TY - JOUR

T1 - Writing retreats as a milestone in the development of PhD students sense of self as academic writers

AU - Papen, Uta

AU - Theriault, Virginie

N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Continuing Education on 07/11/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/0158037X.2017.1396973

PY - 2018/6

Y1 - 2018/6

N2 - Writing retreats are structured events during which a group of people write in the same room over several days. In this paper, we report on findings from a study exploring the impact of writing retreats on PhD students’ writing and their sense of self as academic writers. A second aim of the study was to contribute to the search for appropriate structures and pedagogies to support writing at the PhD level. The data consist of interviews with 19 PhD students who had taken part in writing retreats as well as evaluations and pre- and post-retreat reflections by these students. In the interviews, we discussed the role of writing retreats in the context of the students’ wider biographies as writers, looking into their autobiographical selves and how it relates to their experiences of writing. Our findings suggest that writing retreats can be important events for PhD students positively affecting their relationship with literacy (Besse, 1995).Taking part in a retreat generates pleasure, emphasising the role of emotions in academic writing. Our findings suggest that writing retreats and the opportunities they offer students to write and to reflect on their experiences as writers are a valuable part of PhD training.

AB - Writing retreats are structured events during which a group of people write in the same room over several days. In this paper, we report on findings from a study exploring the impact of writing retreats on PhD students’ writing and their sense of self as academic writers. A second aim of the study was to contribute to the search for appropriate structures and pedagogies to support writing at the PhD level. The data consist of interviews with 19 PhD students who had taken part in writing retreats as well as evaluations and pre- and post-retreat reflections by these students. In the interviews, we discussed the role of writing retreats in the context of the students’ wider biographies as writers, looking into their autobiographical selves and how it relates to their experiences of writing. Our findings suggest that writing retreats can be important events for PhD students positively affecting their relationship with literacy (Besse, 1995).Taking part in a retreat generates pleasure, emphasising the role of emotions in academic writing. Our findings suggest that writing retreats and the opportunities they offer students to write and to reflect on their experiences as writers are a valuable part of PhD training.

KW - Writing retreats

KW - PhD students

KW - academic writing

KW - autobiographical self

KW - relationship with literacy

U2 - 10.1080/0158037X.2017.1396973

DO - 10.1080/0158037X.2017.1396973

M3 - Journal article

VL - 40

SP - 166

EP - 180

JO - Studies in Continuing Education

JF - Studies in Continuing Education

SN - 0158-037X

IS - 2

ER -