Writing groups, pedagogy, theory and practice : an introduction

Scholarly writing is a central component of academic life. And yet we continue to hear that it is a disputed site: a source of anxiety for many students and academics, a contentious space for both learners and teachers of academic writing; an area of disputed responsibility in research education, and higher education teaching and learning more generally. Many doctoral candidates and credentialized academics report ongoing challenges regarding scholarly writing, not the least of which is a desire for supportive environments within which writing will happen. This book is positioned by two key pressure points for writing in the academy, namely writing associated with the requirements of doctoral study, and scholarly publication more broadly. Here we showcase examples of how writing groups can respond in innovative ways to these imperatives.