My experience as a Writing Mentor helped me adopt practices that encouraged writing students to learn and grow. Notably, I came to understand that motivating students to produce their best work depends on intentionality (as a mentor) and knowledge about the tenets of effective communication. Altogether, I was pleased to be a part of the learning process for the students I assisted in ENG 102: First-Year Composition.

I gained experience with effective mentoring practices by providing students with writing support focused on using rhetorical language and critical thinking to write effectively. Most importantly, I learned that students’ ability to develop ideas, effectively support those ideas, and connect their ideas to a broader context involves iteration predicated on constructive feedback. The ENG 102: First-Year Composition course I assisted with required students to engage in invention and research, drafting, and revisions before submitting their multimodal writing projects. Consequently, I became aware of the opportunities writing educators have to teach their students the process of writing. My experience helped me realize the challenges students face when brainstorming, drafting, and revising for their major writing assignments. Meanwhile, being a Writing Mentor gave me the opportunity to encourage writing development by providing students with thoughtful feedback. I helped students enhance their writing by encouraging them to consider their rhetorical choices. With the understanding that compelling writing is clear and engaging yet stylistic and personal, I grasped that effective writing educators guide students toward the effectual use of language through feedback. My experience in the field of teaching writing made me aware of the different approaches to using audience-specific language to communicate an important message. The students I assisted adopted a range of writing personas in their writing assignments, which made my work as Writing Mentor both interesting and challenging (and incredibly worthwhile). Fundamentally, I learned that the best practices in teaching writing share one thing in common: the best practices guide students toward a more complete understanding of the writing process and encourage purpose-driven metacognition. Therefore, I understand that my future work as a mentor depends on an effective approach to developing awareness and intent in the individuals whose lives I seek to enhance through my understanding of the ideals of success and achievement.

Following each assignment I graded and provided feedback on, I would seek permission from the course instructor to post an announcement. The announcements maintained a friendly and scholarly tone and, more often than not, included notes based on submission trends. With an awareness that effective educators make attempts to improve through encouragement coupled with insights, I viewed announcements as an opportunity to encourage and guide students. At the end of each announcement, I emphasized my availability and the course instructor’s availability to ensure that the students felt welcome to receive writing support.