Writer's Group
Director, Chris WarnickWriter’s Group is a writing workshop of no more than four students and a Writer’s Group facilitator. It meets once a week for 50 minutes and is designed for English 101 students who want extra assistance with their writing. All English 101 students are eligible, and there is no cost associated with enrollment.
Writer’s Group offers students opportunities to plan, revise, edit, and review the writing that they do in English 101. Each week students bring an essay that they are drafting or one that has been graded by their instructors for the group to discuss.
The Writer’s Group helps students
- Learn strategies for generating ideas and editing their work
- Use feedback from other students to revise their drafts
- Understand their instructors’ comments and use these comments to improve as writers
- Use handbooks and other resources effectively
- Understand the wide range of writing assignments and instructor expectations that they will encounter at the college level
Based on the in- and out-of-class essays assigned in English 101, an instructor may recommend a student enroll in Writer’s Group. However, Writer’s Group is open to any English 101 student who wants to work further on his or her writing. In a recent survey, 86% of students in Writer’s Group reported that it improved their writing to a moderate or great degree.
Students interested in enrolling in Writer’s Group may register via CougarTrail during the add/drop period. After the add/drop deadline, students may register by contacting Chris Warnick, the Director of Writer’s Group, to check available times and fill out an “Addition to the Grade Roll” form.
After students have enrolled in Writer’s Group, they will be required to attend weekly sessions. At each group meeting they will bring an English 101 assignment or graded essay for discussion. Students’ participation will be noted by the Writer’s Group staff and sent to their English 101 instructors. Groups start meeting during the third week of the semester in the Bell Building, Room 301. Once students sign up for a specific time, they meet at the same time and with the same group each week. Groups continue until the last week of the semester.
Writer's Group differs from the Writing Lab in that whereas the Lab works with students from all disciplines and all college levels, Writer’s Group works only with English 101 students. Also, the Writing Lab specializes in one-on-one tutoring on a first-come-first-served basis, while Writer’s Group works with small groups of the same students at the same time each week.