Writing Groups

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.

Explore the list of writing groups on offer for the 2023-2024 academic year below. To learn more about a particular writing group, including if it is scheduled to meet at a particular time, please explore the course catalog listing for the group.

Eligibility

Writing groups are open to upper-level J.D. and LL.M. students enrolled in two or three credits of independent written work supervised by the writing group instructor. 

How to Enroll

Students should reach out to the instructor(s) with whom they would like to work in order to discuss a possible paper topic. Students who decide to enroll in a fall only or fall-spring writing group next year must submit a Written Work/Writing Group Registration Form with the writing group instructor’s signature no later than September 8, 2023. To enroll in a spring writing group, Registration Forms must be submitted no later than November 13, 2023.

Please also note the following:

• Writing credits may be placed in the fall, winter, or spring terms, while the 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 enrolled in a writing group will receive one classroom credit and will be graded Credit/Fail.  The two or three credits of written work will be graded under the regular HLS scale in the manner ordinary for written work. 
• 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.