The UWC offers workshops throughout the academic year on a variety of topics. Our workshops are free for all UT Austin graduate students.
If you’re not familiar with UWC workshops, please read about our workshops and policies below. You can also find a list of upcoming and past workshops.
If you know which workshop(s) you would like to attend, please register by clicking the link for the appropriate workshop in the Upcoming Workshops section.
Upcoming Workshops
Writing the Dissertation – Summer 2021
This workshop series is intended to introduce graduate students to the general writing conventions, rhetorical moves, and expectations of the dissertation. The workshops are not specific to any one field, and instead, will address common challenges and strategies for writing success across disciplines. We will also discuss and practice ways to develop good writing habits, including but not limited to goal setting, scheduling writing time, separating the task of writing from editing and revising, and experimenting with tools for increased productivity.
This workshop series will be most useful to ABD graduate students near or at the beginning of the dissertation-writing process, and we encourage those writers to attend all sessions. Writers at other stages are welcome to join any or all meetings. All writers may find it helpful to also join a UWC summer writing group to complement the workshops with regular, protected writing time.
Each session will include a presentation and time for discussion and resource-sharing. Many sessions will include a writing activity and guided reflection. All sessions will be on Zoom, and registration is required. Workshops may be recorded and posted to the UWC Graduate Services YouTube channel.
Here are the sessions. Click the link to sign up:
Systemic Challenges & Some Solutions – June 9, 1-3 PM
Developing Professional Writing Habits – June 16, 1-3 PM
The Dissertation Genre – June 23, 1-3 PM
Refining Your Research Question – June 30, 1-3 PM
Reading Sample Introductions – July 7, 1-3 PM
Abstracts & Elevator Stories – July 14, 1-3 PM
How to Email Busy Supervisors – July 21, 1-3 PM
Research Management – July 28, 1-3 PM
About Workshops
UWC graduate writing workshops are typically one- to two-hour instructional sessions led by UWC consultants and university faculty. These workshops are often interactive, and attendees are encouraged to bring in their writing and other materials for project management. Recorded workshops are now available to view on our UWC Grad Services YouTube Channel. If you attend a workshop and would like to have a copy of the presentation, please email us at uwcgradservices@utexas.edu.
Additional Support
Interested in other ways the UWC can support you? Head over to our Graduate Students page to find out more about all the services available to you.
Workshop Policies
If possible, please register online for workshops that you’re interested in attending. However, drop-ins for in-person workshops are also welcome. For online workshops, we require registration in advance so we can send you the information to connect to the online meeting.
Online Workshops
Online workshops are typically held in Zoom. We may record the session so that we can later post it to our YouTube Channel. If you do not consent to being recorded, you may mute your video. The Zoom meeting ID will be mailed to all registered attendees the morning of the workshop.
Recorded Workshops
In this workshop, Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric & Writing Trish Roberts-Miller discusses some of the writing challenges for graduate students, including developing new writing processes, avoiding procrastination, and defining research questions.
In this workshop, University Writing Center Director and Professor of Rhetoric & Writing Trish Roberts-Miller discusses elements of an engaging research story, like concision and vividness, and introduces strategies for composing an effective description of what you do and why it matters.
Organizing Your Research with Zotero
In this one-hour workshop, the University Writing Center’s Jamie Garner will demonstrate how Zotero can make conducting research more manageable and organized. You will receive a basic overview of Zotero’s primary functions as well as some tips and tricks to make using it more efficient as you integrate it into your research process.
UWC Graduate Writing Consultant Jamie Garner reviews how to include metadiscourse in your writing to improve clarity and coherence.
Our writing can only be effective if people read it! And in this age when readers average less than 12 seconds on an email and click through websites every 20 seconds, presenting an argument in a way that encourages our readers to approach, enter, and engage our words is essential. In this interactive workshop led by UWC consultant Lynn Wills, we’ll explore ways to make our writing more accessible, from an enticing title to a satisfying conclusion.
Writing is easier when we face it together! This workshop reviews strategies for starting and maintaining your own writing group. We’ll discuss ways to exchange effective feedback on drafts, the nuts and bolts of scheduling, and practices for goal-setting and accountability. We’ll also help you connect with other students to set up groups and partnerships.
Upcoming Workshop Descriptions
How to Write Effective Emails
Make your emails work for you. The University Writing Center can help. In this workshop, we’ll explore email-writing strategies that will help you get results and work effectively with your supervisors.
Publishing in Graduate School
This panel addresses issues that face aspiring graduate student authors in today’s publishing environment and offers practical tips on how to select publication venues, how to respond to reviewer’s feedback, who to ask for advice, and what sort of publishing goals to set while still in grad school.
Time Management for Academics
This workshop introduces strategies for starting and maintaining a work schedule, protecting your writing time, setting specific goals, and breaking large projects down into manageable components.
Click here to view presentation slides from this event:
Clay Spinuzzi – Time Management for Academics
The Home Stretch: Workshop for Doctoral Candidates
This workshop serves as a complement to the Graduate School’s workshops, which address official submission deadlines, copyright embargoes, and formatting templates. At the UWC event, writers will review Graduate School requirements for defense scheduling and project submission and learn how the UWC can support and empower you during your final months of writing.
Previous Workshops
- From Abstract to Script: How to Prepare An Effective Conference Presentation
- Framing Interventions: Making Your Work Matter
- Writing Introductions
- Writing Conclusions
- Reading for Moves: Understanding Abstracts and Proposals
- Crafting Standout Presentations
- Writing a Dissertation
- Spring Into Summer Writing
- Revision & Editing