Writing Workshops
PLAN Workshops
The University Writing Center, in partnership with the Graduate School, offers workshops about academic writing. All graduate students are welcome. If you are interested in attending any of these workshops, please visit the Graduate School website to register. All workshops will take place online.
Literature Reviews: Surveying the Scholarly Landscape
Monday, September 22, 3-4pm, Ekstrom 132
The literature review is one of the most common genres of scholarly writing, yet one that can be frustrating if you're not used to producing them. In this workshop, we will cover the purpose the literature review serves in scholarly writing, some of the important conventions of the genre, and strategies for how to approach yours. The presenters will cover some ideas and tools that might help in conceptualizing a literature review, while talking through the process of how an advanced researcher proceeds from them to structure and write a compendium of existing knowledge.
Cover Letters: Academic and Industry Positions
Monday, October 20, 3-4pm, Ekstrom 132
Whether you're going on the job market this year or in four years, it's not too early to start thinking about your cover letter. The cover letter must provide a compelling narrative as to why your past experiences and successes make you a good fit for this specific job at this particular institution or company. This workshop will introduce you to the basics of effective cover letters and provide you with an opportunity to receive feedback on your documents. If you have already begun drafting a cover letter, have it ready to share with others and get feedback. And if you haven't yet begun, no worries - now is a great time to start! Bring whatever you have and take advantage of this supportive context to get your materials on the right track.
Grant Writing in Your Research Process
Monday, November 10, 3-4pm, Ekstrom 132
Have an ongoing research project or program that would benefit from a grant and want to know more about funding opportunities and processes involved? Have a grant proposal in progress and want to think about how to best position your work? This session will invite folks at any stage of the process to come in, hear a bit about, discuss, plan, and workshop grant ideas and documents. The main goal will be to leave the session with a plan for what to do next–what data to pursue, what funding organization to learn more about, what kind of pitch to draft, etc.