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Practice-W
The list to improve writing skills

How do you get to the bestseller list?

Practice
Practice
Practice

Welcome to Practice-W

Members of the Practice-W list practice specific writing exercises, presented weekly by the list administrator. The Practice exercises are posted to the mailing list, and members then critique each other's work.

This mailing list is not intended to be a formal writing course. Exercises are not presented in any particular order. The exercises are designed to benefit all writers, from inexperienced beginners to published authors who wish to hone their skills. The feedback will be from your peers.

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How it works

Each Sunday, the list administrator will present a new exercise to the list. You will recognize the weekly exercise by the subject line:

Subject: EXERCISE: [TOPIC]

Members will submit completed exercises until Friday (unless otherwise specified in the exercise) by sending them to the list address Practice-w@lists.psu.edu.  Use the following subject line:

Subject: SUB: [TOPIC] (Your name, word count)

All list members will receive those submissions. Members will then be expected to review each other's submissions and offer critiques, again, to be sent to the list address. You may send critiques through Saturday.

Identify whose exercise you are critiquing in the subject line. Use this subject line:

Subject: CRIT: [TOPIC] [name of author of submission]

You may discuss the topic of the week. If you wish to discuss the topic, use this subject line:

Subject: DISC: [TOPIC]

The current and previous exercises can be found at: http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/pwarchive/index.shtml

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Membership and Mandatory Participation

The guidelines and policies of the IWW will be fully enforced on this list.

Lurking on this list is not permitted. The minimum participation requirement for all members of the Practice list is a least one submission and one critique per calendar month.

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Dos and Don'ts

Do submit your completed exercise to the list anytime from its posting on Sunday through Friday night of that week.

Do submit your critiques to the list during the week. Saturday is the last day for posting critiques.

Do feel free to discuss the exercise on the list.

Do critique the work of fellow members. The more you help others, the more help you will receive from them.

Do enjoy good netiquette. Basic courtesy is expected.

PRACTICE-W has a widely diverse membership and some participants do not care to read graphic depictions of SEX or VIOLENCE. As a matter of courtesy, please indicate at the beginning of a submission if it contains strong sexual or violent content.

Do critique the writing.

Do Not critique the writers.

Do Not post a sub, crit, or anything pertaining to the previous week's exercise once the new exercise is posted.

Do Not discuss or argue critiques.

Do Not be afraid to offer your honest opinion of other writers' work. This is a peer education and support group. Everyone's opinion is valued.

Do Not flame other members. Don't use sarcasm, since the wry grin that indicates your good nature cannot be seen in cyberspace. 

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Getting Help The list administrators are Alice Folkart, Charles Hightower, and Bob Sanchez.
You may contact them at practice-w-request@lists.psu.edu.
For additional addresses, see our: Contact Us link.