A Response to the Realities of Scholarly Writing

SNL Writing News recently featured an essay on the pitfalls of searching for a "scholarly writing utopia." In "Writing 20 Minutes Every. Single. Day." Ryan Cordell likewise abandons the search, but he takes the theme a step further by offering concrete suggestions for maintaining productivity once you've committed to this new way of thinking about writing. Cordell's first step was joining a faculty writing group (something offered by the UCWbL to DePaul instructors), and from that experience he identified several principles that have kept him on track, such as accountability, scheduling, limits, and momentum, all of which he expands on in his essay.

Suburban Campus Writing Groups: Update for Online Group

Writing Groups at the suburban campuses will begin this Saturday, January 18. Writing Groups are an opportunity for SNL students to give and receive feedback on their work. The groups are facilitated by a highly qualified UCWbL tutor, but the emphasis is on creating a collaborative learning environment rather than on individual tutoring sessions. Click here for more information on the Writing Groups. 

Update: An online Writing Group will also be offered this quarter. Detailed instructions are given below; you can also contact Edward Evins (eevans6@depaul.edu) for more information. 

Suburban Campus Writing Groups - Winter Quarter 2014

Naperville

Writing Group Facilitator: Marianne

Start date: 1-18-2014

Time: Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Room: 119

Contact: mhohe@depaul.edu

Oak Forest

Writing Group Facilitator: Kevin

Start date: 1-18-2014

Time: Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Room: TBD – Ask Receptionist

Contact: ksterne@depaul.edu

O'Hare

Writing Group Leader: Amanda

Start date: 1-18-2014

Time: Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Room: 303

Contact: agaddam2@depaul.edu

Online Writing Group

Writing Group Facilitator: Edward Evans

Start date: 1-18-2014

When: Saturdays, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Online - Google Hangouts

Contact: eevans6@depaul.edu 

ONLINE WRITING GROUP INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPANTS

1. To join the group, contact the Writing Group facilitator, Edward Evans, ateevans6@depaul.edu Make sure to provide the facilitator with your name and email address.

2. Check your Inbox for an email from your facilitator. It will include an invite to join the videoconference session. 

3. Click on the URL (NOTE: this link will redirect you to Google+)

4. If you don't have a Google+ account, you will be asked to create one (NOTE: for time purposes, please skip all the additional steps while creating your account).

5. Once you're all set, a notification will pop up on your screen asking you to join the session created by your facilitator. Click "Join" and you'll be online with your facilitator and other participants. 

6. Once you're live, notice on the left side a list of things you can do during the videoconference. Screenshare will be particularly handy, as it will enable you to share with your facilitator your desktop and/or desired resources (websites, Word documents, etc.).

7. If you feel uncomfortable sharing your live picture, you can always disable your camera by clicking on the appropriate icon on the upper right bar. Please let your facilitator know about this prior to turning your camera off for the session.