Implementing Team Writing

1. Initial Status Report -- Team Writing
Early in the process, ask students assess their own experience, strengths and weaknesses as writers, and then to use that assessment in an early team meeting to make plans for writing together.

Suggested Directions to Students:
Write an initial status report on your readiness to contribute to this team project. Your report should be no more than one page (single-spaced). Make one copy for your instructor and one for each of your team members. Comment on and analyze your experience and your promise in these areas:

YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH TEAM PROJECTS

• Describe your experience working on team projects, both in school and in the workplace.
• Do you like working in teams? Why or why not?

YOUR HABITS AS A WRITER AND RESEARCHER

• How do you typically go about completing a writing project? Last minute? Through several drafts?
• How would you rate yourself as a researcher? In the library? On the Web? As an interviewer?

YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

• What do you consider the strongest skill as a writer? Presenter? Researcher?
• What do you consider your weakness in terms of this project?

CONTRIBUTION TO THE TEAM

• What can you contribute to the team in terms of expertise in particular areas?
• What part of this project would you like to lead? The research? The writing? The presentation?

ADVICE TO THE TEAM

• How do you think the team should proceed with this work?
• Based on your experience, what advice do you have about working in teams? What warnings?

2. Progress Reports -- Team Writing
As the team projects progress, ask students to monitor their progress in writing, by submitting weekly minutes, for example. You can also periodically ask for more formal "status" or "progress" reports. In fact, students could complete a version of these progress reports individually and use them to write the team report.

Directions to Students:
As a team, write a one page, single-spaced report that summarizes these areas. (NOTE: These reports could be a section of the weekly minutes, or more formal periodic reports that expand and synthesize the minutes. )

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
Research:

• What tasks have you already accomplished?
• What documents have you gathered?
• What sources have you consulted?

Analysis:

• What analyses have you completed?
• What method(s) of analysis are you using?
• What are you tentative findings?

Presentation/Report:

• Have you decided on a format? For the written report? For the presentation?
• How have you assigned/divided up the work of drafting? revising? editing?
• What main point will your report make? How will you support that point?
• Is there data or research that contradicts or complicates that main point? How will you incorporate that conflict?
• How will you tailor your findings to your particular audience? Questions for later stages:
• How are you handling the work of revision and editing? Have you each read and commented on each section?
• How do you plan to make the report read smoothly as one document rather than as separate sections?

PLANS FOR COMPLETION

• What tasks are left to do? How have you divided/assigned them?
• What do you still need to find?
• Do you have enough/too much material for your presentation?

TEAM PROCESS

• Describe the way your team is working together.
• How have you organized the work? Division of tasks? Lead writer? Lead researcher? Lead presenter?
• Any problems in the team process?

PROBLEMS/QUESTIONS

• Are you running into any problems finding material? Doing the analysis?
• Problems with the writing/revising/editing?
• Do you have questions for me about this project? How can I help?

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