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Linda LiAcademic Skills Program
University of Canberra
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Started in 2005
On-going, regular weekly meetings throughout the year
Voluntary
Multi-disciplinary
No pre-set agenda until current semester
Focused on written work-in-progress
Collaborative peer review and editing on soft copies using track change
Co-facilitators
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Writing group activities Reading written work-in-progress including draft pages from thesis
chapters, research proposals, ethics applications, conference papers …
Commenting on the use of language, style of writing, genres & discourses …
Questioning ambiguous statements, unclear written expression, illogical sequences …
Discussing grammar, language, style and writing issues arising from the work-in-progress
Suggesting alternatives for improvement in writing
Summarising strengths and weaknesses, good and poor examples, areas deserving closer attention …
Revising and improving work-in-progress
Supporting each other intellectually and emotionally
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My role in facilitating the writing group a facilitator – create a supportive learning environment
and encourage students to give comments and suggestions for each other’s writing
a guide – help students to identify strengths and patterns of weaknesses in their own writing and ways to improve
a teacher – explain grammatical rules, stylistic options and rhetorical conventions
an interested listener and reader – listen to student concerns and questions and show genuine interest in students’ writing and share reader responses
a co-learner – share personal experiences in thesis writing and gain insights from student experiences
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Motivation and commitment
Group dynamics – fluctuating group size
Reciprocality and mutual obligation
Attitudes towards writing – private vs public, product vs process
Diversity of student needs – differences in academic writing experiences, needs and interests
Disciplinary differences
Sense of belonging to a learning community
Pedagogical challenges: Pedagogical challenges: generalgeneral
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Pedagogical challenges: specific Perception of the writing group – fixing
problems vs learning to solve problems
perception of teacher-student relationship –over reliance on the facilitator
Perception of the value of peer learning- the teacher as the absolute authority
Cultural issues in giving and receiving critical comments
Writing development takes time
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Writing group agenda of semester 2, 2010 at UC
20 Aug Getting started with the writing group 27 Aug Defining the purpose of your study 3 Sept Describing the background of your study 10 Sept Justifying the importance of your study 17 Sept Giving your thesis a clear title 24 Sept Writing clear research questions, aims and objectives 1 Oct Summarising research studies 15 Oct Critiquing research studies 22 Oct Integrating references into your literature review 29 Oct Giving clear description of your research methods 5 Nov Connecting your ideas in writing 12 Nov Using the appropriate linking words 19 Nov Writing about numbers in reporting your findings 26 Nov Reporting findings from interviews 3 Dec Writing convincing paragraphs 10 Dec Writing with confidence
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Thesis writing workshops for research students at UC1 Understanding the thesis writing process (15 Sept) 2 Refining the research proposal (22 Sept)
3 Structuring the thesis effectively (29 Sept) 4 Writing the literature review (13 Oct) 5 Describing the research methodology (27 Oct)
6 Presenting results and discussion (3 Nov)
7 Thesis introductions and conclusions (10 Nov)
8 Style, editing and presentation (17 Nov)
9 Special topics in thesis writing (24 Nov)