Into Their Own Hands: A Decidedly Consultant Philosophy
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Date
2003
Authors
Colina, Haeli
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It is my third cup of coffee for the night, and my fifth consultation. She is a
senior, first-timer, dangling her graduate school application essays in front of
her and raising an eyebrow at me, her unexpectedly younger "tutor."
"Consultant," I say, trying to sound casual but hoping she’ll tune into the
importance of the difference. It is something we strive to promote in the writing
center, a little word with a big ideology. I explain the way things generally run
during a consultation: she tells me what should be my focus for workshopping,
I read the paper silently or she reads it out loud, and then we work through the
paper together, paying special attention to elements that concern her. She is
surprised that I ask her to decide the focus of the session and stares at the
paper mumbling “Well, everything” before her eyes catch on something familiar
in the paragraphs, and she begins to remember–something she was wondering
about her organization, something about her conclusion, something about
citation. Her manner changes, and the pages she had half-tossed at me as she
sat down she now gathers back into her own hands, pointing to particular
sentences and thumbing ahead to find a problematic section. Her voice is
steadier than before, and she leans forward in the chair as she explains what
she wants her paper to accomplish. She is beginning to accept control of the
work that she had been prepared to drop off at the door, and as we discuss
possibilities, she will adopt or improve on some of my suggestions and
disregard others without feeling any guilt or fear.