On 'What if Drugs Were Legal?'

I thought our class discussion on this person's paper provided us with an insightful look as to what is acceptable writing, a live example of academia's requirement for academic bs. Of course the paper was bad, even terrible, we could all see that, and when I read it beforehand I was just as appalled as everyone else in class. However, I feel as though we may have been too harsh on the writer - we tore his/her paper to shreds! I think the main problems were with grammar and spelling. With some leading questions to get the author to flesh out his/her main idea, I think the paper would be on the swift path to recovery.

Maybe I am just too sensitive or too nice, but I really feel as though we should take a more humble stance when it comes to editing other people's writing. Granted, the student did not come to us for help, but we should still be a little more understanding of what might have been a first draft or what may be a handicap. I think that even in our private moments evaluating papers before our Writing Centre appointments, we should be mindful that an actual person is behind what we are reading, and that they are taking a risk by putting their thoughts out there for us to read. They are looking to us for help and constructive criticism, and we should be mindful of the fact that we are only students and far from experts as we strive to do this.