David J. Klooster Center for Excellence in Writing

Written By Writing Assistant and Student Director (Spring 2019), Irene Gerrish 

A common complaint I hear from fellow students, colleagues, and even myself, is that our classes don’t teach us how to do things that are really, really crucial to survival in adulthood. Filing taxes, understanding how mortgages work, and being financially responsible all play integral roles in our adult lives; but understanding each of these is absent from much of our educational experiences. Instead, we learn and memorize rules and proofs in geometry, specific steps of biology lab reports, and the most efficient ways to cram for exams overnight.

    Something required in many college seminars, however, that proves to be very useful into adulthood, is the completion of a group paper. Now, I know what you’re thinking—“How can group papers be of any use to me in the future? They’re miserable, unnecessarily stressful, and I’m more comfortable writing one on my own.” Many of us at the Klooster Center understand and agree with you (we really do). But the challenges implicit in constructing a successful group paper mimic those familiar to those in a collaborative work environment. In any mix of students or coworkers, you’re sure to face stark differences in writing strategies and preferences, research methods, and abilities. For this reason, group papers can certainly be one of the harder college assignments, but certainly, one of the more informative ones. Here are a couple of tips to keep you and your peers on track as you navigate the murky waters of group work.

1. Delegate, delegate, delegate. While it’s tempting to want to take on either all of the work or leave it to be completed by the group’s most competent writers, you are all receiving grades for the same assignment. If your tendency is to try and take on all of the work, divide up the portions of the project and ask your group members which sections they’d be most comfortable with. If your tendency is to let others initiate, make your group members aware of your willingness to tackle things that need to be done. Please know that many professors require peer evaluations to be completed by each group member, and your performance, good and bad, will be noticed by your colleagues!
2. Be smart about task division. Choosing how to divide up tasks can be difficult. Try to rely on the strengths of your group members; strong writers might be more comfortable with editing the final product, whereas strong researchers might appreciate collecting information instead. If you each choose to write sections of the paper, try to have someone look over the rough draft so the voice of your project is (relatively) consistent throughout, which brings me to my next point.
3. Come to the Klooster Center! We are more than willing to assist you with your group papers. All members of the group project are welcome during any one appointment, and we have chocolate!
4. If all else fails, communicate with your professor. If the working dynamics of your group are frustrating and/or fostering a negative environment, let your professors know. They are aware that conflict is a natural part of forcing students to collaborate, and are also equipped help you resolve any rising tensions.

Ultimately, group papers can be a positive collaborative learning opportunity—if everyone is willing to make it work. Overcoming differences and striving towards a common goal are situations we will continually be in throughout our professional, academic, and personal lives, and group papers can be wonderful introductions to this process. Best of luck, and write on!

Written by Writing Assistant and Fellow, Will Lake

Last semester I had the pleasure of living and learning in the beautiful state of Oregon. Through a program sponsored in part by Hope, The Oregon Extension, I was able to travel to a secluded mountain top ex-logging town where we lived in cabins, turned in our phones, and read. The goal of the program is to “get out of the mainstream” but, in doing so, you accomplish so much more. We were offered chickens, goats, wood-burning stoves for heat, and a community of professors and students for intimate learning. The program offered seclusion, to be sure; we lived about an hour from civilization, on top of a mountain, in the middle of federally protected wilderness. On account of the seclusion, we lived distraction-free. Without phones, WiFi, or electronics, we looked around and saw nothing but mountains, trees, and books. Books, books, and more books.

    On average, we probably read between about 600-800 pages of text every week (when we weren’t out backpacking or on a trip). Over a 16 week period, this adds up. I was ashamed to say that, before going out to Oregon as a senior in college, I had almost never picked up, started, and finished a book, cover-to-cover, in my entire life. Why would I? I mean, with Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix, my free-time schedule is pretty booked up. My academic schedule (professors: cover your ears) is about getting things done. When it comes to reading, there comes a difference between “reading” an assigned book, and “ reading the first chapter, skimming, then looking at summaries, then reading the last chapter a month later before the test”. I must say, I am ashamed, looking back, of my poor reading history. It wasn’t till Oregon, when I had nothing else to do but read, that I discovered the joys, benefits, and realities of reading.

    Reading is like working out – the more you do it, the easier it becomes. The more you read, the faster you read, the more you comprehend, the less it strains you. If this analogy holds, in Oregon, I became an Olympian, of sorts. The other thing about reading whole books, versus summaries, quick articles, etc, is that you begin to feel an intimacy with the book – a kinship. It is said that there exists a spiritual relation between human and dog; the same can be said about human and book. They become your friends, whom you understand on a deeper level. You have seen all their inner workings and mysteries. You have toiled over them, you have laughed with them, cried on their pages. And then, when you’re finished with them, they stand proudly upon your shelf, perhaps for years, waiting for that sweet, precious moment when you return to them to reminisce, and to have a chat with your long-lost friend. Other than being your friend, there is one indirect consequence of reading: your writing drastically improves. When I arrived in Oregon, I could write. By the time I left Oregon, 12,000 pages later, I thought in quotes. I wrote in terms of language, style, and ideas that I had collected from thousands of pages of text. It happened sub-consciously, but the effects were more than evident. I realized that my whole life was connecting to what was going on in the texts, and I was able to process it far better in terms of text then I ever have been before. I was writing effortlessly, with my gears lubed; I had fresh ideas constantly on my mind and thousands of examples of argumentation, proper structure, and fascinating style. I spent hundreds of hours in the intellectual gym, and it had paid off. My writing biceps were bigger than ever before.

    Now I am home, and I write now and then, and I read less and less. I edit and write papers, and yet, I feel my biceps thinning. I’m realizing that there is no substitute for the real thing – for reading. As for me, it’s time to get back to the gym. Maybe I’ll start with some Hemingway for calisthenics, then perhaps move into Socrates for my power-lifting. As long as pages are turning, there are myriad ways that I am growing.