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Notes on Holding Conferences

 

  • Remember there's a student out there as well as a paper--and vice versa. You may be the only instructor the student will speak to this semester. 
  • Keep close at hand a scratch pad, a dictionary, and a prose style book. 
  • Allow ample time, but don't fritter it away in chat. Have in mind what you want the conference to accomplish. 
  • Find out first what the student thinks about the paper--positive, negative, horrified. Ask what went well and what didn't. 
  • Consider requiring your students to come in with a written plan for revision, as in this sample handout [Conference Prep]. 
  • Don't treat the paper as merely an occasion for criticism. Show you care about what the student wanted to say. 
  • If you have read the paper in advance, have in mind a few positive comments to start with and a few areas you want to question or criticize. 
  • If you read the paper for the first time in conference, don't leave the student sweating it out. Either let the student read aloud while you follow along making marks on a copy or have the student sit beside you, reading over your shoulder and listening to your verbalized responses. 
  • Go beyond impressionistic responses. Take the time to group major criticisms and to summarize. 
  • Offer concrete advice for improvement that can be used in the next paper ("Write out your thesis in one sentence before you begin the second draft," "Make an outline after/before you write the first draft," "Check the spelling of every word you aren't sure about."). 
  • Have your students make notes on your main suggestions--it is very easy to forget even when you care. 
  • End on a positive note. Assess the student's overall improvement and if that really can't be positive, tell the student a new desk lamp or chair or time of the day can make all the difference. </LI>