978-0133896787 Collaborative Writing Guide Part 1

Collaborative Writing Guide

COLLABORATIVE WRITING GUIDE

Adapted from materials prepared by Deborah Bosley

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

If we teach students that writing is a solitary activity, we may not be preparing them adequately for entry

into the business world. In business, a single report or other document is frequently planned, researched,

written, and edited by a team of colleagues. Thus graduates who are not skilled in collaborative writing

may be unprepared for professional life.

When two or more students receive group credit for working together to produce a single letter,

memo, report, or proposal, they are engaging in collaborative writing. Merely exchanging papers,

evaluating one another’s work, and then turning the work in for individual credit, is peer evaluation—not

collaborative writing.

For several reasons, you might want to consider using collaborative writing in your business

communication classes (particularly in conjunction with Unit Four, “Longer Business Messages”):

• Most businesses require employees to write collaboratively, but most people receive little or no

training in collaborative writing either in high school or in college.1

• Collaborative, or cooperative, learning improves self-esteem, teaches students problem-solving skills,

and improves their ability to evaluate the work of others. In addition, cooperative learning increases

ethnic and racial tolerance.2

• Collaborative writing improves writing ability, particularly the ability to analyze audiences.

• Collaborative writing relieves business communication teachers of the volumes of paperwork they must

usually face, allows them to function less as authority or evaluator and more as facilitator, and

introduces a new and effective teaching/learning strategy into the classroom.

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR COLLABORATIVE WRITING

Throughout their school years, students learn the value of individual accomplishment rather than

commitment to shared goals. With the weight of such experience behind them, students cannot learn to

work collaboratively just by listening to lectures. They must experience cooperative work for themselves.

The first step is to establish a sense of community and shared history among members of the entire

class as well as among members of each work group. One method of building that sense of community is

to encourage students to respond orally to one another, not merely to the teacher. Teach them how to

critique one another’s work constructively. You can also begin the semester with such activities as peer–

evaluation groups, discussion groups, and groups that collaborate on writing assignments. Finally, help

students develop a commitment to the task and to their groups.

common experience. In addition, students who have never worked in a group get a preview of what to

expect.

Collaborative Writing Guide

Forming Groups

each other. Also, an odd number of members can decide issues by voting.

Three seems to be the most effective number to work with. Many collaborative writing assignments

are too big for fewer people to accomplish in a reasonable amount of time. And with more than three

members, the group will have trouble both scheduling time to meet and achieving a sense of unity and

their group meeting time.

Teaching Group Brainstorming and Decision Making

Students usually need to be taught how to cooperate in generating ideas and how to avoid letting one

their project or with a grade. For example, you might have each group come up with a name for itself or

with a theme for a sales letter.

One effective method for reaching consensus begins with brainstorming.3 You must stress that

students’ ideas are to be generated on the spur of the moment and without any judgment on the part of the

on their final choice.

Assigning Tasks

With three members in a group, each person can fill an important group-maintenance role: leader,

should therefore encourage members who are proficient at doing library research, conducting one–on-one

interviews, or typing to do so. You might want to supplement group assignment of tasks by providing a

Collaborative Writing Guide

list of tasks that need to be completed, such as completing secondary and primary research, writing the

rough draft, and proofreading the final document.

Each student should keep track of his or her specific responsibilities, hours spent working on them,

hours spent meeting with the group, and so on (see Exhibit 1). This log helps students track their own

participation and (if turned in) allows you to evaluate individual participation. You may also choose to

require each team to hold one team meeting each week and forward a summary of the meeting activities

and decisions to you.

Students sometimes wonder how to handle a group member who is not doing his or her share of the

work. Before the groups start working on their projects, you might suggest one of these three remedies:

(1) group members confront the errant student to work through problems together; (2) you take care of

practice confronting “freeloaders.”

Some instructors allow teams to fire group members who do not meet group expectations. A fired

team member must then complete the project individually. Early in the team process, have each team

ASSIGNING SHORT-TERM PROJECTS

provide evaluation guidelines.

Collaborative Writing Guide

EXHIBIT 1

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP TASK SHEET

Name of Group/Team

Topic for Group Research Report

Individual’s Name

What you did (be specific) Time spent (date; hours and minutes)

Collaborative Writing Guide

Here are some additional short-term assignments:

1. Divide the class into groups of people in similar majors, and then ask each group to compose a letter

receive? What are the best geographic locations for accountants? What is your professional life like on a

for discussing career opportunities.

2. To gather information for the report-writing project, each group might write a letter asking for

interview in written form.

3. Ask groups to give themselves a name and assume the role of consultants hired to make suggestions

for changes at the school. After discussing a problem within the school, they can write a

collaborative proposal (letter or memo) to mail to the appropriate audience.

5. Ask whether the school would be interested in a newsletter produced by groups of your students. Or

have students write articles for the public relations office at your school. You might also consider

6. Ask groups to write summaries of important articles on business communication. Each group could

UNDERTAKING A LONG-TERM PROJECT

The long–term project described here is a 7–10 page analytical or informational report. For complete exposure

to the collaborative process, each group produces a work plan, a rough draft, a progress report, a final report, an

oral presentation, and an evaluation of each participant’s work with the group. Most of the data for the reports

are gathered from library research and interviews.

Because of the scope of this project, give students time in class to meet with their groups, and remember

Collaborative Writing Guide

Overview of the Process

The report–writing project usually takes at least eight weeks, although you may find that you can eliminate some

classroom time. The following week–by–week schedule indicates which chapters and topics to discuss and when to

collect specific assignments:

Week 1

• Introduction to group dynamics covered in Chapter 2 (working in teams); discuss student attitudes

about and experiences with groups

• Instruction in brainstorming and decision–making techniques

• Discussion of Chapter 10 (planning reports); formation of groups; selection of topics; discussion of

evaluation procedures

Week 2

• Discussion of Chapter 10 (work plans); analysis of sample work plans

• Work in groups on work plans

• Discussion of secondary and primary research

Week 3

• WORK PLAN DUE

• Group conferences on work plans

• Group work on secondary and primary research

Week 4

• Discussion of Chapter 10 (investigation for business reports and proposals)

• Group work on rough drafts

• Discussion of Appendix B (documentation)

• Conferences with groups (progress check)

Week 5

• Discussion of Chapter 10 (progress reports); analysis of sample progress reports

• Discussion of Chapter 5 (readability)

• ROUGH DRAFT DUE

Week 6

• Group conferences on rough drafts

• PROGRESS REPORT DUE

• Discussion of Chapter 11 (visuals)

• Discussion of Chapter 12 (online presentations)

Week 7

• Discussion of Chapter 11 (writing and completing reports)

• Discussion of Chapter 12 (presentations); assignment of presentation dates

Week 8

• FINAL REPORT DUE, EVALUATION AND TASK SHEET DUE, PRESENTATION DUE

The following week, return the final reports with grades, give students their individual evaluations, and

inform them of their grades on the oral presentations.

You may want to meet with groups to discuss their final reports. However, be sure that you don’t

discuss individual grades with other group members present.

Collaborative Writing Guide

Step-by-Step Guide

A lengthy collaborative project like this offers students a variety of challenges. These are the seven main steps

in the process:

1. Selecting a topic

2. Formulating a work plan

3. Collecting secondary and primary information

4. Composing a rough draft

5. Writing a progress report

6. Preparing a final report

7. Giving a presentation

Selecting a Topic. Groups should be allowed to select their own topics because students work better on

report assignments when they choose their area of research. Yet you can simplify their decision-making

• They could analyze some aspect of university life, such as housing or parking problems. Part of the

task is to recommend solutions to the problem they select. On–campus research has the advantage of

alleviating scheduling difficulties that students might have.

• They could gather information on a business topic of their choice, such as problems faced by two-

• They could work on one of the cases or collaborative activities at the end of Chapters 10 and 11. The

activities may be used as they are or supplemented with additional procedures.

Formulating a Work Plan. The first document the groups produce is a work plan (Chapter 10). In the

parts by members of the group, or completely by the group. Some groups prefer to have each member

write all the parts and then decide together which versions to use.