Writing consultations can be complex discussions covering multiple aspects associated with the act of writing. However, writing consultants need not think that they must shoulder all of the challenges that student writers bring to the table. Librarians are involved in the writing process as well, from helping with topic generation, discerning research needs, locating and evaluating sources, teaching citation management, and assisting with various citation formats. Librarians and writing consultants can be collaborators and colleagues with the shared goals of helping students become better researchers and writers.

This workshop will lead participants through a training scenario that focuses on recognizing our roles in the writing process, and specifically on collaborating to identify when a writing sample might need additional writing support. In particular, this workshop will provide participants with the tools and strategies to help writing consultants look at a writer’s source content with intentionality. This workshop will show that in understanding the respective roles of the library and the writing center through all composition stages, writing consultants will be better prepared to serve student writers who could learn by working with a librarian counterpart, and vice versa.