Opening up this chapter and right off the bat, I found the anecdote on the first page to be extremely helpful. Listening to the whole of a piece can show the tutor where the writer is trying to go with their main idea, and the supporting argument that follows. Stopping on small structural mistakes in the beginning before listening to the whole can be pretty much bad advice. Something said in the beginning could be the opposite of what the paper entails later that could even clear up for the beginning mistakes. Not only is interrupting the reader detrimental to their confidence and comfortability, it can be outright wrong advice.
Moving into the heart of the chapter, I though the example of note taking was beneficial. In my first session, I had starting some note taking myself about what the student was coming for and some ideas of things I planned to show her on Eportfolio (because that was what she had signed up for). I haven’t had someone come to me with writing help but the method shown is something I will use in the future. The best part of the note taking example for me was the plus sign and question mark section. This is a way to show students where they did a great job with their writing, and where there are areas to improve. I like the question mark more than a negative sign because the goal is to be helpful and not critical. Another part of this method I liked was the inclusion of the assignment and the students goal at the top. This is able to act as a reminder for me during my note taking so my notes are centered around what the students goal is. If a student asked for my notes at the end, I would be confident in giving them to the student if I follow this method.
