The Faculty Writing Support Group is a group of volunteer faculty who can offer you help with your scholarly writing (writing for teaching purposes such as syllabi, assignments etc. will not be considered). For example, they can peer-review an article or grant proposal, check grammar for those writing in their second language, proof writing samples1, proof translations2, critique experimental designs or statistical analyses, etc. This service is facilitated by the Office of Faculty Affairs. While you are encouraged to seek help with your writing from your colleagues and friends, you should not request services from members of the Writing Support Group directly.

The Faculty Writing Support Group is experimental. The following procedures may be adjusted after assessment to better suit faculty needs.

Procedure:

1. If you need a help with a piece of writing (hereafter referred to as document) you should submit it electronically, in Word format to Kathy Robertson (kr204@duke.edu ) with a description of the type of help you need. E.g., peer review, critique of statistical analysis, proof of translation etc. You should allow at least 2-3 weeks for the review.
2. Kathy will refer your request to a suitable volunteer reviewer based on your discipline and the type of help you’ve requested. If the volunteer reviewer declines another one will be approached.
3. To avoid potential conflicts, the name of the volunteer reviewer will be kept confidential. However, volunteer reviewers may contact the reviewee to discuss the document if they choose.
4. The volunteer reviewer will review and/or edit the document as requested and return it to Kathy (they may return it directly to the reviewee, but should CC Kathy so she can keep track of the work flow).
5. Kathy will return the document to the reviewee.
6. Kathy will monitor the number of reviews made by each volunteer reviewer and spread the workload evenly among them.
7. If you request help with a document, you must be willing to join the pool of volunteers.

This procedure is designed to protect volunteers from overload and potential conflicts with reviewees. It also mimics the single-blind peer reviewing procedure used by many journals and funding agencies, allowing faculty to experience what that feels like.