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Developing a Major Writing Project Program

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Join a dedicated writing community. Make serious progress on your major writing project.

Over the course of four weeks in May, Laurier's Waterloo campus Writing Services team will facilitate Writing as Process: Developing a Major Writing Project, a program designed with dedicated writing times and writing discussions intended to help participants make progress on a major writing project. This could include a PhD dissertation, a Master’s thesis, or a manuscript for publication.

Expressions of Interest

If you wish to participate in this program, please email studentsuccess@wlu.ca with a brief statement of what you aim to accomplish by participating in this 4-day series and a description of the writing project you will be working on. 

Since part of the aim of this program is to build a writing community, we ask that participants commit to all four days: May 3, May 10, May 17 and May 31, 2021.

Please submit this statement to studentsuccess@wlu.ca by Friday, April 23 at 4 p.m.

Review and Facilitation Committee 

The committee members reviewing your expression of interest and moderating sessions will be:

  • Ada Sharpe, Writing Consultant
  • James Southworth, Writing Consultant
  • Alishau Diebold, President, Graduate Students Association
  • Brent Wolfe, Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Program Schedule

Monday, May 3: How do I get started?

  • 9:15 to 9:45 a.m: Welcome and introduction of the program structure
  • 10 a.m. to noon: Pomodoro writing – four 25-minute writing sessions with 5-minute breaks in between
  • Noon: Lunch
  • 1 to 2 p.m.: Discussion: How do I get started writing?
    • In this discussion, we will focus on the first step in the writing process: how to get started with a writing project. We will discuss different approaches to undertaking a writing project advantages of outlining and the advantages of not outlining. We will also reflect on writing rituals and obstacles. Participants are encouraged to share their challenges, successes, and strategies when getting started with a writing project.
  • 2 to 4 p.m.: Pomodoro writing (on your own – optional) and/or meeting with a Writing Consultant

Monday, May 10: How do I revise?

  • 9:15 to 9:45 a.m.: Reflections since our last meeting, including updates on your writing and goal setting for the day
  • 10 a.m. to noon: Pomodoro writing - four 25-minute writing sessions with 5-minute breaks in between
  • Noon: Lunch
  • 1 to 2 p.m.: Discussion: How do I revise my work?
    • In this discussion, we will focus on strategies for revising your work. This includes holistic revision strategies relating to stating main contributions and defining intended audience. It also includes more granular revision strategies relating to paragraph and sentence structure. Participants are encouraged to share their challenges, successes, and strategies with respect to revising their work.
  • 2 to 4 p.m.: Pomodoro writing (on your own – optional) and/or meeting with a Writing Consultant

Monday, May 17: How do I respond to feedback?

  • 9:15 to 9:45 a.m.: Reflections since our last meeting, including updates on your writing and goal setting for the day
  • 10 a.m. to noon: Pomodoro writing - four 25-minute writing sessions with 5-minute breaks in between
  • Noon: Lunch
  • 1 to 2:30 p.m.: How do I respond to feedback, whether from supervisors, peer reviewers, or co-authors?
    • In this discussion, we will focus on how to best respond to and integrate feedback from supervisors, peer reviewers, co-authors, and other readers. How do we decide which feedback to accept versus which to reject? What do we do when we receive conflicting feedback from readers? How do we create opportunities to receive feedback, whether through conferences, peer review for publication, or co-authorship? Participants are encouraged to share their experiences receiving, reflecting on, and integrating feedback from readers.
  • 2 to 4 p.m.: Pomodoro writing (on your own – optional) and/or meeting with a Writing Consultant

Monday, May 31: How do I become better?

  • 9:15 to 9:45 a.m.: Reflections since our last meeting, including updates on your writing and goal setting for the day
  • 10 a.m. to noon: Pomodoro writing - four 25-minute writing sessions with 5-minute breaks in between
  • Noon: Lunch
  • 1 to 2:30 p.m.: Panel discussion – How do I become a better writer?
    • We often write without much thought as to when, where, and how we’re writing. We can also find it challenging to stay on track with our writing. To cultivate successful and sustained writing, it can help to name what’s working and not working in our process. In a concluding roundtable discussion, participants will be asked to reflect on what have they have learned about their writing over the last four weeks. We will celebrate successes, set goals for continuous improvement, and identify ongoing challenges.
  • 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.: Pomodoro writing (on your own – optional) and/or meeting with a Writing Consultant