What are Undergraduate Writing Groups?
Undergraduate Writing Groups are comprised of Northwestern who meet for one and half hours on a weekly basis. Facilitated by a Writing Place Consultant, groups will progress on their thesis or independent study writing projects. Groups will either spend time silently writing and providing accountability for one another or groups can discuss and provide peer feedback on fellow group members’ writing. Groups have 3-6 members.
Why should I apply to join a Writing Group?
Writing groups are an excellent place to get feedback on your writing and your writing process, as well as to practice providing effective feedback to other writers. Writing groups (and the deadlines associated with them) can also help you to maintain productivity and accountability, providing you with ongoing input on writing from the early stages of planning and drafting to the later work of revision and editing. Finally, interdisciplinary writing groups can provide you with new perspectives on your writing and research. Particularly with remote work, these sessions can help students create a regular schedule to get their writing done and create a sense of normalcy during this time.
What happens during a Writing Group meeting?
Each group will be responsible for determining exactly how group meetings will run, and your group will make these decisions collectively during your first group meeting. Some sessions will be focused on giving you time to conduct your research and write. In these meetings, participants will set goals and create an outline of what they will work on individually. Participants will then have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the Writing Place Consultant to ask any questions or meet with another student to brainstorm ideas. Finally, the session will conclude with a few reflection questions to figure out what worked well and see how the participants are progressing. This type of session will be more individually driven even though students will be gathered together virtually, to encourage progress.
Other sessions will require you to bring 2 pages of writing in order for your group to discuss and provide feedback. These groups or specific meetings will be agreed upon ahead of time but will allow participants to read each other’s work aloud or silently and provide written or verbal comments. Prior experience with peer review is not required; the Writing Place Consultant will guide the session and provide an explanation beforehand about how to give peer feedback in an effective manner. Regardless of specifics, however, you can expect that each group meeting will involve some discussion of writing, as well as some group accountability/goal setting work.
Where and when do Writing Groups meet?
Currently, all of our writing groups are meeting virtually via Zoom.
Who is eligible to apply?
You are eligible to apply if you are an undergraduate student in your final year (or fewer than 3 quarters remain until your graduation) and you do not anticipate needing to miss more than one group meeting over the course of the winter quarter.
How is an Undergraduate Writing Group different from my thesis seminar and/ or support systems that I already have?
These writing groups serve a few main functions. First, specifically in the context of the pandemic, these groups allow students to gather together (virtually) to gain motivation and accountability in writing their thesis or performing their research. Writing a thesis is an exciting task but, especially now, can be a solitary project. These meetings help students to work by themselves in community at a designated time each week. Secondly, these groups will allow the large contingent of students who do not have a thesis seminar in their department or program to gain peer feedback on their writing in a similar discipline. While professors and advisors provide invaluable feedback, peers understand your perspective and working with them can be a good first step in the revision process. For those who already have a thesis seminar, they will still benefit from hearing from peers outside of their department. Other perspectives and forms of analysis can help students pay attention to counter arguments and missing links as well as work on clarity in writing for a non-technical audience. These groups focus exclusively on writing and revision while thesis seminars have other objectives. Additionally, the involvement of a Writing Place Consultant allows students to ask questions if they need to and gain the benefits of a traditional Writing Place appointment on a regular basis. The tutor can then give specific and intentional feedback after working with you for more than just one session. Taken together, the practices and benefits of an Undergraduate Writing Group are not currently offered in another way at Northwestern.
How do I apply?
Writing Groups are not accepting applications at this time.
Questions?
If you have any additional questions, please contact the Writing Place (writingplace@northwestern.edu).