AcWriMo @Maynooth University Library: a guide to running an academic writing programme

Abstract

In 2020 and 2021, Maynooth University (MU) Library ran an academic writing programme for library staff, loosely based on the international Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo) model. This model originated in the U.S. with the aim of encouraging and supporting writing among early career academics and researchers. Individuals or teams set November as a time to advance their writing substantially through establishing specific writing goals and recording both time spent writing and output. The MU Library version of AcWriMo was offered in November 2020 (AcWriMo1) and February 2021 (AcWriMo2).The goal for AcWriMo1 (November 2020) was to write a blog post of between 800 and 1,000 words. The goal for AcWriMo2 (February 2021) was similar -to complete a piece of writing of between 1,000 and 1,500 words for either a blog post or a professional journal. No prior experience of academic writing was necessary, and the programme was offered to library staff across all grades.Following a brief review of the literature relating to academic writing groups, this article provides a step-by-step description of the content of the writing programme, which could be adapted and developed by other academic writing groups. It then discusses the outputs from the group, their evaluation of the process and the key emerging issues.