This pilot project established Coventry Community Writing Centre, focused on ‘real-life writing’ in the city. The writing centre offered free of charge support and feedback on practical writing tasks required for economic and social success.

The centre was located in Coventry’s Central Library and was open on Tuesday afternoons in summer 2020. The project also collected examples of official writing—such as formal letters—that people have received and experienced as unclear or problematic.

The research team analysed these documents, along with people’s experiences of writing, to understand the linguistic and communicative landscape of real-life writing in Coventry. Through the project, researchers helped to instigate new writing practices, leading to a more just and inclusive linguistic and communicative landscape.

The project was run by Dr Christopher Strelluf (Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick) and Dr Catalina Neculai (Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University) who worked on the project with Coventry Libraries.

For further information, please contact Christopher Strelluf.