Writing Retreats and Courses for Academic Writers

Books

Books by Rowena Murray

Defines criteria, practices and arrangements, recurring questions and strategies for strong answers. Advice on how to practise and develop skills for this type of oral exam.

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Guidance on structuring a thesis in any discipline, developing good writing habits, overcoming writer’s block, understanding the assessment process, with practical tips, writing activities, outlines, visual displays, timetables for writing and examples.

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Research-informed practical advice. Covers the whole process of writing a journal article, from targeting a journal to dealing with reviewers’ feedback. Shows how to write abstracts, produce detailed outlines and generate and revise drafts.

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This book is for postgraduate students who are just starting to teach at university.

Key features: accessible guidelines, basic advice, practical approach, small doses of theory, current debates, templates for preparing classes and frameworks for teaching portfolios.

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Explains how to integrate writing in work by managing institutional processes, developing rhetorical strategies, changing writing behaviours and understanding writing contexts.

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Based on former Quality Assurance Agency precepts, key areas covered are selection and admission of students, training in research and generic skills, supervising doctoral writing, monitoring and review arrangements, examination practice, complaints and appeals procedures.

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This book is for those doing courses on teaching in higher education. It explains what is meant by the scholarship of teaching and learning and provides information on key theories and debates. This book will help with Teaching and Learning Fellowship applications.

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This book is about solving the problem of making time and space for writing. It is a research-based, theorised approach to the skill of writing. It explains and evidences the benefits of various ways of applying social processes in the writing process.

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Examines the experiences and stories of female professors.  Explores how careers were ‘made’ rather than focusing on stumbling blocks.  Uses various theoretical and methodological approaches to understand how women navigate the process of becoming a professor.

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This is the first comprehensive study of George Mackay Brown’s writing, charting the development of his ideas and styles. It is an accessible introduction to one of the 20th century’s great writers.

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CLICK HERE  to open printable PDF Flyer for Rowena’s 6 books with OUP-McGraw-Hill

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Drawings and texts explore connections between people, places and the ‘stuff’ of writing, expressing the unsaid, witnessing moments that give writing its anguish and its joy.

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Rowena Murray books in translation

Chapter contributions by Rowena Murray

My chapter is ‘Doctoral students create new spaces to write’

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My chapter is on ‘Becoming rhetorical’

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My chapter on ‘Getting started with writing’

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My chapter is on ‘Writing articles, books and presentations’

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My chapter: If not Rhetoric and Composition, then what?: Teaching teachers to teach writing in a Scottish University

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My chapter is about ‘Writing prolifically’

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My chapter offers the Writing Meeting Framework as a way to sustain the benefits of writing retreats

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Title of my chapter is ‘Disrupting the structures that disrupt women’s writing’.

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Title of my chapter is ‘Social Writing’.

Other Books

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You made us feel like having the right tools (and applying them) is the only thing to get us over the finish line.

‘I found [writing chapter introductions] quite tough because it forced me to make a lot of decisions that were probably long overdue to be made. As a result, I feel much better about my thesis planning now!’

‘I did send [my supervisors] some of my writing, the chapter summary, but I don’t think they read it to be honest. However, I also have a new additional supervisor and it was very helpful for me to have some of those pieces of writing to send to her. As part of the writing I changed from two findings chapters to three and they seemed happy with this. It has given me a lot more clarity in terms of moving forward and owning what I am doing and feeling confident in this. I also shared it with a colleague of mine who acts as a voluntary supervisor and who has read some of my other work and she had a much better understanding of where I am going when she read my conclusion chapter and felt she could see great improvement from what she read. I will send them pieces bit by bit, like the abstract etc. and it is great to have drafts of these bits ready to go now’.

Having prompts and precise tasks helps enormously. In one of the last supervisions, my supervisor asked me what I thought my contribution was, and I couldn’t formulate one sentence. Last Wednesday, I wrote 613 words in an hour.

‘I found [writing thesis conclusion] really difficult. I think I’m still struggling to make that final decision on the conclusion and want to discuss everything I found and did as well as all the issues I had. Hopefully, acknowledging that will help’.

‘I had my supervisors meeting yesterday to receive feedback on everything I’d written and revised through the Thesis Endgame course, and I was quite frankly gobsmacked at how positive their feedback was! I wouldn’t consider myself a natural or keen writer, so I found the course incredibly helpful, and it has really motivated me onto the next steps’.

You facilitated a workshop many years ago at my university, and this was very transformative for me. One of the reasons was that you encouraged freewriting. This enabled me to revisit how, as a child, I had learned to physically write what I was thinking by putting pen to paper. I find handwriting very liberating, as the barrier of the machine (computer) can often reduce the flow of my cognition as I get distracted with formatting etc. You validated and legitimised this approach, and it has been a saviour when I get stuck in some tasks.

‘I met my supervisor last week and she found the summary and chapter outlines very helpful and we were able to agree a final draft submission date’.

The retreats, including the Thesis Endgame course have been integral to my research and to the achievement of my PhD. I am very grateful to you and to all those that attend the writing sessions for sharing their time, experiences, knowledge and expertise so generously and hope to continue to be a part of this wonderful writing community.

‘I did not expect the group feedback sessions to be as helpful as they were, which was a nice surprise. I … was delighted with this and found [it was] a safe, supportive environment. The recognition of the challenges many of us are currently facing while writing up our theses (caring responsibilities, etc.) was particularly helpful at this time’.

I never shared my work so happily as I did during the course with you and the other colleagues. The environment was supportive and great from the start. I’m already more open to sending work which isn’t perfect, whatever that means.

I enjoy how you structure sessions and reassure the participants that a focused hour can be more productive than a day of faffing around.

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