been in, which have been some of the most incredible experiences as a writer. I've often wondered how to extend that feeling of openness and vulnerability that leads to such productive work into a classroom setting. I think there has to be some level of care and commitment to writing as an art rather than just as a means of getting information across. Thanks for sharing!

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