Graduate Writing 2004 Homepage

Graduate Writing Workshops, Spring 2004

Thursday afternoons 1:40-3:00 from April 8th, 21 Olson
(Sequenced class for 298 credit, Demystifying the Thesis, CRN 62889)

Friday mornings 11-12:30 from April 16th, Writing for Graduates, 21 Olson
(Series of standalone workshops, exact topics TBA)

Coordinator: John Stenzel,
Lecturer, University Writing Program.

Welcome to the 2004 "Writing for Graduates" homepage. Positive comments after many paper-grading workshops encouraged me to offer a series of workshops designed to teach a wide variety of sentence-crafting and grammar skills, last year, and the response was overwhelming. Using the many capabilities of the Macintosh computer classroom, I presented practical methods for reducing wordiness, tightening organization and sharpening focus, and participants did lots of writing and commenting on each others' writing in ways they might not have done before. We also covered many problems facing writers working on long-term writing projects like theses and dissertations, and other high-stakes writing like grant proposals.

I am planning two series this quarter. The first is an ENL 298 course, "Demystifying the Thesis," which will meet Thursdays 1:40-3 in 21 Olson, and will attempt to follow a logically sequenced set of short lectures and writing exercises to un-block and enhance grad students' thesis / dissertation process. It'll be a two-unit P / NP course with regular attendance expected; we'll cover:

techniques for getting started and getting organized
writing the prospectus
overcoming writer's block
forming effective writing partnerships
writing particular parts of the thesis (like materials and methods, literature review, introduction, etc)
writing grant proposals

Throughout the course we'll cover useful sentence-crafting suggestions (including enhancing precision, concision and cohesion) and use the computer classroom environment to make the sessions highly interactive. The other offering is a set of workshops on selected Fridays, 11-12:30 in 21 Olson, that will cover some of the same terrain, but will be less of a sequence. Topics will include many areas of interest to graduate students and researchers, including:

How understanding the phases of the writing process can improve your written product
Special-purpose sentences: introductions, transitions, conclusions
Writing with verbs, not nouns: the cure for "prepositionosis"
How you can use active voice AND maintain scientific objectivity
Deploying parallel structure to sharpen and tighten your prose
Punctuation and mechanics for people who hate punctuation and mechanics
How learning about writing and grammar can improve your paper-marking

Participants in the latter series will not be expected to attend multiple sessions (though they will of course be welcome to). We could also arrange 298 credit for people who attended five or more sessions total.

Last year I was bowled over by the level of interest in these topics, and it would help to get a clearer idea of who might be coming to which sessions. Please take a moment to complete the student information form and follow the instructions there.

Part of my agenda will be set by you, the participants: I want this to be as useful a set of workshops as I possibly can, so I will modify and add topics to reflect your needs. In each session I want to allocate at least a chunk of time for you to bring in problematic sentences or paragraphs, and have the group and the instructor try to suggest improvements.

I look forward to hearing from you if you have questions, and to seeing you on Thursday afternoons or Friday mornings if you can possibly make it!

Please note: In the past I have archived web chats to this site, but because the chats include full names I am temporarily removing them from the Web, until I strip out last names at least. Apologies for any inadvertent excessive sharing of your woes and challenges!

Here are some resources already on the Writing in the Disciplines website that graduate writers and advisors might also find useful:

The Writing Process Most people mis-allocate their time when they write, especially when they embark on a large-scale writing project. This link offers several ways to look at the stages of writing, useful even for those who may already have developed effective writing strategies.
Tips for Getting Organized and Coping with Writer's Block Anxiety about the writing process can take many forms, with consequences ranging from the comical to the pathological. Here are some useful strategies for dealing with the monster.
Writer's Block: A Selected Annotated Bibliography If you want to read some of the scholarly literature about the problem, here's a useful starting place.
Some "Dissertation Survival" resources at other campuses On night I did a Google search on "Dissertation Survival" and found a remarkable number of useful hits. Feel free to suggest more!
"Critical Thinking Questions You Can Ask About Anything" One key to composing well? Good, thought-provoking questions. CWC "Critical Thinking" expert Jared Haynes helped prepare this list of questions that improve writing and thinking. Check them out!
Suggestions for Effective Writing Partnerships One of the prime benefits of a class like English 298 is that it takes the lonely, self-castigating environment of most graduate students and creates a sense of an intellectual community. Whether you formally partner with other writers or not, you should consider adapting some of the techniques discussed here and in Advantages of Writing Partnerships.

Created 3 April 2004