Session 22: Lightning talk: Using writing groups to strengthen the postgraduate researcher community

Abstract

The benefits of writing retreats for improving motivation, accountability and productivity, are now well established. Research has highlighted their role in improving academic writing output and developing valuable communities of practice (eg. Tremblay-Wragg, 2021; Atchison and Guerin, 2014; Murray, 2009).

Since 2017, LJMU’s Doctoral Academy has coordinated a wide range of writing retreat formats for Postgraduate Research (PGR) students. These have included 2- and 3-day writing residentials, monthly writing days, online, and now hybrid, weekly writing groups. Our experience over the last seven years has convinced us that regular, structured opportunities to write alongside others are a powerful way of enhancing the PGR student experience. Through regular peer interaction, the writing group environment can provide a sense of belonging, something that PGRs often miss out on in comparison to taught students. As some of our participants have described it, a PhD can be ‘a very insular and lonely experience’, but the ‘collegiate atmosphere’ of a group or retreat can provide ‘a renewed sense of why I am doing this research’ or simply ‘remind you that you’re in it with other people’.

Experimenting with the format and frequency of writing retreats in recent years, particularly during and after Covid lockdowns, has shown what an agile and responsive mode of support they can be. This short talk will demonstrate how retreats and groups have enhanced the student experience by providing a sense of cohort for PGRs. It will also show how participants have taken ownership of the format and helped it to evolve over time in response to their needs.

Using writing groups to strengthen the postgraduate researcher community PowerPoint.  Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource.