Relationships

Relationships Collaboration is all about forming relationships. As a Writing Center consultant, you are at an important “hinge point” of the university; writers from every college, every department and every class will come to you for help. Thus, you have connections to every part of the university. When you help the writer, you don’t just affect one person; you affect that person’s relationship with the rest of the university.

Most of the time, you won’t see the “fallout” of your sessions, because you’ll only ever see the writer in a professional capacity within the Writing Center. However, that doesn’t mean that you should neglect these important relationships.

**Ask yourself…**
What connection does a consultant have to the writer’s instructor? What connection does a consultant have to a writer’s grade?

Consultants and Writers Consultants and Instructors Consultants and Co-Workers

**Consultants and Writers**
This might be the most important relationship you’ll form in your work as a consultant. Working with someone’s writing is an incredibly personal job, and you can’t help but get to know a lot about each other. While the entirety of this handbook is meant to help you form that relationship, there are some points worth reinforcing:
 * Consultants are collaborators, not editors.
 * Consultants do not work //for// writers—we work //with// writers.
 * Consultants have no control over the grade an instructor marks on the writer’s paper. All you can do is help the writer improve his/her writing. Avoid making evaluative statements about the paper like, “This is great! I know you’ll get an A.” Resist requests from the writer to assign a grade. Tell the writer you’re not the instructor, but you wish him/her good luck with revision, and that you hope he/she will get the grade he/she wants to get.
 * Consultants are not academic advisors or life counselors. It’s perfectly okay to talk about school or life, and to sympathize with the writer if he/she is having a bad day, but maintain a professional distance from very personal topics. If you find yourself being drawn into conversation about the writer’s breakup or how much he/she hates the class he/she is taking, try to steer the conversation back to the paper. You might say something like, “I’m sorry to hear about that. I hate days like that. Let’s have a look at your paper and see what we can do about it.”
 * Sympathize, but do not become emotionally invested. Remember that there are two sides to every story, and you only know the writer’s side.
 * Be polite to writers, even when you get irritated. You will get further with politeness than nastiness.
 * Writers are not stupid. They should never be patronized, even if they have trouble understanding concepts. Be patient and considerate. Remember the Golden Rule.
 * Consultants **never** have to put up with offensive or insulting behavior from writers. If you become uncomfortable for any reason, speak firmly to the writer and ask him/her to stop the behavior. If he/she refuses to do so, end the session immediately and/or go to a supervisor and tell him/her about the issue. If you feel threatened, you don’t have to give any warning before you end the session. Your safety and sense of wellbeing comes first!
 * Don’t give your last name to writers. This is for your safety and privacy.
 * If a writer somehow gets your email address, you do not have to respond to emails. Instead, encourage the writer to make an appointment with you during normal Writing Center hours.

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== **Consultants and Instructors**== Relationships with faculty can be tricky. Do you automatically agree with an instructor, or are you allowed to disagree? The short answer is, you are allowed to disagree, but you must remember that the writer, not you, is in that instructor’s class. A general rule of thumb is to tread lightly when talking about an instructor to the writer.
 * **Never** put down or speak ill of an instructor in a writer’s presence, even if you don’t like the instructor or don’t get along with him/her. If a writer is upset with an instructor, don’t take sides. Sympathize with the writer’s //situation//, but steer the conversation back to the writing. Avoid saying things like, “Oh, I know what you mean. I hate the way she grades” or, “I never liked him either.”
 * Avoid talking about instructors when writers are nearby. You would be amazed at what writers can accidentally overhear.
 * Never assume that you know what the instructor wants, even if you’ve had that instructor before. If you’re not sure, feel free to recommend that the writer contact the instructor for clarification.
 * Consultants never have to address instructors directly except through Tutor Notes. Always use the notes system to contact faculty; never contact an instructor through your personal email.
 * If an instructor contacts you and asks you to address concerns he/she has about a session, you don’t have to answer the questions. Instead, refer the instructor to Michael.
 * Always defer to the instructor’s preferences as to formatting, etc. If a writer says, “My teacher told me to do it this way,” acknowledge this by saying something like, “Well, if your instructor wants you to do it this way, then you should for this class.” It’s perfectly acceptable to show the writer an alternate method and remind him/her that he/she can use that method in other classes.

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**Consultants and Co-Workers**
You’ll spend a lot of time with your co-workers: consultants, receptionists and subject-area tutors alike. Fellow consultants can be your best resource if you’re having trouble, and they often make your job much easier and more enjoyable.
 * Remember the Golden Rule: treat others as you’d like to be treated.
 * You don’t have to get along with everyone, but if you should be civil and polite to everyone around you.
 * Be considerate of one another during sessions. If you see a session going on nearby, try not to be disruptive by having loud conversations, listening to music or videos too loudly or otherwise distracting other consultants or writers.
 * It’s great to chat with other consultants, but be mindful of your conversations. The Bear Claw is a big, open space, and you never know how far your voice will carry. Keep it G-rated.
 * [[image:file:///C:/Users/fox27/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.jpg width="624" height="477"]] Don’t be afraid to ask questions of other consultants. If you don’t know how to do something, call someone else over.
 * If you need to interrupt someone’s session, be polite and **be sure to ask the writer if it’s all right.**
 * **Never** neglect your clients in favor of conversing with other consultants. The writer is your first priority.
 * The receptionists are your co-workers, too. Make their jobs a little easier in any way you can. Don’t make them hunt you down; be available and visible for your sessions, and come up to the desk to greet writers rather than making the receptionist walk all the way back to your station.
 * Be considerate of nearby subject-area tutors as well.

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