Academic Writing Series, Block I (four sessions)
Target Group
All doctoral candidates, no matter at which stage of the PhD process.
Dates
The series takes place weekly on Fridays, in two blocks. Participants are required to attend all modules of a block.
Block I: November 8, 15, 22 and 29,
Block II: January 24 and 31
Location
Nov 8: Hermann Herder Str. 9, Room 00003
Nov 15: Albertstraße 23, basement, HS 00006
Nov 22: Hermann Herder Str. 9, Room 00003
Nov 29: Room CIP3, Tennenbacherstraße 4, 3rd floor
Description
Academic success hinges upon your ability to clearly and effectively communicate your work to others. However, clear writing can sometimes be a messy process. This workshop series aims to declutter some of this mess by offering foundational knowledge on how to not only improve your writing, but the writing process as well. Additionally, we aim to equip participants with a veritable tool-box of concepts, skills, and methods they can apply when approaching the writing process. We will take a hands-on approach where participants will improve their writing skills through hands-on exercises, discussions with their peers, and homework assignments.
After completing all six modules of the workshop, you will be able to
- Understand your own unique writing process and how to optimize it
- Increase writing productivity
- Understand the reader’s needs and expectations & learn how to adapt your writing to meet those expectations
- Find your own science narrative
- Increase the flow and cohesion of your writing; structure academic manuscripts
- Write clearly and effectively in English by detecting and uprooting common writing mistakes
- Improve clarity and focus
- Revise and polish your work and give constructive edits to peers and students.
Course structure
Block I (4 sessions): Active Coursework and Theory
- Recommended for: early stage PhD candidates and candidates at any stage looking to build a strong foundation in academic writing
- Process (08.11.) What is my writing process? Where do I get stuck? How can I increase my writing productivity?
- Reader Based Writing & Storytelling (15.11.) Understanding your reader’s expectations improves writings efficacy. Additionally, we will work on harnessing the power of storytelling in our writing.
- Structure (22.11.) How do I structure academic texts? This session takes a hands on approach from going from a black page to an outline & first draft.
- Flow (29.11.) What can I do to make my prose as clear and concise as possible? Here we look at structure on a micro-scale. How can my ideas and sentences flow? Also we will examine some technical writing mistakes.
Block II (2 sessions): Peer Review
- Recommended for: candidates who have previously participated in the academic writing; experienced writers seeking peer feedback and are working on a manuscript.
- Self- & Peer review, part I (24.01.) How do I revise my own paper once it is complete? How can I offer constructive feedback to my peers?
- Peer- Review, part II (31.01.) Here we continue to work on revising the work of our peers and collecting feedback on our own written work.
Enrollment Options
You can choose to enroll in
- Both blocks: Ideal for those with some writing experience and an active draft. This option provides a comprehensive learning experience from theory to peer review.
- Block 1 only: Perfect for beginners or those at the early stages of their PhD who want to focus on learning the fundamentals of academic writing.
- Block 2 only: Best suited for individuals who have previously taken this course or have substantial writing experience and are working on a manuscript.
Facilitator: Laura Mahoney
Participants: min 6 - max 12
Registration deadline: October 18, 2024
Registration: here (please choose this course from the list that appears)
Cancellation Policy: read here