Request a Classroom Workshop

To ensure availability of our services to the largest possible section of the University community, the University Writing Center asks that faculty request no more than two classroom workshops per month.

Workshop Descriptions

Overview of UWC Services (10-15 minutes) — This presentation discusses the services the UWC provides to students and how they can maximize their benefit when visiting the UWC.

Please note: the instructor must be present during the following workshops:

Mastering Components of the Writing Process (for W courses only) — The UWC can help your students at any stage of the writing process — from invention and brainstorming to refining a final draft. This workshop covers those steps and discusses ways students can use UWC resources along the way. The main purpose of this workshop is to provide your students with basic self-editing skills and make them more comfortable with undergraduate-level writing.

Understanding Grammar and Punctuation (for W courses only) — This workshop discusses major themes of grammar and punctuation — What are the most common mistakes and pitfalls, and how can students avoid them? The workshop also discusses how students can find answers to their grammar and punctuation questions.  At the end of the presentation students will do several useful exercises to check their understanding of topics discussed. They will also receive handouts for further reference.

Avoiding Plagiarism (for W courses only) — Often students plagiarize because they are unfamiliar with expectations for academic writing. This workshop reviews the basics of proper citation — for example, what needs to be cited, how to take careful notes, how to quote directly and paraphrase, and how to cite internally and create a references or works cited page. Students practice citation and compare their citations with an original text. Students are informed about the possible repercussions for plagiarism, as defined by the University. Finally, several useful exercises help them differentiate between correct and incorrect ways of summarizing, paraphrasing and directly citing sources. Power Points are available for this topic for APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), CMS (Chicago Manual of Style), CSE C-S (Council of Science Editors, system),and CSE N-Y (Council of Science Editors, Name-Year system).

Citing and Documenting Sources (for W courses only) — Different academic disciplines have different expectations for how writers should document their sources. This workshop gives an overview of different documentation styles and explains how students can find resources on how to use each. The workshop comes in several forms: it can either provide an overview of most commonly used citation styles (such as MLA, APA, Turabian, etc.) or, depending on specific needs, concentrate on the documentation style typical for a particular discipline.

Correspondence: Writing Emails, Letters, and Memos (for W courses only) — Writing good correspondence means more than using the correct format. Students will learn to consider audience to make their correspondence apprpriate in style, tone, and content. Handouts will be provided to help students remember proper formats.

Peer Review Workshop (for W courses only) — This workshop is hands on. Your students must bring a draft in progress to the class. (Those who fail to bring one will participate, but they won’t have the benefit of review.) The workshop provides a procedure for peer review and guidance in commenting meaningfully on each other’s work. A handout will be provided. The purpose of the workshop is to stimulate revision and hone students’ critical acumen. Many will take what they learned from the review and apply it to their own drafts.