Group Writing

• When it comes to collaborative writing, people often have

diametrically opposed ideas. Academics in the sciences often write
multi-authored articles that depend on sharing their expertise. Many
thrive on the social interaction that collaborative writing enables.
Composition scholars Lisa Ede and Andrea Lunsford enjoyed co-
authoring so much that they devoted their career to studying it. For
others, however, collaborative writing evokes the memories of group
projects gone wrong and inequitable work distribution.
The Collaborative Writing Process
• Planning
careful communication at the planning stage is usually critical to the
creation of a strong collaborative paper. We would recommend
assigning team members roles. Ensure that you know who will be
initially drafting each section, who will be revising and editing these
sections, who will be responsible for confirming that all team members
complete their jobs, and who will be submitting the finished project.
• Drafting
Drafting refers to the process of actually writing the paper.
strong writing projects are often the product of several rounds of drafts.
At this point in the writing process, you’ll need to make a choice: will you
write together, individually, or in some combination of these two modes?
Together: Drafting as a team involves crafting each sentence of your
paper together—by either sitting in the same room or collaborating
synchronously online.
Individually: Many collaborative projects are actually drafted individually.
In this scenario, co-authors agree about the topics or sections in a writing
project and then will draft these topics or sections individually.
Revisions
Suggestions for Efficient and Harmonious
Collaborative Writing
• Establish ground rules
Although it can be tempting to jump right into your project—especially when
you have limited time—establishing ground rules right from the beginning will
help your group navigate the writing process. Conflicts and issues will inevitably
arise in during the course of many long-term project. Knowing how you’ll
navigate issues before they appear will help to smooth out these wrinkles. For
example, you may also want to establish who will be responsible for checking in
with authors if they don’t seem to be completing tasks assigned to them by their
due dates. You may also want to decide how you will adjudicate disagreements.
Will the majority rule? Do you want to hold out for full consensus? Establishing
some ground rules will ensure that expectations are clear and that all members
of the team are involved in the decision-making process.
• Respect your co-author(s)
• Everyone has their strengths. If you can recognize this, you’ll be able
to harness your co-author(s) assets to write the best paper possible. It
can be easy to write someone off if they’re not initially pulling their
weight, but this type of attitude can be cancerous to a positive group
mindset. Instead, check in with your co-author(s) and figure out how
each one can best contribute to the group’s effort.
• Be willing to argue
• Schedule synchronous(virtual) meetings
• References
• Dale, Helen. “The Influence of Coauthoring on the Writing Process.”
Journal of Teaching Writing, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 65-79.
• Lunsford, Andrea A., and Lisa Ede. Writing Together: Collaboration in
Theory and Practice. Bedford St. Martin, 2011.

• Oliver, Samantha K., et al. “Strategies for Effective Collaborative

Manuscript Development in Interdisciplinary Science Teams.”
Ecosphere, vol. 9, no. 4, Apr. 2018, pp. 1–13., doi:10.1002/ecs2.2206.