Winter 2025 Workshops

Location: Online via Zoom (click on the button above to register for the workshop and access the Zoom link).
Most workshops are 60 minutes in length.

• Tips for Dealing with Writer's Block

  Wednesday, January 15th, from 10-11am, presented by Christopher V.

  This workshop will cover important writing principles to keep in mind as you begin your essays and practical handles to help you avoid writer's block in the process. 

• Preparing Your Elevator Pitch for Grad Slam

  Thursday, January 16th, from 1-2pm, presented by Gary Q.

  This workshop discusses what an elevator pitch is. Attendees will learn the key components for creating an effective pitch ahead of Grad Slam.

• How to Write Concisely

  Thursday, January 23rd, from 12pm-1pm, presented by Jennifer M.

  This workshop will cover strategies and tips for writing concisely and effectively. For this workshop, we will discuss what concise writing is, why it's beneficial, and how you can implement these strategies in your own writing.

• Writing a Successful Abstract Across Disciplines

  Thursday, January 30th, from 1pm-2pm, presented by Gary Q.

  This workshop will explain what an abstract is, what makes a good abstract, and writing guidelines across various disciplines in humanities, social sciences, and STEM.

• CV and Resume Building

  Thursday, February 6th, from 12-1pm, presented by Jennifer M.

  This workshop covers how to create, organize, and polish your CV/Resume. This workshop will address questions of what to include in a CV/Resume, how to effectively organize this information, and how to put your best foot forward in your CV/Resume.

• Developing a Methodology Statement for Grants and Fellowships

  Wednesday, February 19th, from 1-2pm, presented by Cal P.

  This workshop will focus on the methodology statement aspect of humanities research. We will develop the statements by differentiating between methods and methodologies, and the expectations of grant committees for this document.

• Summarizing Strategies for Academic Writing

  Wednesday, February 26th, from 10-11am, presented by Christopher V.

  This workshop will review writing strategies that incoming and current graduate students can begin to use to summarize broad and specific academic content for their present work and long term research, keeping deadlines and time constraints in view.

Past Workshops

Access recordings of past workshops here. Please note that UCR login credentials are required to access our workshop recordings. 

• Winter 2025 Workshops
  • Tips for Dealing with Writer's Block (Recording forthcoming)
    • This workshop will cover important writing principles to keep in mind as you begin your essays and practical handles to help you avoid writer's block in the process. 
  • Preparing Your Elevator Pitch for Grad Slam (Recording forthcoming)
    • This workshop discusses what an elevator pitch is. Attendees will learn the key components for creating an effective pitch ahead of Grad Slam.
  • How to Write Concisely (Recording forthcoming)
    • This workshop will cover strategies and tips for writing concisely and effectively. For this workshop, we will discuss what concise writing is, why it's beneficial, and how you can implement these strategies in your own writing.
  • Writing a Successful Abstract Across Disciplines (Recording forthcoming)
    • This workshop will explain what an abstract is, what makes a good abstract, and writing guidelines across various disciplines in humanities, social sciences, and STEM.
  • CV and Resume Building (Recording forthcoming)
    • This workshop covers how to create, organize, and polish your CV/Resume. This workshop will address questions of what to include in a CV/Resume, how to effectively organize this information, and how to put your best foot forward in your CV/Resume.
  • Developing a Methodology Statement for Grants and Fellowships (Recording forthcoming)
    • This workshop will focus on the methodology statement aspect of humanities research. We will develop the statements by differentiating between methods and methodologies, and the expectations of grant committees for this document.
  • Summarizing Strategies for Academic Writing (Recording forthcoming)
    • This workshop will review writing strategies that incoming and current graduate students can begin to use to summarize broad and specific academic content for their present work and long term research, keeping deadlines and time constraints in view.
• Fall 2024 Workshops
  • Writing Effectively In Grad School (Recording)
    • This workshop will present on how to write effectively during graduate school and will suggest how students should refocus their academic writing to gain the maximum value and benefit in their work.
  • English Grammar Refresher (Recording)
    • This workshop to revisit some of the core aspects of English grammar that will help you begin your writing projects for the quarter.
  • Completing your First Year Preparation for Writing, Researching, and Publishing (Recording)
    • This workshop offers a space to address the expectations of humanities and social sciences programs and how we can prepare for the increased reading loads and writing for current and future projects.
  • Manuscript Introductions and Discussions (Slides)
    • Are you not sure how to start your manuscript? Having trouble connecting your work to broader topics? Attend this workshop to learn the basics of writing manuscript introductions and discussions.
  • Research Statements (Recording | Slides)
    • This online workshop provides an overview of the basics of research statement writing for funding and the job market. 
  • Editing Strategies (Recording)
    • This workshop will cover both editing and proofreading strategies to review, improve, and enhance the style, clarity, basic structure, and overall presentation of your essay and more.
• Spring 2024 Workshops
  • Applying to the Fulbright Program (Recording | Slides | Handout)
    • If you need to conduct research abroad, the Fulbright Program can help you fund it. Attend this session to learn about the application timeline, campus resources, and what is new about the program for the 2025-26 cycle.
  • Grant Writing for STEM (Recording | Slides)
    • This workshop will offer an overview of the basics for grant writing specifically tailored to STEM fields. 
  • Editing Strategies (Recording)
    • This workshop will discuss different types of editing, equip students with strategies they can use when editing their own papers, and offer resources and tools to help in the self-editing process.
  • Diversity Statements (Recording | Slides | Handout | Worksheet | Article)
    • The goal of this workshop is to define “diversity” and other relevant terms in relation to the expectations for academic job and fellowship applications in order to help students develop strategies for writing their own statements.
  • Writing a Successful Abstract (Recording)
    • This workshop will discuss the basics of abstract writing, why writing successful abstracts is important, and offer tools to help students draft their own abstracts.  
  • Fulbright Program: Writing the Statement of Grant Purpose (Slides | Handout)
    • Applying to the Fulbright US Student Program? Come learn about the statement of purpose and how it differs from others you may have written. We'll engage in some guided brainstorming and review sample statements.
  • Fulbright Program: Writing the Personal Statement (Slides | Handout 1 | Handout 2)
    • Find out what to highlight about yourself to be competitive for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. We'll engage in some guided brainstorming and review sample statements.
       
• Winter 2024 Workshops
  • Pitching in the Arts (Recording)
    • This workshop discusses the basic components for pitching your arts project in concise, simple, and engaging terms. 
  • Humanities and Arts Grant Writing (Recording)
    • This workshop offers an overview for applying for humanities grants. Attendees will learn about funding types, where to find funding, and the basic components of the application. 
  • Graduate-Level Argumentation (Recording)
    • This workshop reviews the main components for graduate-level argumentation. Topics that will be discussed include: surveying the literature and locating a debate; narrowing your topic; rhetorical strategies; organization; using sources effectively; and revision and editing.
  • Alt-Ac Job Search (Slides)
    • This workshop discusses specific elements of the alt-ac job search. Attendees will learn strategies for reframing research and teaching experiences into focused skill sets.
  • English Grammar: Parallelism/Sentence Structure (Recording)
    • This workshop offers an overview of sentence structure with a particular emphasis on sentence fragments, parallelism, and dangling modifiers.
       
• Fall 2023 Workshops
  • Creative Avenues for Idea Generating (Recording)
    • This online workshop provides  graduate students with a list of creative techniques to generate ideas for their own writing and avoid writer's block.
  • Literature Review for Humanities (Recording)
    • This online workshop provides an overview of the basics of literature review writing for humanities disciplines. 
  • English Grammar Refresher (Recording)
    • This online workshop provides a grammar overview, including proofreading, sentence structure, punctuation, ariticles and prepositions, and pronouns.
  • Research Statements (Recording)
    • This online workshop provides an overview of the basics of research statement writing for funding and the job market. 
  • Writing Concisely (Recording)
    • Learn strategies for eliminating wordiness, improving clarity, and revising passive voice to make your writing stand out.

   

• Spring 2023 Workshops
  • Effective Conference Presentations (Recording)
    • Join this online workshop to explore effective strategies for drafting and presenting concise conference presentations.
  • Grammar Refresher: Articles (Recording)
    • Articles in the English language are a challenge to figure out! Join this online workshop to get some help knowing when to use "a" or "the." 
  • Getting Unstuck in Your (Summer) Writing (Recording)
    • Need to make progress on your writing this summer? Join this workshop for practical tips and motivation. 
• Winter 2023 Workshops
  • Academic Reading Strategies (Recording)
    • Learn concrete strategies for reading academic work more efficiently and effectively.
  • Grammar Refresher: Verb Tenses in Academic Writing (Recording)
    • Learn about the three most common verb tenses found in academic writing and how to use them. 
  • How to Write a Literature Review (Recording)
    • Learn why literature reviews are important in academic writing projects and how to research, organize, and draft an effective review.
  • Writing a Successful Abstract (Recording)
    • Learn how to draft and organize an effective abstract.
  • Research Statements (Recording Part 1 | Recording Part 2)
    • Learn how to communicate your research to diverse audience in job and funding applications.
• Fall 2022 Workshops
  • Fellowship Writing Strategies (Recording)
    • Learn about the key components of fellowship applications as well as how to find funding, write your statements and proposals, and more.
  • Scientific Communication (Recording)
    • Learn how to present and convey the significance of your research to any audience.
  • Grammar Refresher: Active vs. Passive Voice (Recording)
    • Learn the differences between active and passive voice and how to use them effectively in general and scientific writing. 
  • Writing Concisely (Recording)
    • Learn strategies for eliminating wordiness, improving clarity, and revising passive voice to make your writing stand out. 
  • Building Flexible Writing Habits (Recording)
    • Learn how to build flexible writing habits to keep making progress through busy times and challenging life events.