Constructive feedback and steady progress in groups facilitated by writing consultants

Peer Review Groups (PRGs)

PRGs are small groups of 5-8 graduate students in similar disciplines who meet once weekly to review each other’s drafts of papers or written assignments. PRGs are a unique space to workshop academic communication and progress on work. Peers provide feedback on work at any stage of the writing process: brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising, and editing.

Our groups are inclusive spaces and we welcome writers from any discipline, graduate program, and language background. We believe that everyone has the ability to provide a meaningful reader’s perspective. To this end, in our PRGs, we review any academic genre, both written and oral, including, but not limited to:

  • Research articles
  • Review papers
  • Theses, dissertations, and creative components
  • Conference presentations and posters
  • Job application materials
  • Grant proposals

We offer Peer Review Groups (PRGs) every semester (summer, fall, and spring) to provide a space for graduate students to present academic writing and receive feedback in a supportive peer-led environment. Graduate students from any department or program can participate. To be considered for participation in a group, please submit the application below. 

Submit an application to join a PRG
Check out current and past PRGs

Apply to participate in a Spring 2025 PRG!

The following is a list of Fall 2024 PRGs. If you are interested in joining an existing group or creating your own group of 5-10 graduates to form a PRG, please email your request to the PRG coordinator Chris Nuttall at cnutt@iastate.edu.

GroupsTime
Economics and Political ScienceMondays, 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Interdisciplinary and AgronomyMondays, 4:30 p.m to 6:00 pm
EngineeringThursdays, 1:00 to 2:00 pm

 

Overview and Expectations
Demo of a Peer Review Session

This is a clip from one of our graduate peer review groups. Before this point, the writer has introduced her work, asked for specific feedback, and then read a section of the paper aloud to the group. In this clip, you can see the interdisciplinary group negotiating the meaning of her writing and options for revision. The group discusses potential revision ideas, explains them and the writer can choose to make revisions to her work in real-time or add comments to look at a section later. You can see there are no printed copies, only to projected copy so that everyone stays on the same page, quite literally.

Being a part of this group has helped increase my writing and reviewing ability not just through receiving feedback and explaining my own writing, but also through helping review everyone else’s work.

Tim, Agriculture & Bio-Systems Engineering, PRG Participant

Writing Accountability Groups (WAGs)

WAGs are small groups of 5 to 8 graduate students each who meet once a week for an hour and a half to two hours to make real progress towards their writing goals during a quiet, dedicated writing time. Students may bring to the sessions any form of academic writing they would like to work on in the designated time frame.

WAGs are a means for advanced academic writers to foster productive writing habits and to make substantial progress towards their writing goals in a supportive peer environment. The weekly sessions help students hold themselves (and their peers) accountable to the goals they have set for their own writing. Because the groups are populated with other graduate students, participants are able to share their concerns about their work, deadlines, or progress with peers who can sympathize with and provide support to other members.

We offer Writing Accountability Groups (WAGS) every fall and spring semester to provide a space for graduate students to make progress towards their writing goals in a supportive, peer-led environment. Graduate students from any department or program can participate. To be considered for participation in a group, please submit the application below. 

Submit an application to join a WAG
Check out past WAG groups

Apply to participate in a Spring 2025 WAG!

The following are Fall 2024 WAGs. If you are interested in joining an existing group or creating your own group of 5-10 graduates to form a WAG, please email your request to the WAG coordinator Chris Nuttall at cnutt@iastate.edu.

GroupTimeHours
Group 1Monday, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.1.5 hours
Group 2Tuesday, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.2 hours
Group 3Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.3 hours
Group 4Thursday, 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.2 hours
Group 5Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.2 hours