Writing Groups — General Guidelines

Writing Group Process

• In general, groups of 3-5 colleagues work best; pairs can be too small and larger groups quickly become unwieldy.
• One group member, the writer, circulates a short piece or portion of a piece at least a week before the meeting. Along with the work, he or she provides context for the work in a short memo or email.
• Other group members, the readers, should take the time to read the piece carefully, paying attention to the particular areas outlined by the writer.
• During the group meeting, the writer listens as each group member in turn shares his or her comments on the piece. Beforehand, the group can decide whether or how to format these responses—your group might choose to time initial responses to make sure each respondent speaks or to establish an opening question each respondent will address before giving more general feedback.

Writers

      Before the Meeting

• When you distribute your manuscript, provide the readers with some context by answering some of the following questions (taken from the SUNY Courtland Faculty Writing Group website at http://dinosaur.cortland.edu/FWG/DIY_writing_ group.htm):
  1. Why are you moved to write on this topic? What makes this interesting and challenging for you?
  2. Who exactly will be reading this in its final form?  What does this intended audience know about the topic already? Who else has written important stuff on this topic before?
  3. What do you hope your audience will learn from this piece you’re writing? What sort of a contribution—realistically—do you want this piece to make? In other words, who would you like to see cite this piece next year in his/her bibliography?
  4. What relationship do you want to have with your readers? Do you hope to challenge/irritate them? Confirm their suspicions? Firmly suggest a new way of solving an old problem? Reject the old image of the problem? Present evidence?
  5. What genre are you writing in, and (how) are you "bending" the rules of the genre in this piece? What’s the toughest part of organizing this piece?
  6. What problems do you face in writing this? Is it coming up with ideas, organizing, developing a hierarchy in your argument, finding the right style, reconciling two attractive claims, or something else?
  7. What do you want to do next (in the next week) with this piece of writing?
• Share your writing before you feel ready to “go public.” When readers know they are being asked about a draft, they are more likely to offer constructive feedback.
• Specify what kinds of feedback you are looking for. Do you want to diagnose whether your argument is clear? Ask your readers to mark the key claim(s) in the piece. Are you concerned about organization? Ask your readers to jot down an outline of your article and see how well it matches yours.

      During the Meeting

• Listen first, talk later. As the writer, your job is to attend to what your readers notice about your ideas. If you argue, explain or defend ("Well, what I really meant was…."), you’re short-circuiting what you have come for: a sense of how an audience actually responds to your ideas. Unless one of your readers asks for clarification, wait until each reader has finished talking before responding.
• Don’t be intimidated by the writing ability of your group members or by their suggestions for improvement. Receiving criticism, no matter how constructive, is never easy. Remember that honest feedback may be difficult to hear but can provide valuable insight for improving of your work. Remember also that your group is providing suggestions from their perspective; you have the ultimate say in what advice you take or leave.

Readers

• Keep in mind that your most important tasks are to respond and ask for clarification, not to revise or copyedit the writer. As you read and respond, consider: What claims feel incomplete or confused? What claims sound interesting and unfamiliar to you? What claims are overly familiar to you? What evidence persuades you? What do you want to hear more about?
• Be kind. Remember how difficult it can be to share drafts of your work. Try to offer your comments in a “praise sandwich”: start and end on a positive note and don’t transition from a positive comment to a more negative one with the words “but” or “however.”
• Use the top-down approach: prioritize your comments, starting with larger concerns—argument, reasons, and evidence—before focusing on other issues such as transitions, style, grammar, or mechanics. Or, note your comments regarding grammar, spelling or word choice on the manuscript rather than taking time to point them out verbally.
• In your responses, critique the writing, not the writer. Instead of saying “You have trouble staying on topic on page fourteen,” try “This paragraph doesn’t seem to support your argument.”
• Offer constructive criticism – not judgment. One way to do this is to frame your comments from your perspective as a reader instead of as an absolute. For example, instead of “This point is not coherent” you might say “I don’t follow your line of reasoning here.”
• Be as specific as possible.
• Give the writer something to walk away with. Write or type your comments.