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Last year we invited interested BreakWriters to join us (non-virtually) in a discussion about forming writing support groups within their own department. If you're interested, here is some of the information we shared.
What is the purpose of such groups?
- Writing support groups help you to develop and enhance your academic writing and editing skills for class papers, proposals, the dissertation, and publications.
- Working with peers in a group, you set goals and deadlines for your writing, revising, and completing of projects. Your commitment to completing and sharing your writing is a commitment to the group, not just to yourself; you are accountable to others on a regular basis.
- Writing support groups also help you develop skills in offering critiques and feedback on the ideas and writing of others.
- And writing groups help you to know you are not in this writing effort (writing nightmare? writing frenzy?) alone.
What are the mechanics/arrangements for writing support groups?
- Your group can meet every two weeks, once a month, or any schedule of the members' choosing. The more time between meetings, the more ambitious your goals should be.
- Each member agrees to e-mail their writing (a page, a section, a chapter - whatever the goal before the next meeting) to the other members three to five days before the next meeting. The work is read by one or more members who offer feedback - questions, comments, editing.
The group can select one or two writing samples for all to read for each meeting or can assign one sample to each member so that everyone's work is read and received feedback each time. Or design another arrangement that works for your group.
- The group continues to meet as long as it's working for you. New and replacement members are added as the group deems appropriate.
Paul Silvia, in his book How to Write a Lot (2007), describes a writing group formed with his faculty peers. The Agraphia Group (referring to the pathological loss of the ability to write) gave "people a chance to talk about ongoing writing projects, to get others' ideas and insights about writing challenges, and to help each other set reasonable goals" (p. 51).
Silvia suggests these five components for successful groups:
- "Set concrete, short-term goals and monitor the group's progress" (p.
52). Silvia and his colleagues meet every week, so instead of sharing writing, they share their goals. At each meeting, "minutes" from the previous meeting are read and members report whether they met their goals. "Our system prevents people from wriggling out of their goals or having false memories about what they said the week before" (p.52). In Silvia's group, some members can meet only every other week, so they set goals and deadlines that are slightly more long term than the group who meets each week.
- "Stick to writing goals, not other professional goals" (p. 53).
Silvia's meetings are brief, often just long enough for each member to
report on progress since the last meeting and then to announce nest
week's goals. Instead of reading each other's writing, they
occasionally read and discuss books about writing. [If you form a
writing support group and want to read about writing - which is not a
substitute for writing, the last BreakWriting post will be a resource
list. Or e-mail me; I'll recommend some books about writing you can
borrow for your group's use.]
- "Big carrots can double as sticks." Silvia suggests being supportive
and celebrating progress and success among the group members. "But
support groups shouldn't be unconditionally supportive" (p. 54). Don't
let a group member consistently fail to meet goals or contribute to the
group. Motivate with goading, pressuring, confronting, electric shocks
(OK, he was joking about that last one - I think; he's a psychologist,
so that's psychology humor.)
- "Have different groups for faculty and students" (p. 55). Graduate
students and faculty have different challenges, priorities, goals, and
expectations. When it comes to writing groups, faculty and graduate
students don't mix. [You might want to occasionally invite faculty to
inspire you, provide some guidance, or share their writing strategies
-- but they should not be participating members.]
- "Drink coffee (optional)" (p.56).
Today GSAS and the Writing Center launched a new initiative, Writing Communities-in-the-Disciplines. In this pilot effort, we met with graduate students from four departments to start writing groups in each program that meet the needs of students in that discipline. Two students from each program will be trained as facilitators and throughout the spring semester will meet with us to give feedback, report on their groups' progress, and get help troubleshooting any problems and challenges. At the end of the semester we'll collectively decide what works best for each group within their discipline. We'll use this information next year when we'll invite additional students to facilitate writing communities in their programs.
We'll keep you posted.
Silva, P. (2007). How to Write a Lot. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Some of the information in the Break Writing postings is drawn from previously published work, and I have tried to properly attribute the ideas and work of others. If I have failed to do so, please let me know so I can clarify and correct (ja2310@columbia.edu)
Continue to Break Writing #10 - Are you Writing the Perfect Dissertation?
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