Writing Workshops

CWSC evidence-based workshops are open to all faculty and clinical researchers.

Upcoming Workshops

Workshop Roster

Abstracts: Communicating Research Findings With Brevity and Concision

Abstracts play a vital role in the communication of research. Studies show that abstracts are the most frequently read part of a research article: abstracts help researchers determine whether or not to read the entire study. But how do writers communicate the relevance and legitimacy of their research to members of the discipline, and beyond? This evidence-based workshop introduces two typical structures for abstracts, while accounting for differences in disciplines and purposes.

Lay Summaries: Going Public With Your Research

Lay summaries offer researchers opportunities to increase the visibility and accessibility of their research and thus invite public dialogue. As a way to promote science communication, many open access journals, public policy institutes, and granting agencies require researchers to provide summaries of their studies for non-specialists. But how do scholars communicate specialized research to non-specialist audiences, and why? This evidence-based workshop introduces researchers to some of the ways in which lay summaries differ from scientific abstracts and enhance science communication.

Research Article Conclusions: Wrapping Up and Looking Forward

The research article is the most privileged form of publication in which academics present their intellectual contributions. As such, research article conclusions offer writers several final opportunities to engage with readers in this high-stakes writing situation. With conclusions in mind, the facilitator explores some of the organizational patterns of research articles written in English, while accounting for disciplinary norms and differences.

Research Article Introductions: Mind the Gap

Research shows that writers of research article introductions establish an original research space by pointing out a research gap or problem that the current study aims to address. In this way, the introduction offers an opportunity for writers to begin to tell the research story, or summarize the scholarly conversation, in order to take their own conversational turn. But how do writers persuade readers that the research gap or problem is consequential? In order to answer this question, the workshop facilitator analyzes a number of real-world examples across a range of disciplines.

Speaking as a Scholar: Telling Your Research Story

How does one give a successful academic talk? “Make eye contact,” “be confident,” “dress professionally”… The advice that we often receive tends to focus on the performance aspect of “presenting”, rather than viewing it as an opportunity to communicate and further our research. This workshop aims to help participants develop a better understanding of how to engage in scholarly conversations. By analyzing successful examples of academic talks, the facilitator discusses some of the essential elements of this academic genre and offers strategies for telling a successful research story.

Statements of Teaching Philosophy: Writing

Increasingly, faculty positions in research and teaching streams require a statement of teaching philosophy as one component of a teaching portfolio or dossier. Teaching statements reflect personal beliefs about teaching and learning, but also reflect disciplinary cultures and institutional structures and norms in a particular context. Research shows that one of the central questions the teaching statement addresses for readers is, why do I teach? Furthermore, the teaching statement must demonstrate how the pedagogical approaches are actualized in practice, in the classroom. This workshop grounds the discussion of typical organizational and stylistic features of the teaching statement in several real world examples from diverse disciplines. As well, the workshop includes dedicated time for participants to revise a statement of teaching philosophy and receive feedback from the facilitator. Therefore, the workshop is most useful for those with a draft teaching statement underway.

Writing a Literature Review: Mapping the Scholarly Conversation

Literature reviews accomplish several purposes for scholars writing up their research study, or research story, in order to summarize the scholarly conversation. In the introduction to a research article, research paper, or thesis chapter, for example, writers review research in order to provide readers with relevant background context to situate the current study. But how do writers summarize the scholarly conversation already underway and, then, join that conversation? This evidence-based workshop introduces researchers to some of the typical structures of literature reviews, while accounting for variation in communicative purposes, audiences, and disciplinarity.

Writing a Grant Proposal

Researchers who study academic writing across the disciplines offer a number of evidence-based models for the macro-structure of research grant proposals. This writing workshop draws on that body of research to produce a versatile, malleable, and dynamic model or heuristic to help solve the problem of what a grant proposal achieves and how.

Writing the Op-Ed: An Instructional Talk

The Public Humanities Hub and the Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication present a workshop on writing the op-ed. The op-ed derives its name from traditional print media, where the op-ed is published on the page opposite the editorial. Hence, the op-ed section of the newspaper offers scholars opportunities to engage with new audiences and new issues, and to identify new purposes for writing in the 21st century, for example, using a public forum to influence public policy or judicial processes. This evidence-based talk considers some of the typical linguistic features and characteristics of this particular type of text, while paying attention to audience and place of publication. The facilitators welcome questions and comments from participants throughout the interactive talk, whenever something sparks your interest.