THE COLLABORATIVE WRITING
PROCESS
An Investigation in Four Parts
1. ROLES IN THE
COLLABORATIVE WRITING
PROCESS
THE TEACHER’S ROLE IN THE
COLLABORATIVE WRITING
PROCESS
Provide writing models to use for discussion
Provide students with a variety of pre-writing strategies
Discuss the evaluation criteria (rubric) with students before students begin work on
the assignment
Offer individual conferences with students about their writing
Function as an editor who is concerned with clarity, word choice, voice, grammar
and mechanics
Allow students to express themselves so they can develop their own writer’s voice
Acquaint student with references and training in the tools of the writing craft: word
processing software (e.g., Google Docs), graphic organizers, etc
THE STUDENT’S ROLE IN THE
COLLABORATIVE WRITING
PROCESS
Introduce, discuss and develop the topic using a variety of pre-writing strategies
Use peers in the writing process — as designed by the teacher
Organize supportive ideas by using a graphic organizer (can be a group process)
Compose the first draft
Use the rubric and peer responses to revise the first draft / Peers should be editors who are concerned with:
clarity,organization, development, voice and word choice
Revise all ideas that are not clear or do not have examples
Reveal their own voices in their writing
Read various drafts of writing in large or small groups
Review the final copy in small groups by reading aloud
Edit paper for spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Write or word process a final draft
2. ORGANIZING THE CLASSROOM
FOR THE COLLABORATIVE
WRITING PROCESS
Peer
Conferencing
Table
Teacher
Conferencing Table
How to Organize a Classroom to help with
the Collaborative Writing Process
Writing Supplies Zone:
Graphic Organizers, Post-It
Notes, Rubrics, Editing and
Revision checklists, paper,
pencils, etc.
Student Writing Center
Note: The process above assumes a paper/pencil scenario. Digital sharing is another way to implement the
collaborative writing process. Both teachers and peers can share writing and editing via Google Docs, for
example.
3. WRITING RUBRIC
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4. Advanced
Main idea clearly explained
Ideas well organized with great detail
Author’s personality is very evident
Effective word choice and usage
Sentence fluency and variety
Correct capitalization, punctuation and
spelling
3. Proficient
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Main idea explained
Ideas sufficiently organized with some detail
Author’s personality is somewhat evident
Appropriate word choice and usage
Adequate sentence sense and minimal
sentence errors
• A few errors in capitalization, punctuation
and spelling
2. Basic
Main idea not well explained
Ideas poorly organized and underdeveloped
Little evidence of author’s personality
Occasional inappropriate or incorrect
language usage
• Poor sentence structure — some sentence
fragments and run-ons
• Inconsistent use of capitalization, punctuation
and spelling
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1. Minimal Performance
Main idea unclear or absent
Ideas unorganized and undeveloped
No evidence of author’s personality
Generally inappropriate or incorrect
language use
• Lack of sentence structure: sentence
fragments and run-ons very evident
• Incorrect use of capitalization, punctuation
and spelling
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4. COLLABORATIVE
WRITING FLOW CHART
Ideas
Organizing
of Ideas
• Past Experience
• Current Topics
• Brainstorming
• Discussion
• Literature
• Student Interest
• Class activity
Step-by-Step: Collaborative Writing Process
• Purpose
• Graphic Organizers
• Audience
• Outlining
• Detailing
• Note taking
Writing
Revision
Composing
of Ideas
• Introduction
• Thesis Statement
• Sentence Development
• Paragraph Development
• Patterns of Organization
• Conclusion
• School
Newspaper
• Internet
• Class Exchanges
• Publishing Fair
• Google Docs
Sharing
• iBooks
•Mechanics
•Punctuation
•Grammar
•Spelling
Reviewing
of
Ideas
Publishing
Editing
• Read aloud
• Teacher Conferencing
• Peer Conferencing
• Rewriting
• Self-evaluation
• Peer Editing
• Checklist