Writing Groups in the Writing Center: Negotiating Authority and Expertise in Collaborative Learning

Writing Groups in the Writing Center presents an empirical, qualitative study that examines collaborative practices in multidisciplinary writing groups, arguing that these collaborations offer rich expansions of writing center praxis. Using three case studies-undergraduate grant proposal writers, undergraduate thesis writers, and doctoral dissertation writers-the book explores how participants negotiate authority, navigate disciplinary boundaries, perform emotional labor, and develop expertise within writing center communities of practice.

As many higher education institutions strive to create spaces and systems that increase equity, accessibility, and diversity, they recognize the need for improved mentorship across academic levels. This book analyzes the significant benefits as well as the challenges faced by writing groups in providing such support. Wilder presents a nuanced account of how facilitators scaffold group practice, how members use and build genre knowledge across disciplines, and how institutional contexts shape emotional labor requirements.

For educators and tutors, the book provides an in-depth examination of the facilitator role, describing essential logistical, emotional, and intellectual practices, and addresses common conflicts and challenges. Administrators can find valuable material for training tutor-facilitators and frameworks for conceptualizing writing group functions on campus. For researchers, the book extends scholarship on writing groups, writing transfer, and collaborative learning, bridging writing center and broader writing studies research.

In an era of concern about generative AI’s role in writing education, Writing Groups in the Writing Center extends research on group facilitation, collaborative learning, and authority negotiation in writing center communities of practice and emphasizes the human connections that make collaborative writing meaningful and valuable for student writers.

Sara Wilder is assistant professor of English at University of Maryland, College Park, where she teaches rhetoric and writing and directs the writing center. Her research also appears in journals such as Written Communication, WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, and Literacy in Composition Studies.