Journal 5/6

Today Chimuanya and I worked on the thought letter and three essays that she will submit for her final portfolio. I had highlighted sentences that contained confusing phrasing. I could tell the wording was poorly phrased because Chimuanya had not fully worked out her ideas and thought about what she was really trying to say. So in order to restructure the sentences, she had to develop her thinking. It was challenging for her to go past the superficiality of the words and get at the true meaning of what she wished to express to the reader. At several times I had her stop looking at the sentence and instead look at me and just talk to me about the idea she was trying to get across. Talking through it helped her get at her essential meaning. At the end of the session, I felt all four pieces of writing were stronger. Because her ideas are now more developed, her arguments are more complex and nuanced–and furthermore explained in a clear manner.