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Is it hard to stick to your commitment of writing more during the summer?

Do you wonder if you could be more productive?

Are you ever confused, discouraged, or overwhelmed by the process of scholarly writing?

Apply for a “Summer Online Writing Fellowship," a special four-week online program designed for full-time faculty from the Five Colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, UMass Amherst). Session One will run from Monday, June 1 – Tuesday, June 30 and Session Two will run from Wednesday, July 1 through Friday, July 31. Both of these sessions are sponsored by UMass Amherst’s Office of Faculty Development, with support from the Five College Deans Council and will be facilitated by Jayne London, academic writing coach and manager of the Academic Writing Club.

Each session consists of 4 weeks in a positive, encouraging online environment with faculty colleagues. You will log your writing progress on a daily basis, interact with others about the process of writing, and get help and feedback from Jayne. The goal will be to write, during one or more moderately short daily writing sessions, on week days. You will be provided with instructions, guidance and feedback on your writing process.

Your progress will be posted on a grid, showing who logged their progress each day. You can read and post “comments and applause” on each other’s progress, and read the coaching comments that will be made at least twice a week. A message board and user profile page will allow you to learn more about each other, post questions, challenges and ideas, and continue discussions started in the logs.

You’ll be surprised at how motivating it is to do your daily writing, knowing that others will be noting your progress at the end of the day. And of course, you can participate from the comfort of your own home, office, or hotel room at the beach.

In addition to the progress grid, you will also have access to graphs (which will be created automically) of your time spent writing and researching, a chat feature so that you can create real-time conversations with your fellow group members, a wiki that is a collection of resources for everything regarding academic writing, and a one-hour group coaching conference call.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What are the benefits of the “Summer Online Writing Fellowship” program?
· You will write more frequently and consistently.
· You’ll learn to avoid common writing mistakes.
· You will bypass roadblocks that frequently interfere with the process of scholarly writing.
· The daily log-in and interaction with other provides a supportive community that helps with feelings of isolation that are so common among academic writers.

2. What are the advantages of the online program as opposed to a weekly or monthly writing group?
· You can check in and get support at any time of the day or night.
· You get help with the writing process when you need it.
· You get daily, as opposed to weekly support
· You don’t need to take the time to get to group meetings.
· You’re guaranteed to have equal time for your issues, unlike a group setting where one person may take more attention than others.

3. How do you log your progress?
It’s simple! You sign into your password-protected progress log, and answer some specific questions about your writing process for that day.

4. Who else can see what I write?
Only the other participants and Jayne. No one else will ever be allowed access to what you write.

5. Who will the participants be?
Only the other U. Mass. Amherst and Five College faculty members who sign up to participate in your session of the program.

6. What questions will I be answering?
You will log the number of minutes you spent reading and researching, how many paragraphs or pages you wrote or revised, and write about challenges and successes. You’re encouraged to notice any negative self-statements and to replace them with positive ones. There is a space to log your specific writing goals for the next day, and a space for general comments. It is up to you, of course, which questions you answer each day.

7. Who can comment on my log?
The other participants can write in your “Comments and Applause” section. The focus is always on process, not content of writing; thus the comments tend to be supportive, encouraging and helpful. This creates a positive environment that helps with the isolation and discouragement of the writing experience.

The coach will also write comments in the “Notes from Coach” section on an as-needed basis, or approximately twice a week.

8. How do others know if I have posted, and how do they access my log?
Your name and the day # of the program will be posted on a grid. When you post in your log, a checkmark will appear showing that you posted. Others can click on that checkmark, see your progress log, and comment.

9. What if what I have to say is only for the coach?
You will always have email access to Jayne.

10. How do I know who the other participants are?
There will be a “User Profile” page to enter your name, field, website, and any other information you’d like to give about what you are working on and what your struggles are with writing. You’re also encouraged to write what your goals are for the program.

11. What if I didn’t write because I spent all day procrastinating?
This is where the “Summer Online Writing Fellowship” program can really help. Post in your log anyway. You will get support from others who know exactly what it’s like to be in your shoes. And you’ll be so much more likely to write the next day, instead of letting that one day of procrastination lead to another and another.

12. This sounds great! How do I apply?
Visit the OFD website at http://www.umass.edu/ofd/writing/index.html for application materials and more information. Participation will be limited.

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