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Write On!

Write On! . Creating an Online Dissertation Writing Group. Objectives. Learn about the UCEA Graduate Student Online writing group. Complete pre-writing group exercises in Writing Group Guide Become leaders for your writing group- either through UCEA or through your own institution. .

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Write On!

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  1. Write On! Creating an Online Dissertation Writing Group

  2. Objectives • Learn about the UCEA Graduate Student Online writing group. • Complete pre-writing group exercises in Writing Group Guide • Become leaders for your writing group- either through UCEA or through your own institution.

  3. Purposeof a Writing Group • Somewhere in the range of 30-70% (depending on the area) of students who begin their dissertation don’t finish. • Being part of a group increases motivation, accountability, and decreases isolation. • Group members can give you a fresh perspective and valuable feedback A.B.D

  4. Our Experiences • What experiences have you had in writing groups? • What was good? What was terrible? • What sorts of writing did you do? • How did you critique? • What was the format?

  5. Format • 3-5 students in each group, grouped by methodological or content interests. • Students can be from the same institution, or from different institutions. • Students will meet at least once a month in an online forum.

  6. Possible Obstacles • Waning commitment • Competition among members • Unaligned expectations • For feedback • For timelines • Others?

  7. Things to think about before the 1st meeting • How often will the group meet and for how long? • How will the group meet? • Google hangouts, iChat, in- person, etc • Will members have roles? Will those be permanent or change? For example: • A facilitator keeps the discussion on task. • A convener sends reminders, sets locations and calendar, and holds a copy of the Ground Rules. • A time keeper monitors agreed upon time allocations. A note taker writes down keep points made during feedback.

  8. Things to think about before the 1st meeting • What format will you follow at each meeting? How much time is spent on the dissertation process and how much on writing feedback? Some possible 1 hour meeting schedules: • 10 minutes for around the group updates, 2 minutes per person. • 30 minutes of feedback each for Person A and Person B. • 10 minutes of silent reflective writing • 10 minutes to preview next week’s agenda • 10 minutes for around the group updates, 2 minutes per person. • 30 minutes of feedback each for Person A and Person B. • 15 minutes of discussion about a “writing process” book • 5 minutes reflection • 5 minutes previewing

  9. Things to think about before the 1st meeting • What kinds of work will the group read? • Loose ideas, free writing, outlines, rough drafts, polished drafts, drafts that have been seen by outside readers? Dissertation‐related only? Or grant proposals, interview protocols, survey drafts, posters, conference papers, CVs and job letters? • When, how and how much work will members submit for feedback? • How many days are needed for thoughtful feedback? • How will feedback be given? Ie, track changes, written comments, just orally, etc. • How many pages can be given? • How will documents by shared? Ie, Drop box, email, etc.

  10. Things to think about before the 1st meeting • What kind of feedback is reasonable to expect? • Feedback on ideas? Methods? Grammar? Flow? • How detailed should feed back be? • What is the initial commitment? • You should expect the group to take a bit of time to become normal. Perhaps commit for 4 weeks and then reconvene to see if members need to leave, rules need to change, etc. • Complete the documents: • Writing group ground rules agreement, Personal goals, Writing inventory, Group work inventory, and Schedule (included in packet).

  11. The First Meeting • Introduce yourself • Discuss goals, habits, expectations, and prior experiences. • Establish ground rules • Set a schedule • End with reflective writing

  12. Reflective Writing • Write about your take-aways from that day’s session. • Set goals • Things to do the next time you sit down to write • Things to accomplish in a week. • Things to do before the next session

  13. Activities for Writing Group • Checking in: share what is going on with your work, obstacles, successes, etc. • Give feedback: • Prepare comments before and let author ask questions, work through issues with the group. • Provide feedback during your time • Go through a piece paragraph by paragraph. • What are some norms for constructive criticism? How can we be both good “givers” and “takers” of feedback?

  14. Activities for Writing Group • Help a member brainstorm solutions to problems • Spend time writing • Discuss a reading- something from a writing book, a well written article, etc. • Suggestions are included in your guide • Help each other create a “writing plan”

  15. Sharing tips and tricks • We are all in different phases of our writing process, and all come with different work flows, outlooks, etc. Share your process with your members- this can be very helpful! • Evernote • Prospectus • Writing Schedule • What are some tips and tricks you have discovered?

  16. Intermediate Meetings • Once you have set up the ground rules, your meetings should stick to a certain format. Here is one way to do it: • Before meeting • Read and comment on person’s work • Read assigned readings if pertinent • During meeting • Touch base (3 minutes per person) • 30 minutes of feedback for writer • 10 minutes discussing reading or general problems (what are common problems we are having with writing? What are people’s strategies?) • Reflective writing 5 minutes

  17. Evaluation Meeting • After a given amount of time, you may want to evaluate how the writing group is going, re-evaluate ground rules, set new priorities, etc. This meeting might follow this format: • Before meeting • Go through inventories again. Has anything changed? How can the writing group better meet your current needs? • During meeting • Discuss what goals you have reached in the last 10 weeks and what goals you still have • Determine if any members would like to leave the group- no judgment! • Go over ground rules again- does anything need to change? Should we revisit the structure?

  18. UCEA’s Role • Tell people about writing groups and help pair them up. • Provide information about how to facilitate a writing group • Provide a sign up survey

  19. Signing Up • Go to the online sign up sheet: • http://tinyurl.com/mwfuq5e • Answer a few questions so we know how to form groups.

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