Linda LiAcademic Skills Program

University of Canberra

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

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

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

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

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

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 

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)