Your Dissertation Writing Group

TUC graduate academy and TUC writing lab give you the opportunity to advance your dissertation project by joining a writing group with fellow TUC doctoral students sharing the same objective and experiencing similar challenges. Dissertation writing groups create a supportive environment and generally consist of three activities: 1. Fellow doctoral students provide you with helpful feedback, and, vice versa, present their papers to you and ask for your opinion. 2. As a group member, you are invited to ask questions openly in order to cope with typical dissertation challenges and give intellectual and organisational advice peer-to-peer. 3. Writing groups literally write together (you work on your own text in one room with others and at the same time), using innovative writing techniques and thus render writing a more social and even elating activity. Focus, range, and interval of the group sessions are dependent upon the Writing Groups needs and preferences.

During the workshop, you will realize the formation of autonomous writing groups, consisting of 3-5 members. In order to organize effective follow-up sessions you will practically learn how to plan and execute such meetings. Selected feedback and writing techniques let you experience how to produce and revise your texts efficiently. Above all, getting to know other doctoral students across disciplinary and institutional boundaries will help you feel the wide and motivating range of TUC graduate writers.

Requirements for participation:

• min. ½ to max. 1 page summarizing/introducing your dissertation project
• min. 1 to max. 2 pages of a research paper/article/ book chapter (working Paper, not finished orreviewed, „raw material“) (both texts in English, print-out)

Learning Outcomes:

• Participants get to know the concept of dissertation writing groups within the context of dissertation projects specific challenges.
• Participants articulate effective peer feedback among doctoral students.
• Participants act out writing techniques in order to express thoughts on a given intellectual or organizational problem.