The Role of Web‐Based Writing Software in Negotiation for Meaning Within Collaborative Writing‐In‐Interaction

Abstract Collaborative writing tasks in university‐level writing intensive courses have been the focus of much study, but the role played by collaborative web‐based writing software such as Google Docs in such group work considered as a discursive practice is less well understood. This case study of multilingual learners in a first‐year composition course examines the use of web‐based writing software in collaborative writing from a writing‐in‐interaction perspective. A Multimodal Conversation Analysis approach is used to illustrate how the design of software like Google Docs can result in writing‐in‐interaction characterized by very little of the critical negotiation for meaning that is typically cited as a benefit of such exercises. Implications and potential pedagogical interventions for addressing this issue are proposed.