Post 10 Kathleen

I find it challenging to work with writers from other disciplines. I had one geology graduate student who was preparing for his comps and had some writing he'd done for it, but it was difficult for me to help--particularly within half an hour--because 1) I wasn't familiar with the procedures of his discipline, i.e. what comps even mean for him and 2) His language was often very technical. This can be helpful, like with the linguistics student I saw yesterday who needed help because she understood her subject so well she could no longer see the actual logic of the paper (she could only see the logic of events/facts as they appeared in her mind.) I was able to help her because I wasn't in her discipline--I was able to detect where her thinking interrupted itself or went on tangents. But for my geology student, we spent much of our time covering basic geological principles because I needed to understand them to move forward in his writing. I have to say I prefer working with humanities students, with whom I feel more confident.

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