Developing a Major Writing Project Program

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Join a dedicated writing community and make significant progress on your major writing project.

Throughout the month of May, Laurier's Writing Services team will facilitate the Graduate Writing Retreat: Writing as Process, a program with dedicated writing times and writing discussions intended to help participants make progress on a major writing project. This could include a Ph.D. dissertation, a Master’s thesis, or another large writing project. The program is open to all graduate students on all Laurier campuses and locations.

The program will take place virtually on Zoom on Tuesdays in May from 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. Since part of the program’s objective is to build a writing community, participants must commit to attending all four days.

Expressions of Interest

If you wish to participate in this program, please email tlutz@wlu.ca with a brief description (100-150 words) of the writing project you will be working on (MRP, thesis proposal, dissertation chapter, etc.). 

Please submit this statement to tlutz@wlu.ca by Wednesday, April 24 at 4 p.m.

Review and Facilitation Committee 

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

  • Dr. Kaia Bishop, Writing Consultant, Writing Services
  • Dr. James Southworth, Writing Consultant, Writing Services
  • Dr. Elliot Worsfold, Writing Consultant, Writing Services
  • Dr. Christin Wright-Taylor, Manager, Writing Services

Program Schedule

Tuesday, May 7: What is my writing process?

  • 9:15a.m. to 10a.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: What is my writing process?
    • 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 3 p.m.(Optional): Workshop: Writing Effective Literature Reviews
  • 2 to 4 p.m.(Optional): Meet individually with a Writing Consultant

Tuesday, May 14: How do I revise?

  • 9:30a.m. to 10a.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 3 p.m.(Optional): Workshop: Writing with Imposter Syndrome
  • 2 to 4 p.m.(Optional): Meet individually with a Writing Consultant

Tuesday, May 21: How do I respond to feedback?

  • 9:30 to 10a.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.: 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 3 p.m. (Optional): Workshop: Strategies for Writing Clearly and Concisely
  • 2 to 4 p.m. (Optional): Meet individually with a Writing Consultant

Tuesday, May 28: How do I become a better writer?

  • 9:30 to 10 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.: How do I become a better writer?
    • In this discussion, we will discuss how to improve your writing process. We will reflect on what strategies we wish to use in our writing process moving forward and what strategies did not work for us. We will also set goals for the remainder of the summer.