Writing Center Consultants

The Writing Center is staffed by faculty and trained undergraduate consultants. Student consultant training involves reading, writing, group discussion, and observation in the Writing Center. Students learn pedagogical strategies and counseling skills to help them become competent and confident consultants. Faculty consultants are selected from the Department of English and work a few hours per week each semester. Currently, the Writing Center is staffed with 10 student consultants and two faculty consultants.

What Happens During a Typical Writing Center Consultation?
When a consultation session begins, the consultant sits down with the student and inquires about the assignment. The student explains the assignment and shows the consultant how much work he or she has completed. The student then reads the piece aloud. The consultant leads the student through a series of guided questions that begin with higher order concerns in the paper (focus, tone, organization, and development) and then move into lower order concerns (sentence structure, punctuation, usage, and spelling). The student retains ownership of the paper at every stage of the consultation in both the literal and figurative senses; the consultant does not write on the student's paper and leaves all decisions about the paper up to the student. The consultant provides the student with handouts to support and further explain concepts they are discussing. At the end of the session, the consultant reviews the work they have completed and offers suggestions to the student about what steps to take next with the paper (e.g., revision, consulting the instructor, making a follow-up appointment).