Pattern Writing

Start Writing

If you have never written a Pattern before, why should you do so?

  • Patterns are a great way of getting a new view on things that you think you know by heart.
  • Patterns are a way to pass on your knowledge to others in an easily understandable way.
  • Patterns make your thoughts available to others to give you feedback.

To get an easy start into pattern writing, download our introductory information pack [672 kb].

This information pack consists of the following papers:

 

Shepherding

The shepherding process is a special reviewing process. The shepherd guides the sheep into a more mature understanding of his or her pattern. Shepherds are individuals, with experience in pattern writing, assigned to an author's paper with the expressed interest in helping the author improve the pattern. Shepherds also have experience with the shepherding procedure, either having been a shepherd before or a sheep (an author).

Shepherding is about improving the pattern itself, while the Shepherd maintains that the author is the one doing the pattern writing. The shepherding process is done before the paper is to be discussed at a conference. The Shepherd guides the sheep into a more mature understanding of his or her pattern.

Near the end of the shepherding, Shepherds must submit their recommendations to the Program Committee members, which then decide about its acceptance to the part of a writer's workshop of the conference. After accepted, authors and shepherds can continue evolving the papers to produce the conference draft version.

For a more in-depth description of this reviewing process typical of EuroPLoP's, visit "The Language of Shepherding" written by Neil Harrison.

All the papers submitted and accepted to be shepherded for EuroPLoP are available for Program Committee members, shepherds, and authors.