This month's article was written by Karrie Stewart when she was taking the Writing Consultant training course last fall. We wanted to use it for a Word Works issue partly because it's a good read. While telling about working with a client, Karrie remembers her own past experience as a writing center client and interweaves the two scenes. We also wanted to use it also because it raises important issues about what the writing center is all about.
Some centers discourage required visits.
As a result we get clients who don't want to be there and have no intention of revising anything they bring in. I'll never forget the first time I entered the writing center and offered up one of my papers for a consultant's scrutiny. It was intimidating in a way that was quite different from sharing a paper with a peer in a composition class. Here, I thought, is a real writer or at least, a student who writes well enough to tutor other students. My expectations were mixed.