A Conversation with a Writing Consultant

This week I went to the Writing Center to shadow my writing consultant. Unfortunately, he had no students on the roster for tutoring, but it opened up time for us to sit down, get to know each other, and talk about writing, the Writing Center, being a writing consultant, and the stories that go along with it. Though I didn't get the first hand experience I was hoping for, our conversation was great for establishing a connection between us and for gaining an inside perspective on what being a writing consultant is like.

The most interesting thing we discussed was the question of dealing with the difficult or complicated situations that occur every day in the Writing Center. Though there are a fair share of appointments that go smoothly without any hitches, the reality is that we are humans working with humans, thus miscommunications are bound to happen. My consultant said that he found Bedford's Guide to be extremely helpful in dealing with difficult or tense situations. For example, he related a story where a girl came in with an essay based on her personal experience with her grandfather. At some point during the appointment, she became extremely emotional, and my consultant recalled that if he hadn't known about leading with questions and the personal skills that are referenced in the Bedford's Guide, he would have frozen up. If anything, this reinforced the idea that when it comes down to it, you are dealing with people, and knowing how to deal with people is one of the most important skills to have, just as important as knowing the correct grammar and how to form a good thesis.