About Writing Consultants
Many writing consultants serve in the Writing Center through our online appointment calendar, while others are assigned to specific courses and instructors. When assigned in pairs to a course, the writing consultant's main responsibility is to provide appropriate written commentary on a student's rough draft and to meet the student in a brief writing conference to provide feedback and helpful writing tips.
Consultants assigned to specific courses will:
- Meet with the instructor and consulting partner early in the semester to establish guidelines for assigning papers and helping students as defined by the instructor and the goals of WAC at University of Richmond.
- Introduce themselves to the instructor's class members early in the semester, providing students a positive model of peer scholarship and representing the WAC program effectively.
- Provide appropriate and effective written commentary on any rough drafts so assigned by the instructor, keeping within the guidelines established earlier in the semester.
- Provide students an opportunity to schedule appointments for individual brief writing conferences.
- Attend all individual writing conferences at the designated time and at the designated location.
- Return annotated rough drafts to students in a timely fashion (i.e. within one week).
- Remain in regular contact with the WAC program director or writing consultants coordinator.
- Remain in regular contact with the instructor, reporting any problems or unusual events immediately. This includes late rough drafts and other student actions that seem questionable or outside the instructor's assignment guidelines.
- Check e-mail and "snail-mail" frequently; answer and return all WAC correspondence as soon as possible.
- Attend all meetings called by the WAC program director or writing consultants coordinator.
In my own classes, I've yet to work with a writing consultant. If one had been assigned to a class during my freshman year, I probably would have assumed that the fellow would read my paper over and make all necessary corrections including punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Yet proofreading is not included in the fellows' duties. The fellow should neither write papers for students nor put ideas in their heads. The fellow should instead help writers organize and clearly state their thoughts by asking appropriate questions. The fellow does not have to have taken the subject or course for which the paper is written. Instead, the consultant must maintain the role of writer to writer, not of to student.
As a consultant I have learned a lot from the people with whom I've worked, because I have considered them writers, not students or tutees. The role of the writing consultant, therefore, is one which enables writers to be confident that what they are writing is part of a process in which ideas can be shared.
- Kelly Nagle, UR writing fellow
I believe that the role of a writing consultant is to be someone who listens at all times and who offers advice in a non-threatening way to peers. It is advantageous, especially for writers who are still adjusting to the demands of college life or those who are just entering a discipline, to have someone they can go to on a friendly level.
Even though it is the fellow's duty to be impartial and to avoid giving away ideas, the consultant relationship is a great way for less experienced writers to gain confidence in their own voices through peer encouragement. Having someone to talk to who can identify with a writer's problems, because the consultant went through the same things in the past, helps to eliminate a writers' feelings of bewilderment about writing. Once the initial problems of organization and clear, concise writing are addressed, the writer will have the courage to express ideas and will feel confident that these ideas are being successfully conveyed to others.
- Laurie Linder, UR writing fellow
