Writing Groups: Coming to a campus near you

By Abby Ponder 

So, as I mentioned in last week's post, we at the WKU Writing Center are looking to host various writing groups for interested students on campus. So, whether you're an English major or just someone who loves writing (or presenting at conferences and seeing your hard work published), you might be interested in some of these groups. 

These groups will also be led by our tutors in the Writing Center, so you're liable to see plenty of familiar faces. These sessions are designed to be collaborative spaces. So, while there might be a brief instructional period at the beginning of the meeting, there will also be plenty of time for sharing your work and discussing ideas with your peers. 

As we prepare for the respective launches of each session, I'll post the respective flyers below. 

Check back throughout the weekend for more flyer updates! 

Ringing in the new yea--er, semester

By Abby Ponder 

Welcome back to campus, friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful and engaging summer. Whether you're a returning student or new to the hill, we're happy to see your smiling faces on campus again--and in the Writing Center.

With the start of the new semester, we're happy to announce several new developments in our neck of the woods.

First of all, while we are still very sad to see last year's graduates go, we're excited to welcome several new tutors to the Writing Center staff! As the semester progresses and we all get to know one another, we'll be posting bi-weekly tutor profiles to this blog. So, keep an eye out for some familiar and new faces alike!

Our writing-themed blog posts will also continue like usual, but we're open to suggestions for topics. Is there something in particular you really want to learn more about? Is APA giving you some trouble? Are you baffled by that block quote and why you really need it? Ask your questions and we shall deliver!

Another thing we're super excited to unveil is our newly-created writing groups!

Are you interested in learning about conference and publication opportunities? Do you thrive in a collaborative environment? Do you love to write or, in some cases, need to write?

Well, if you answered "YES" to any of the above questions, then this group is perfect for you.

There will be several meeting times throughout the week where we focus on specific areas of writing and what comes after the words have been put on paper. It is, after all, an evolving process. The general idea is that we'll come together as a group on a weekly basis to share thoughts and ideas on writing. So, whether you've got a working draft or a budding idea, come see us! It'll be a casual time for us to work together and do what we all love best: write. You'll also meet some pretty cool people, if we do say so ourselves.

For students interested in conferences or publications, you'll want to come to our meeting on Monday, September 14, at 4:30. We'll be located in the FAC Commons (Room 166). This meeting time could also be very beneficial for students working to complete Honors CE/T projects, though it is by no means limited to Honors students. If you're interested in publications/conferences or you want to brainstorm ideas with your peers, you should definitely stop by! Our first meeting will also have free snacks, which is always a plus!

For groups interested specifically in creative writing, there will also be different groups focusing solely on its sub-genres, led by our MFA students. These groups will meet at the following times:

• Fiction Writing: Wednesday, September 16, at 3:00pm in the English Department's Study Room (Cherry Hall 124)
• Poetry Writing: Wednesday, September 16, at 5:00pm in the WKU Writing Center (CH 123)
• Creative Writing Publication: Monday, September 14, at 4:00 in the WKU Writing Center (Cherry Hall 123)

Mark your calendars, but know that we'll probably have more information available as we draw closer to these dates. 

So, all in all, I think it's shaping up to be a pretty fantastic semester. We hope you'll join us for it! 

Communicating in a group project

by Abby Ponder

There are two words on a syllabus that have the potential to strike fear into the hearts of students everywhere: "group project."

People are wary of group projects for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's a matter of finding time in an overwhelmingly busy schedule that accommodates several people; sometimes it's a matter of having communication difficulties with your fellow group members; and sometimes it's simply that you're a strong, independent student who doesn't need a group support system.

Whatever your reason, sometimes group projects can be stressful experiences--even with wonderful group members.

However, they're an important aspect of both college life and life in the real world. People have to collaborate on projects all the time to turn out a successful product. Learning those skills can only help you in the long run.

Still, though, sometimes even when you know something is good for you, it might not be something you're looking forward to. So, how do you make the best of your situation?

First and foremost, communication is essential. Depending on the scale of your project, there are various ways to communicate effectively with your group members. Technology of the 21st Century really is your best friend in this instance. Some viable options (and their pros and cons) include:

1. Email: This is the standard form of communication amongst students, but is it the most effective? It depends. Emails allow you to be very verbose in your content and share files. If you have a lot to say in one burst of content, emails will definitely work in your favor. However, if your group is on the larger side, emails can sometimes make it difficult to  communicate with everyone. If one person forgets to click "reply all" or to "CC" everyone, then a communication gap can appear and information has the potential to be lost in translation. 
2. Group Texts: When you're trying to decide when and where to meet, group texts can be a swell way to handle the communication side of things. They're also nice for sharing quick bits of information or asking questions on a smaller scale: "When is the paper due? Are we meeting at six?" When it gets more complex than that, though? Maybe not. Another thing to keep in mind regarding group texts is that some people may have phones that are incompatible with the rest of the group. Make sure to clarify such things before establishing it as your go-to method. 
3. Facebook Groups: This is my personal favorite way to communicate because it combines all the aforementioned methods into one. You can post files, share status updates, and keep everything organized in one place. 
4. Google Drive: Want to work together but can't meet in the same place? Google Drive is the tool for you! You can write and edit one collective document at the same time and save it automatically. This can be super helpful in the collaborative process, but do keep in mind that meeting up at least once is a very good idea in order to make sure everyone is on the same page. 

The most important thing during a group project is to collaborate. If you work together and communicate, your chances for success will be much greater. 

If there are several individuals working together, it might also be a good idea to assign specific roles to members--an editor, a designer, an organizer, etc. Make sure everyone is involved throughout the entire process. 

So, what are your strategies for communicating in group projects? Let us know! 

Stay tuned for next week's post about the actual writing process for group projects.