Writing groups provide an opportunity for students to complete a writing project within a workshop environment with an instructor and a small group of peers (typically 6-8 students). Groups are expected to meet for twelve hours of instructional time. Successful writing is an iterative process, and writing groups facilitate this by:
- Building a small community of student writers who offer feedback on each other’s projects.
- Helping students structure their research and writing and keep to a schedule.
- Providing students opportunities to workshop outlines, drafts, etc.
- Teaching students the art of peer review, including how to deliver and respond to criticism.
Eligibility
For the 2025-2026 academic year, writing groups are open to upper-level J.D. and LL.M. students enrolled in independent written work supervised by the writing group instructor; writing group instructors specify whether their groups are open to students working on two-credit papers only or a mix of one- and two-credit papers.
How to Enroll
Students should reach out to the instructor(s) with whom they would like to work to discuss a possible paper topic. Students who decide to enroll in a writing group must submit a Writing Group Registration Form with the writing group instructor’s signature by the following deadlines:
Fall/Spring: Friday, September 19, 2025
Spring: Friday, January 9, 2026
Please also note the following:
- All students enrolled in a writing group will receive one classroom credit and will be graded Credit/Fail. The additional one or two credits of written work, per student, will be graded under the regular HLS scale in the manner ordinary for written work.
- Writing credits may be placed in the fall, winter, or spring terms, the baseline writing group classroom credit will be placed in the fall term for fall-only groups and in the spring term for fall-spring and spring-only groups.
- Students should ensure that there is space in their schedule for these credits, bearing in mind that the fall and spring term credit maximum for J.D. students is sixteen credits each term; the fall and spring credit maximum for LL.M. students is thirteen and twelve credits, respectively; and all students are limited to a single enrollment of two or three credits in the winter term.