Collaborative Writing Individual and Team

Collaborative Writing

Individual and team writing processes share a common goal: complete a piece that is of high quality, fulfills the requirements of the assignment, and meets the deadline. An individual, as a writer, has total control of a project from beginning to end. That can be an advantage when someone has strong writing skills, is well organized, and has a clear vision of expectations and anticipated outcome. For such an individual, it can sometimes be difficult to work collaboratively. There are always questions about how work is to be divided. Differences in work style and ethic can cause problems if intermittent goals are not met. Trust may be an issue when one or more individuals feel that work is not divided equitably or members of the group are not doing their fair share. In today's workplace, technology is often a part of the collaborative writing process. Different levels of comfort and skill among collaborators may also be problematic.

Conversely, collaborative writing can be a boon to all writers, even individuals who are confident in their skills and have demonstrated success as writers. As the old saying goes, "Two heads are better than one." Collaborative efforts may increase the depth and breadth of a project or topic to be explored, as different individuals bring their unique perspectives to both the problem and the writing. It is also possible to make a large, multi-faceted project more manageable through collaborative efforts.

The same advantages and disadvantages of collaborative writing are evident in the proofreading process as well. Writers with strong skills will be better able to identify errors in grammar, usage and mechanics. Collaborators with a strong work ethnic and a serious approach to the task of proofreading will likely devote more time and effort than a member of the group with a more casual approach. There may be different opinions in the group with respect to content and style; it may truly be a matter of opinion in which all parties are technically correct. Who ultimately makes the decisions?

When proofreading, it is often easier to read someone else's work than one's own. In re-reading our own work, we know what we meant to say and tend to read what we believe is on the page, rather than what actually exists. It is easy, in this instance, to overlook spelling mistakes and errors in clarity and reasoning.

Team dynamics can benefit or harm the collaborative writing process. There is an advantage to working with individuals one already knows; there are few surprises with respect to personality traits as they relate to the work. Sometimes better writing can be accomplished when teams are assigned, as this can facilitate diversity and ensure less "groupthink" and more substantive discussions (Powers, Dunn-Lewis, and Fraser, n.d.). Team identity can be forged purposefully, as when a leader is formally appointed or agreed upon by the group. In some cases, leadership emerges without conscious decision. Strong writers or content area experts are natural choices for leadership roles, but sometimes personalities come into play. This is not necessarily a negative. An individual who is neither the strongest writer nor the most knowledgeable in terms of content may possess the organizational skills, the charisma and the insights needed to lead a project successfully through to completion. One of the greatest advantages of the collaborative writing process is the opportunity to bring together individuals with diverse talents and abilities to strengthen the overall approach to the project. As Kittle and Hicks (2009, p.527) point out,