Collaborative Writing

In Collaborative Writing, small groups of 2-3 students will collaborate to write a formal paper together. Each student contributes at every stage of the writing process: brainstorming ideas, gathering and organising information, drafting, and reviewing the completed paper.

Collaborative writing draws upon the strengths of all their members. Although one student may be stronger in critical thinking skills, another may excel in organising. By working in groups, students learn from each other while they complete the task.

Students working on a collaborative piece can take advantage of group members for peer review as they complete writing tasks.

• Working together can help students to learn and perform the stages of writing more effectively.
• The process of learning and writing together promotes 21^st century competencies such as:
  • critical thinking,
  • communication & collaboration,
  • information literacy and
  • ICT literacy.
• Collaborative writing promotes active learning for deeper understanding and long-term knowledge retention.

1. The teacher presents the topic for students to work in small groups to produce a single writing piece.
2. Students are assigned to small groups of 2-3 either through teacher assignment, students’ preferences or random allocation.
3. In their small groups, students generate ideas by brainstorming together or conducting preliminary research.
4. Together in their small groups, students organise their ideas and create an outline.
5. Students then divide up the outline, selecting or assigning sections for each student to write initial drafts individually.
6. Students read first drafts and discuss how to resolve any significant differences in voice, content, and style.
7. The teacher may prepare a template as a guide for each group to organise the information and present their final writing piece. The teacher may choose to use technology for this purpose.
8. Students can then combine individual sections into a single document to revise and edit their work, checking for content and clarity as well as grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
9. After the final edit, groups submit their papers to the teacher for assessment and feedback.

• Google Docs
• Google Sites