The ‘Write’ Skills and More: A Thesis Writing Group for Doctoral Students

Abstract

Writing groups facilitate the development of research students' written communication skills, which are critical for the competent preparation of theses and publications. This paper describes a Thesis Writing Group for social science doctoral students. Participants indicated that the group not only served a practical role, providing an impetus for the consideration and production of different components of their theses, but also served psychological purposes, fostering positive attitudinal changes such as enhanced motivation, increased confidence and a more positive outlook on the writing process.

Keywords:

• Thesis
• writing group
• doctoral students

Acknowledgements

The Teaching Fellowship post has been funded by a University of Sheffield Skills Training Development Grant (Roberts Fund), 2005–2008. The author would like to thank Nicky Gregson, Stephanie Geary and Katrine Nielsen for their constructive suggestions on drafts of this paper, as well as the anonymous referees and the Editor for their detailed comments. She would also like to express her appreciation to all of the students who have participated in the Thesis Writing Groups – their enthusiasm and diligence has made working with them a pleasure and an inspiration.