Goal Setting and Time Management

Wednesday, June 12th @ 10 AM; register here

In this webinar, designed for students in varying stages of the writing process, the Writing Center will discuss how to schedule time and keep oneself accountable to writing goals and deadlines. They will discuss habitual writing goals and project-based goals. Participants will make a plan for completing their writing objectives, breaking down long-term goals into manageable short-term targets. This webinar will also go over some web apps that can help with this process.

 

Public-Facing Writing: Crafting the Perfect Pitch

Monday, June 24th @ 1 PM; register here

Do you have an idea for an article that’s better suited for a public audience rather than an academic one? If so, you may be struggling with the first hurdle in transitioning to public-facing writing: how do you take your idea for an article and convince an editor to publish it? The first step is to write a pitch, a way of marketing your idea to editors that outlines your proposed article and persuades them that it is 1) important at this very moment and 2) a perfect fit for their publication. Learning how to write an effective pitch takes time and practice. This webinar will review the basic structure of a pitch and consider a few successful and unsuccessful examples.

 

From Essay to Article

Wednesday, July 10 @ 10 AM; register here

This webinar will introduce participants to the process of submitting an article to a peer-reviewed journal. It will cover issues like (1) the key elements of an article, (2) choosing the right journal, (3) understanding what editors and reviewers are looking for when evaluating your work (and the ways this knowledge may affect your revision choices); and (4) responding to reviewer comments if you get a “revise and resubmit.”

 

Writing a Book Review

Tuesday, July 23 @ 2 PM; register here

Many academic journals publish reviews of recent books in their field. These reviews are one of the most significant ways in which scholars around the world become aware of the books in question. Consequently, the academic who writes such a review plays a crucial role in shaping the preliminary judgment readers make, thereby influencing the field as a whole. In graduate school, many seminars include a book review as a writing assignment, and advanced graduate students often see them as an ideal starting place for trying to get published. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the generic conventions of the book review. The webinar will also address the rhetorical and political considerations one needs to make when critiquing senior colleagues, as well as the practicalities of getting placed in a journal.

 

The Academic Job Cover Letter

Friday, August 16 @ 4 PM; register here

The academic job cover letter is a crucial document in any candidate’s application material; often, it makes the first and most lasting impression on members of a search committee. In this webinar, participants will learn how to approach the writing of their cover letter in a way that makes a coherent and compelling argument about their suitability as a candidate rather than simply repeating information contained in their CV.

 

Applying for a PhD: The Statement of Purpose

Wednesday, August 21 @ 10 AM; register here

Among the documents one has to craft for a PhD application, the statement of purpose is one of the trickiest to get right. On the one hand, you need to demonstrate that you have some kind of research agenda already in mind. On the other hand, you aren’t a PhD student yet, so how are you supposed to know what you are going to research? This webinar helps participants understand the expectations of the readers they are writing for and how to strike a good balance between personal narrative and academic certainty.