HOW TO PREPARE A GROUP REPORT Several brains are better than 1. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

HOW TO PREPARE A GROUP REPORT

Several brains are better than 1. This presentation will offer an overview of the collaborative process, tips for writing successfully as a group and pitfalls to avoid.

1 PRE-WRITING PROCESS • Share ideas and brainstorm together. • Formulate a draft plan together. • What is the purpose? • Who is the intended audience? Possible sources of information? •

2 PLANNING AND LOGISTICS • Who will write which parts? What will the final product look like? 24 • Decide how often you will meet and • schedule the meetings. Create a working timeline for the • project keeping the important milestones in mind.

3 RESEARCH/DATA COLLECTION How will you find Who will read and process Who will analyze the appropriate sources of the information? What will data? How will you information? you include in your report? interpret the findings? Remember! ! Think critically about the sources and their contributions. What do they contribute to your report?

4 DRAFTING/WRITING OR Separate? Together? Brainstorming the main Writing together ensures points as a group is that the finished report helpful, even if the writing has one cohesive voice. is done individually. That said, it may not be practical. Care will need to be taken during the next stage to If attempting to write ensure that the report is together, agree in cohesive. advance on goals and process for the session. It may be helpful to start with ideas first and then work on phrasing.

REVISING, 5 EDITING, & PROOFREADING First, combine the Next, smooth over any Finally, work on sentence sections and work on stylistic differences that level errors. Proofread for structural issues: could be distracting to typos, spelling errors, - Argument clear? the reader. word choice, - Smooth transitions? punctuation, formatting, - Evidence logically etc. presented?

HELPFUL 6 STRATEGIES Attitude Counts Start Early Working in a group can be Just because you have several challenging. Keeping a positive months doesn't mean you should attitude and respecting what start tomorrow. Start early and everyone brings to the table is allow for plenty of time for the the first step in a successful revision process. team effort. Sharing Files Divide and Conquer As a team, decide on the Dividing the work for all stages method(s) you plan to use to will be helpful. This includes the share files. Also discuss common proofreading stage. Consider nomenclature for the various assigning specific parts of the drafts/versions you will be proofreading process to certain producing. individuals.

7 PITFALLS Immediately Leaving all the end dividing writing work to one into pieces. person. Start with brainstorming Don't fall into the trap of main points and crating an leaving all the proofreading outline of the report, then work to one person. Try divide the writing. assigning different parts of the task to team members. Procrastination Waiting for others Don't underestimate how to do all the work. much time it will take to Everyone is busy. Don't think juggle schedules to that you are any busier than accommodate team calls. others on your team. Do your Start early. share and plan accordingly. Becoming a group Entirely negative of one. critiques. If you are having difficulty Try to highlight the positive working in a group, discuss parts as well as commenting your concerns with the on the parts that need work. group first and work together to resolve issues.

QUESTIONS SOURCE http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/group-writing/