User:Khamelia H./sandbox

='''Collaborative Writing article includes good topics to discuss. More information needs to be added to each section and sections need to be further expanded upon .''' =

"Collaborative Writing" Article Notes:
Lead:


 * Lead is bare-boned & lacks overview/summary of article's key points. Only has two sentences (unhelpful in getting info. across).

Sections:


 * "What is collaborative writing?" section is detailed and collab. writing is well defined.
 * "Reasons for collab. writing" is only 3 sentences and its not cited
 * "Types of collab. writing" needs to be expanded for definitions and examples of those definitions
 * "An educational tool" is well done, but I will expand upon the kinds of collab. writing tools presented
 * I want to delete the "authorship" section. Irrelevant to article's focus and little info. given

Planned Actions:


 * Add how collab. writing is practically applied (classroom/workplace) using info. from my chosen articles
 * Expand upon educational tools section
 * Delete "authorship" section
 * Add sections highlighting how collab writing is used in workplace & classroom

Replace Lead:
Collaborative writing is a method of group work that takes place in the workplace and in the classroom. Researchers expand the idea of collaborative writing beyond groups working together to complete a writing task. Collaboration can be defined as individuals communicating, whether orally or in written form, to plan, draft, and revise a document. The success of collaboration in group work is often incumbent upon a group's agreed upon plan of action. At times, success in collaborative writing is hindered by a group's failure to adequately communicate their desired strategies.

Reasons for Collaborative Writing: Add-on:
Researchers, Joy Robinson, Lisa Dusenberry, and Lawrence M. Halcyon, conducted a case study investigating the productivity of a team of writers who utilized the practice of interlaced collaborative writing found that the team was able to produce a published article, a two-year grant proposal, a digital and physical poster, a midterm research report, and conference presentation over the course of three years. The writers used virtual tools such as Google Hangouts' voice feature for group check-ins, to hold group discussions, and to write as a group. Google Docs was used to allow each team member to edit and add writing to a shared document throughout the writing process.

Views on Collaborative Writing

Researcher Neomy Storch, in a 2005 Australian study at the University of Melbourne, discovered that reflections pertaining to collaborative writing in regards to Second language learners in the classroom were overwhelmingly positive. The study compared the nature of collaborative writing of individual work versus that of group work, and Storch found that although paired groups wrote shorter texts, their work was more complex and accurate compared to individual works. The study consisted of 23 total participants: 5 doing individual work and 18 working in pairs. The pairs consisted of 2 male pairs, 4 female pairs and 3 male/female pairs. The age range was 19 to 42 years old and all participants originated from Asian countries. Paired groups were equipped with recorders and encouraged to talk through their writing task. After tasks were complete, 1-4 days later paired groups were interviewed individually about their experience in collaborative writing; interviews were also taped. Post-assignment interviews revealed that the majority of students (16) yielded positive opinions about group work, but two students felt that group work is best reserved for oral activities and discussions rather than writing assignments. For example, an interviewee named Angela outlined the fact that in group work ideas are freely exchanged and when reading a paragraph, each person in the group can pick out important ideas in the paragraph. According to Ed, collaborative writing allowed students to learn from each other by watching each other work. Apart from the academic aspect of collaborative writing, four respondents argued that group work is a fun and enjoyable activity. The majority of interviewees gave positive reviews, but Maria argued that group work was difficult when it came to criticizing another's work and Yong argued that there is a power imbalance when writing is based on ability. The two students, Noriko and Tanako, who were stark opponents of collaborative writing revealed that it is hard to concentrate on their work and they were embarrassed by their supposedly poor English skills.

In the article, "When discourses collide: A case study of interprofessional collaborative writing in a medically oriented law firm", Jason Palmeri found that when it came to inter-professional collaboration, most of the issues stem from miscommunication. In differing disciplines, one person may have a level of expertise and understanding that is foreign to another. For example, a nurse and an attorney have different areas of expertise,so therefore they have differing understanding of concepts and even the meaning of the same words. While much of the issues resulted from miscommunication, the article claimed that some nurse consultants resisted change in terms of altering their writing style to fit the understanding or standards of the attorneys.

As Educational Tool:

A study conducted by Stephen Bremner, a researcher from the City University of Hong Kong, investigated eight business communication textbooks to test the depth in which they provided students with a knowledge of collaborative writing in the workplace and how to execute those processes. The study found that, generally, textbooks highlight the role of collaborative writing in the workplace. Textbooks listed the pros of collaborative writing such as saving time, more superior documents due to each individual's strengths and specialized knowledge, a well-crafted message due to team work, balanced abilities, and an interest in accomplishing a common goal.

The article claimed that the textbooks examined gave students a basic knowledge of collaboration in the workplace, but they also lacked the information that shows students the realities of collaborative writing in the workplace with few activities presented in the textbooks that mirror collaborative activities in the workplace. Much of the activities featuring group work seemed more idealistic rather than based in reality, where the writing process occurred in only controlled and orderly environments. Bremner also found that group work in the classroom also does not properly simulate the power hierarchies present in the workplace.

Strategies for collaborative writing

 * 1) Group members should exchange email, phone number, and other contact information
 * 2) Utilize platforms that support group work such as Google Hangouts or Skype, and Google Docs
 * 3) Choose platforms that are flexible in supporting each members different work style
 * 4) Hold group work meetings
 * 5) Set regular meeting times to promote stability within the group
 * 6) Set aside a section in the document that allows members to "delete" the work of others without permanently deleting their work
 * 7) Acknowledge that each member's roles are not set in stone. Individuals can swap out positions based off of ability and preference (e.g., editor, writer, idea generator..)