ABSTRACT
People, mostly, don't mind reading but they rarely want to say anything about it. This is the power of a writing group, the supportive reading and responding. It's probably the idea that has had the greatest impact on the teaching of writing. Sharing writing and responding to the writing of others lies at the heart of the writing group. Donald Murray (1982) describes the most significant things that a writer learns is to be a reader of their own work as the other self. Georgia Heard (1989), in her chapter about conferring, Someone who will truly listen, describes how she moved from a focus on the written product to a focus on the writer. Peter Elbow work on response encourages feedback that reflects the reader's experience back to the writer. Ferguson McKay (1987) used three broad concepts: Confidence and self-image, Authority and control, and Use of audience responses, to analyse what was happening and why students were making less progress.
