Writing Workshops This Spring:

Graduate students will be hosting two writing workshops to assist with your senior theses/junior papers: 1) Friday, March 22nd and 2) Friday, April 5th. Workshops run from 10am-5pm. Lunch and snacks will be provided. 

If you would like to commit to attending–especially if you will be having lunch, RSVP with this survey. That said, walk-ins are welcome, and you can stay in the room the whole day if you’d like. 

Please complete this form by TBA

Submit your material by TBA

Workshops Offer:

• Focused quiet working periods and brief goal-setting sessions

• Discussion of research writing “tips and tricks”

• Personalized consultations with graduate student workshop leaders 

• Personalized comments on sections of your draft* 

  • *Note: If you would like graduate students to read material beforehand, please fill out the optional parts of the survey. The graduate student will spend no more than one hour with your writing before the session, so make sure to specify the aspects of your writing on which you would like them to focus.

Still not quite sure how to best make use of these workshops?

Testimonials From Past Workshop Attendees:

• JP Writer:
  I really appreciated the flexibility! When I needed some time to just flesh out my ideas, I was able to work quietly and independently at a table with other students who were also working on their own projects; this kept me accountable and helped me to hyper-focus on my writing. When I was stuck or had made enough progress to have my writing looked over by the grad students, it was helpful to hear their feedback, reading recommendations, and questions for consideration; I loved how accessible they were in working alongside us and sharing their advice on the spot. My favorite part was being able to chat and eat lunch with everyone—it was such a fun way to meet more people within the department and hear about everyone’s research interests!

• JP and (returning) ST Writer:
  I have gone to the writing workshops on several occasions. One time I had a draft and wanted to narrow and clarify its argument; another time I had a lot of material but was having trouble getting started on writing; and a third time I needed help with research and finding sources. In each case, I had felt stuck and was not making the progress I wanted on my own. My conversations with the English graduate students at workshops and their detailed feedback on my submitted material gave me exactly the help I had been looking for. In fact, I would say that workshops have been one of the most important resources for independent work that I have taken advantage of over the past two years.

• ST Writer:
  For me, the writing workshops were a wonderful resource because they gave me personalized, in depth assistance at any and all stages. They’re a step up from the writing center because working with English grad students who know the standards of the department/the field (and more likely than not have some experience in a similar domain to what you’re working on) will give you more specific advice that you can really trust. Some examples of ways they helped me: suggesting secondary sources for me to read/include; talking through preliminary ideas or structure for chapters; reading and closely editing chapter drafts so I could send something more polished to my advisor; helping me implement feedback from other sources.

If you have any questions, please contact writing workshop graduate coordinators, Denise Xu <[email protected]> and Eliana Rozinov <[email protected]>.