An instructor teaching professional writing found that groups collaborating on the final project required for the course, the creation of a brochure, experienced considerable infighting and tension. In reexamining his course objectives, he confirmed his sense that indeed collaboration in one form or another is inevitable in American professional…

A study examined the role of critical reflection in one particular writing context--that of collaborative planning. Subjects, 22 college freshmen enrolled in two core composition courses, were audiotaped as they planned course papers with a peer. Students formed pairs each consisting of a "writer" and a "partner" (supporter).…

Students can benefit from collaboration long before they are ready for draft feedback. By analyzing writing assignments, anticipating and diagnosing student problems, and introducing necessary skills through appropriate exercises, students can be provided with cognitive and social supports that help them address the challenges of academic writing.…

A study investigated whether spelling could be taught more effectively through a holistic writing approach than through the traditional basal textbook approach. Subjects, 19 second grade students at an elementary school in Sheldon, Illinois, first received six weeks of formal spelling instruction using the 1985 edition of the second grade spelling…

Investigating the common perception that collaborative writing in composition classes is being used primarily with finished products, an informal survey was conducted in which writing instructors who used collaborative learning estimated the amount of time they allowed for each stage of the writing process (Prewriting/Invention, Focusing/Thesis,…

Students must reconsider the nature of composing and their identities as writers when working on a jointly authored piece of writing, such as a two-page report on a particular area in a university library. Looking at the ways workshop groups interact to produce a piece of collaborative writing and a joint oral presentation offers insight into the…

Describes instructional and departmental forces creating the following problems for undergraduate creative writing teachers: (1) they hold an uneasy position in the English department hierarchy; (2) courses are radically different from creative writing courses in either high school or graduate school; and (3) instruction has lagged behind…

Explores the concept of peer writing groups by reviewing research and offering a plan for preparing, training, monitoring, and evaluating the peer writing group. (SD)

Individuals mostly write texts which are directed to other persons, the readers. Even though individuals cannot rely on immediate reactions, as in spoken dialogue, they are nevertheless able to communicate successfully with them. A writing experiment focused on the role of the addressee in the writing process. Writers grouped in pairs were asked…

Outlines a technical writing course in which the students collaborate in writing a technical writing handbook. The course includes traditional lectures as well as small and large group work on various aspects of writing the handbook. (TJ)

Chronicles the use of acknowledgments in 20th-centry scholarship by analyzing and classifying research articles published in the journals "Psychological Review" and "Mind" to determine the extent of coauthorship and subauthorship collaboration. Demonstrates that the acknowledgment has gradually established itself as a…

Analyzes the behaviors of over 60 student groups in professional writing classes. Finds gender-related effects on collaboration: tendencies to stereotype men as technical experts and to self-segregate into gendered working teams. Suggests new perspectives on the role of gender for collaborative groups in professional writing classrooms. (PA)

Takes up a number of issues related to collaborative writing and co-authoring and reflects on their meaning. (TB)

Examines the dynamics of reading, writing and telling stories. Argues that working collaboratively can motivate writers in ways which encourage them to redraft their work purposefully and explicitly in pursuit of particular creative effects. Exemplifies ways in which knowledge about language at word, sentence and whole text level can effectively…

Describes how to conduct a collaborative group story-writing session with preschool children and encourage the creativity of the group. (MM)