Consultancy for staff

Teaching Writing in the Disciplines (WiD)

CAW offers 1:1 staff consultations to support academics at Coventry University in their teaching of writing. CAW lecturers help teaching staff in the disciplines enhance their students’ experience and production of academic writing. 

During the appointment with a CAW lecturer, teaching staff discuss their students’ needs and priorities for their academic development. Together, they assess the role of writing within a specific course or module and analyse how students could be encouraged to become more independent and successful scholars. The CAW lecturers draw on cutting-edge theory and best practice to help academic staff in the disciplines review their teaching materials and conceive fresh new approaches to supporting their students without increasing the workload. 

Designing Assignment Briefs: A Guide for Lecturers

This guide by Dr Christina Howell-Richardson is for use by lecturers in all disciplines who are seeking to write effective assignment briefs. Designing Assignment Briefs: a Guide for Lecturers argues that assignment briefs have an important role to play in scaffolding students' learning. The guide arose from a research project commissioned by the Centre for Academic Writing (CAW) to investigate the role of assignment briefs in student attainment. Staff are free to use the guide as a stand-alone resource or to book an appointment to talk through the assignment briefs they are writing with an Academic Writing Lecturer at CAW.

Writing for Research and Publication

CAW’s staff consultations are also available for feedback on writing-in-progress, including PhDs, journal articles, monographs, edited collections, and other projects. Apart from discussions regarding style, structuring and argumentation, academics also receive advice and support on enhancing their research profile, particularly in preparation for the REF.

If you are a member of staff at Coventry University, you can make an appointment with one of the lecturers at CAW in order to discuss either your WiD work or your writing for research and publication by either emailing them directly or by emailing writing.caw@coventry.ac.uk.

Scholarly Writing Groups: Onsite and Residential Writing Retreats

Scholarly Writing Retreats are run by the Centre for Academic Writing (CAW) and offered to any discipline/faculty/school-based group of researchers working on projects for publication. Tailored Writing Retreats have also been organised, such as those offered for candidates of the Coventry University Ph.D. by Portfolio, the iPed Network, the School of Energy, Construction and Environment, the SURGE Research Centre or the REF Education group.

Writing Retreats support both new and experienced researchers in their writing for conferences, publications and other forms of scholarship. Residential events are held at an elegant Hotel and Conference Centre while Onsite Writing Retreats are held on campus at CAW. Both types of retreats feature individualised consultations and dedicated writing time.

The Benefits of a Writing Retreat

Scholarly Writing Retreats are an antidote to the growing pressure on academics and postgraduates to publish. They are particularly valuable in providing protected space, time, and freedom from distractions. By encouraging academics and postgraduates to abandon their email or other commitments for a designated period, retreats offer invaluable release from the plethora of requests, enquiries and other office-related work. Retreats are also intensely motivating because delegates are able to achieve—and often to exceed—the writing goals they set for themselves. 

Why attend a CAW Scholarly Writing Retreat?

A characteristic of CAW’s Scholarly Writing Retreats is the academic writing expert feedback offered to delegates individually. Individualised writing consultations will be provided throughout the retreat. Up to 20 hours are protected for intensive drafting of a chosen project, and for generating ideas through discussion with the facilitator and colleagues, planning, revising, and editing. In addition, delegates will be sent pre-retreat preparation guidelines to enable them to maximise their potential writing outcomes.

Booking and additional information

Prior to a Retreat, participants must identify their writing goals and the material outcome of the event.  Participants must also prepare the materials they will need for productive and intensive writing.  For more information, please contact CAW via extension 0247688 7902, email writing.caw@coventry.ac.uk or call in to the CAW Reception in Frederick Lanchester Annexe.

M01CAW: Writing for Scholarly Publication

This module will be useful for staff members, postgraduate students and researchers in all disciplines who wish to develop or enhance their publications profile. It aims to facilitate participants’ production of written research outputs (e.g. journal papers and other scholarly publications) by offering writing guidance alongside the process of producing drafts. The module is assessed through 100% coursework and its key features are formative feedback and sustained, protected writing time, including an on-campus writing retreat. It is a blended learning module that draws on a variety of disciplinary contexts through Academic Writing.

External Academic Writing Consultancy

CAW also offers academic writing consultancy externally, outside of Coventry University, to academic and non-academic institutions and organisations in the UK and Europe interested in developing the writing competencies of their members or specific research groups. This consultancy takes the form of workshops, seminars or writing retreats. For more details, please contact writing.caw@coventry.ac.uk.

Amongst the institutions for which we have provided writing development consultancy or for which we have taught academic writing, we can list the University of Leeds, Wolverhampton University, The German Development Institute in Bonn and the University of Birmingham.