Writing more, better, together: how writing retreats support graduate students through their journey

ABSTRACT

The context of higher education in Canada suffers from alarming rates of dropout and prolongation of study programmes. The lack of academic writing ability and feeling of isolation are among aggravating factors impeding on the success of graduate students. Writing retreats are identified as a potential solution to support and improve academic writing output. This article presents an innovative concept designed by a non-profit organisation, Thèsez-vous, specializing in creating physical and human environments to facilitate academic writing. Over the past four years, the organisation implemented and formalized a writing retreat model for graduate students from various fields of study and universities across the Quebec province in Canada. A description of the writing retreats structure and functioning is presented, as well as an analysis of established objectives: 1) progress academic writing based on realistic individual goals; 2) identify optimal writing conditions; and 3) reduce isolation. Based on conclusive findings, the implemented model produces positive results in developing academic writing abilities through a community of practice forming during writing retreats and interacting afterwards. This expanding network of graduate students represents a new generation of researchers, sharing similar challenges with academic writing and collaborating in interdisciplinary settings to progress scientific efforts at large .

KEYWORDS:

• Writing retreat
• academic writing
• doctoral writing
• graduate students

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Thèsez-vous is a non-profit organization that specializes in creating physical and human environments to facilitate scientific writing. http://www.thesez-vous.com/home.html. The name Thèsez-vous is a play on the word ‘thesis’ and the French verb ‘taire’ meaning ‘keep quiet’.

2. The Pomodoro time management method was developed by Francesco Cirillo to break down work into intervals. The traditional method alternates between 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of break.

3. SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture [0000256144];Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [892-2019-1063].

Notes on contributors

Emilie Tremblay-Wragg

Émilie Tremblay-Wragg, PhD, University of Quebec in Montreal. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5411-6058 Assistant professor at University of Quebec in Montreal. Émilie Tremblay-Wragg is a cofounder of Thèsez-vous, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the success of graduate students. She is interested in writing retreats, writing behaviour, motivation and the use of diversified teaching strategies in higher education.

Sara Mathieu Chartier

Sara Mathieu Chartier, doctoral candidate, University of Montreal, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-6611 Sara Mathieu-C. is a doctoral candidate at University of Montreal, and the co-founder and CEO of Thèsez-vous, a non-profit student-led organisation whose mission is to foster the success of graduate students. Her research interests include health education and higher education pedagogy.

Elise Labonté-Lemoyne

Élise Labonté-LeMoyne, PhD, HEC Montreal, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1232-9754 Élise Labonté-LeMoyne is Co-Chair of Thèsez-vous, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the success of graduate students. She is a researcher at HEC Montreal in User Experience

Catherine Déri

Catherine Déri, doctoral candidate, University of Ottawa, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9689-3517 After 25 years of service with the Canadian Armed Forces, Catherine Déri is transitioning to a second career in education. Her research interests include adult education and higher education pedagogy. Her thesis examines social learning in writing groups formed through social media.

Marie-Eve Gadbois

Marie-Eve Gadbois, doctoral candidate, University of Quebec in Montreal. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7007-8124 Marie-Eve Gadbois is Co-Chair of Thèsez-vous, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the success of graduate students. As a doctoral candidate in education, her research interests focus on organisational models that support success for all students and transforming practices.