Collaborative academic writing

Abstract

Many studies have examined the provision of academic writing development at tertiary level (Horowitz, 1986, Webb 1997, Pally 2001 and Zhu 2004, Magogwe & Nkateng 2017) but not focussing on collaborative writing. Students in Botswana seem to have difficulties appreciating the value of collaborative work in their writing classes and yet working in groups is an important mode of learning.  This paper explores how students can benefit from collaborative approaches to academic writing.  It will also share experiences of first year students at the University of Botswana (UB) when it comes to collaborative learning and teaching strategies in writing modules. Data for this study was collected from essays that students wrote about collaborative writing. The findings inform teachers of academic writing on ways of improving collaborative writing in their courses.