What+a+Consultant+Does

=What a Consultant Does=

First and foremost, we are here to //help writers//. How do we do that? Writing Center theorist Stephen North writes, “Our job is to produce better writers, not better writing.” But what does this mean? How can we improve a writer? What is the difference between a writer and his or her writing?

**Some quotes to consider**
“Only in [collaboration] can we, I believe, enable a student body and citizenry to meet the demands of the twenty-first century” (Lunsford 97).

“The primary value of the writing center tutor to the student is as a living human body who is willing to sit patiently and help the student spend time with her paper” (Brooks 220).

“A great tutor is able to identify the needs of her tutees, to interact skillfully and knowledgeably with a wide variety of tutees, and to assume roles that meet the individual needs of tutees” (May 38).

The answer to these questions is deceptively simple: the writer //performs the act// of writing; the writing is //what the writer produces//. The difference, then, is between //process// and //product//. We improve a writer by improving his or her writing process rather than the product. Fixing one paper may give instant gratification and may indeed get the writer a better grade, but what happens with the next paper? If the Writing Center becomes merely a repair shop, the same issues will continue to happen and writers will find no true benefit.

How, then, do we help writers improve their writing process? You’ll find good hints in the quotes on the previous page. We collaborate, yes, but how does collaboration fit into writing, which we often think of as a solitary act? Consider this quote by Kenneth Bruffee:

“What peer tutor and tutee do together is not write or edit, or least of all proofread. What they do together is converse” (Bruffee 213).

Collaborators talk. Moreover, we //converse//. The Writing Center is an alternative to the traditional classroom, which may involve a lot of talking on the professor’s part and a lot of listening on the student’s part. The writing consultant and the writer engage in conversation—that is, in collaboration.