Writing Workshops

Writer's Block workshop series for undergraduate students

Funded by the University of Calgary Students' Union and brought to you by Writing Support and the Learning Commons.

For more information about the workshops, please click on a title below. To download a pdf with workshops dates click here.

• Research and Writing: Getting to a completed draft
• Using and citing sources
• Mastering academic writing and communication tasks
• Revising and editing

To login to register for the workshops click here

• After logging in, click the "Register for an event/workshop" button.
• Once at the calendar, filter the events by choosing "writing workshops." You will need to filter the events when you move to another month.
• Click on the event you would like to register for.

Writing Support for Graduate Students

Funded by the GSA, workshops will be offered to help students entering into graduate programs develop key writing skills and strategies. Over the series, strategies for tracking, referencing and incorporating the research of others will be discussed. All sections will be taught by Writing Support Servcies instructors. Dissertation support groups will provide an informal atmosphere for students to discuss the challenges of writing a dissertation and will be facilitated by a Writing Support Services instructor. For more information about the workshops, please click on a title below. To download a pdf with workshops dates click here.

• Writing at the Graduate level
• New to Canada: Writing at the Graduate level
• Professional Writing Series for Grads
• Dissertation Support Groups

Students who attend all five sessions of a series before April 2013 and who complete the assigned tasks for each session will be eligible to achieve a Certificate of Participation. Graduate student participation will be monitored through the Co-curricular Record.

To login to register for the workshops click here

• After logging in, click the "Register for an event/workshop" button.
• Once at the calendar, filter the events by choosing "writing workshops." You will need to filter the events when you move to another month.
• Click on the event you would like to register for.

Workshop Details

Research and Writing -- Getting to a Completed Draft (3 hours)

Two hours of these three-hour workshops will focus on writing issues, while one hour, led by a librarian, will be devoted to library instruction in the use of research databases. The workshops have been targeted to different disciplines. The writing portion of the workshops will focus on

• managing the research-writing process
• developing and refining your thesis (key argument)
• finding a structure for your paper
• thinking about arguments and evidence, sections and paragraphs
• writing good introductions and conclusions

After the library session you will understand

• the broad spectrum of resources, including librarians and databases, available to help you with your research
• the scope of the library catalogue and how to use it for research
• how to find and retrieve resources
• how to use Google effectively in association with library resources

Using and Citing Sources (2 hours)

These two-hour workshops will help you learn how to use sources effectively and to document them correctly. The different workshops will focus on APA (used in Psychology, Coms, Nursing, etc), MLA (used in English, Humanities, etc.), IEEE (used in Engineering) or Chicago (used in History).

• using sources effectively: quoting vs paraphrasing
• avoiding plagiarism (paraphrasing without plagiarizing)
• integrating quotations effectively
• formatting citations and reference lists
• introducing you to RefWorks, a free, web-based citation program

Mastering Academic Writing and Communication Tasks (2 hours)

These two hour workshops will help you prepare for a variety of academic and communication tasks you will encounter during your University career. Workshop include Making Effective Presentations, Using PowerPoint to Make your Point, and Writing Proposals. More topics will be added later.

Revising and Editing (2 hours)

These 2 hour workshops will focus on revising a paper from a draft to a completed product, revising for sentence and punctuation errors or revising for second language errors.

Revising and Editing: From a Completed Draft to a Polished Paper

These workshops will focus on

• General revision & editing strategies
• Revising for essay structure & paragraph development
• Revising for style
• Editing to eliminate common sentence & grammar errors  

Revising for Basic Sentence and Punctuation Errors

Have your professors told you that your writing is awkward or unclear? Is the semi-colon a mystery? This workshop will focus on improving your writing by teaching you how to revise your work so that your sentences are clear and your punctuation is correct.

Revising for Second Language Errors (Articles, Verbs & More) 

If you are a second language learner, this workshop is for you. This workshop will focus on revising your writing to avoid grammatical mistakes.

Writing at the Graduate level series

The five 90 minute workshops will help students in graduate programs develop key writing skills and strategies. Strategies for tracking, reference and incorporating the research of others will be included in each series. All workshops will be taught by Writing Support Services instructors. The workshops are

• Getting started: Writing at the graduate level
• Working with secondary sources: Organizing, synthesizing and documenting your research
• Writing the research proposal
• Writing a literature review
• Strategies for self-editing and revision

New to Canada: Writing at the Graduate level series

The five 90 minute workshops will help students who are new to Canada develop key writing skills and strategies. These workshops will offer a moare detailed focus on North American research writing practices. Strategies for tracking, reference and incorporating the research of others will be included in each series. All workshops will be taught by Writing Support Services instructors. The workshops are

• Getting started: Writing at the graduate level
• Working with secondary sources: Organizing, synthesizing and documenting your research
• Writing the research proposal
• Writing a literature review
• Strategies for self-editing and revision

Professional Writing Series for Grads

These 90 minute workshops will help graduate students develop their professional writing skills and will by taught by Writing Support Services instructors.

• Effective Oral Presentations
• Writing Professional Letters and emails
• Principles of Effective Communication
• Research Statements and Letters of Intent
• Writing for Academic Publications

In addition to the workshops listed above the following workshops will be offered by our Graduate Career Development Advisor and funded by the Student Success Centre. The "Creating your Teaching Statement" workshop will be led by an instructor from the Teaching and Learning Centre.

• Creating Target Resumes
• Creating Professional CVs
• Creating a Cover Letter
• Creating your Teaching Statment

Dissertation/Thesis Support Group

This informal group will be facilitated by Writing Services instructors and serve as a centralized resource for upper year graduate students engaged in the dissertation or thesis writing process. Students must have completed their proposals.  Group sessions will be run monthly from October 2011 to April 2012 and centre on a number of common challenges encountered by graduate students. Group leaders will facilitate peer-to-peer discussion and provide resources on various topics for participants.

Dissertation/Thesis Support Group #1 meets from 2:00 - 3:30 pm on the following dates.

February 3, March, 9 and April 13

Dissertation/Thesis Support Group #1 meets from 6:00 - 7:30 pm on the following dates

February 2, March 8 and April 12