Peer Groups/Collaborative Writing

Students have to learn to draft and revise according to collaborative feedback from peers and instructors (see responding to student writing); they must also learn to give this feedback. This process of giving and responding to feedback should be a substantial portion of any paper grade and of participation in general. This type of writing models writing in any profession.
  • In many classes and jobs, students will be engaged in collaborate writing. It is important to encourage and orchestrate collaborative assignments; training peers to respond to student writing increases their learning and alleviates the burden on you!

Collaborative writing assignments also debunk the myth of writing as an isolated activity of the mind. They allow students to simultaneously inhabit writing and reading processes by:

  • negotiating shared responsibilties during collaborative writing assignments.
  • employing peer writing review and response.
  • publishing through collaborative venues (for example: they have to produce, in chart form, a "pretend" web site that would teach the class about a central concept).
  • Collaborative writing depends upon group decision making processes, and students should be encouraged to reflect upon these processes in written form.
Have the students prepare a summary which addresses the following questions:
  • How did the group reach a decision?
  • How did it express major conflicts?
  • How did the editing process operate?
  • What disputes over language occurred?
  • How were they resolved?

 

Introduction | Faculty | Student | Research | Livewire | Chat Room | Message Board
Discipline-specific Writing | Writing Instruction | Writing Process | Site Map
Department of English | Rutgers University-Camden | Rutgers University

Department of English
Armitage Hall, Fourth Floor
Rutgers University,Camden, NJ 08102
Tel: (856) 225-6121, Fax: (856) 225-6602