Workshops
Faculty
If you have questions about integrating writing assignments into your class or planning a writing-intensive course, please contact the Director.
Unless otherwise noted, workshops are presented by Dr. Jim Purdy. Dr. Purdy is on sabbatical in spring 2012, so faculty workshops will resume in fall 2012.
Students
Strategies for Writing Medical School Personal Statements
Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 10:00-10:45 a.m.
This workshop will cover strategies for writing personal statements for medical school. Students will learn what to do in a personal statement, techniques for brainstorming material to include, and tips for sentence-level clarity and correctness.
Other workshop times will be announced later in the semester.
Writers' Room
Facilitated by Ava Cipri and Jill Khoury
Writers' Room is a discussion group designed to facilitate an egalitarian approach to the experience and enjoyment of creative writing. All genres and experience levels are welcome! Writers' Room is not a workshop; it is more of a "salon" atmosphere based upon a theme chosen by the session leader and advertised in promotional flyers the week beforehand.
Participants will first read a short passage on the theme discussing it briefly, then free write on a prompt, also oriented to the theme. Past themes include "Celebrating the Vernal (Spring) Equinox," "Write on Beat: Writing Inspired by Music," "Not Your Mama's Recipe: Writing about Food," "Alter Egos," and "Secret Names: Writing about Identity."
For more information and to keep informed via e-mail about upcoming sessions, please contact Ava Cipri (cipria at duq.edu) or Jill Khoury (khouryj at duq.edu)
Example Prior Workshops from 2009-2011
Faculty
Five Writing Activities for Any Day
Tuesday, September 20, 1:45-3:00 p.m.
119 Union
Knowing what writing activities to use in class can be a challenge both pedagogically and logistically. What will help students most effectively learn material? What can serve as a productive task for the last ten minutes of class? Operating from the premise that writing facilitates learning, this workshop will describe five in-class writing activities and associated learning goals that new and experienced teachers can incorporate into classes from any discipline or level. Faculty and graduate students will leave with ideas for writing tasks that they can implement in the classroom. They are also welcome to bring their own ideas to share.
Planning a Writing-Intensive Course
Wednesday, December 7, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
643 College Hall
One of the biggest challenges of teaching a writing-intensive course is incorporating the writing assignments/projects into the syllabus. When should due dates fall? How can the syllabus reflect the scaffolding of activities the lead to a writing project? How can writing activities fit in with all the content to be covered? This hands-on workshop will guide participants in planning the syllabus for a spring 2012 writing-intensive course. Faculty and graduate students will leave with an outline of the schedule of writing projects and tasks.
Strategies for Responding to Student Writing
Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
109 Union
Responding to student writing is sometimes one of the most overwhelming -and time consuming- aspects of teaching writing. This workshop, co-sponsored by CTE, will address methods for efficiently and effectively providing productive written feedback on student writing. Faculty and graduate students will learn ways to offer revision suggestions students are more likely to take and to guide students in assuming responsibility for their writing choices. They will also learn strategies for offering feedback without spending too much time on each paper.
Effective Approaches to Peer Writing Workshops
Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 1:45 - 3:00 p.m.
505/506 Rockwell
An increasingly common and effective way to promote process writing is to conduct peer workshops. Sometimes, however, teachers and students worry about the quality of the feedback students provide one another. This workshop will explain the benefits of peer workshops (despite the potential for imperfect feedback), reasons to use them, and ways to integrate them into courses. Faculty and teaching assistants will learn different models for peer workshopping activities and strategies to encourage productive student feedback and, ultimately, stronger writing.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence.
A Prezi from the workshop is available for viewing.
Perspectives on Preparing Undergraduates for Research and Publishing
Panelists: Norm Conti (Sociology), Steve Hansen (CTE & OSL), Patrick Miller (Philosophy), Jim Purdy (English & Writing Center), Diana Sasso (Library), Sarah Woodley (Biological Sciences)
Monday, October 4, 2010, 1:45 - 3:00 p.m.
505/506 Rockwell
Many of Duquesne's undergraduates have the potential to present and publish their scholarship with advice and encouragement from faculty and the readily available research and writing support offered by Gumberg Library and the Writing Center. Panelists will offer strategies for guiding undergraduate students wishing to conduct research for publication and presentation.
Co-sponsored by Gumberg Library, Center for Teaching Excellence, and Office of Research
A handout from the workshop is available.
Wikipedia is Good for You!: Using Wikipedia to Teach Research-based Writing
Thursday, February 18, 2010, 3 - 4:15 p.m.
505/506 Rockwell Hall
A frequent top result of Google searches, Wikipedia is often used by students for research-based writing in college courses. The problems of this approach are well-documented and have led some instructors to forbid its use. This workshop will call for another approach by exploring ways to use Wikipedia to teach students productive composing practices. Faculty and teaching assistants will learn about using components of the Wikipedia interface to model effective research-based scholarly writing, incorporating Wikipedia into research projects, and designing assignments that ask students to contribute to Wikipedia.
Co-sponsored by CTE.
Students
Science Writing and Article Publication
Co-presented by Dr. Gerra Bosco
Thursday, December 1, 2011, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
643 College Hall
This workshop, targeted to students in the sciences, will cover overall strategies for submitting to an academic journal and review what authors can expect to happen when they submit an article for review. It will also contrast science writing characteristics with humanities writing characteristics, review conventional structure of science articles, and review sentence-level conventions of science writing.
Ten Tips for Integrating Outside Sources into College Writing
Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 2-3 p.m.
715 Fisher
Much of the writing expected at the college level requires incorporating secondary source evidence. What does it mean to use secondary sources? What are ways to do so most effectively? After addressing reasons why students are asked to use outside sources, this workshop will explain ten practical tips for using outside sources successfully in college writing. Students will leave with strategies they can apply to research-based writing at any level.
A recording of the workshop is available.
Reviewing Fundamentals: Grammar Basics
Presented by Suzanne Cook
Monday, March 21, 2011, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
408 Gumberg Library
Monday, April 4, 2011, 1:00-2:00 p.m. (Nursing students)
541 Fisher Hall
In these days of texting, "tweeting," and firing off instant messages, we all have experience with the act of writing. However, these recent technological changes often disregard traditional conventions of grammar. If you are stumped by subject-verb agreement or don't know what a dangling modifier is, this workshop is for you! Students will review the basics of grammar and mechanics to refresh their knowledge of the different parts of speech and sentence-level concerns. Ultimately, this workshop will help students fine-tune their understandings of English grammar and improve their abilities to use English meaningfully and correctly.
A recorded version of the talk is available here.
Strategies for Writing Medical School Personal Statements
Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 10:00-10:50 a.m.
303 Rockwell
This workshop will cover strategies for writing personal statements for medical school. Students will learn what to do in a personal statement, techniques for brainstorming material to include, and tips for sentence-level clarity and correctness.
The Research Paper Paragraph
Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 2:00-3:15 p.m.
643 College Hall
Research projects can sometimes be overwhelming. One way to make writing them manageable is to focus on one paragraph at a time. This workshop will cover strategies for structuring ideas for and integrating sources into research paper paragraphs. Students will gain knowledge of how to use the "PEAS" method to organize paragraphs as well as when, why, and how to summarize, paraphrase, and quote sources. Students are welcome to bring specific questions.
Avoiding Plagiarism: Definitions and Strategies
Presented by Lee Ann Glowzenski
Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 2:00-3:30 p.m.
644 College Hall
This workshop will give students the opportunity to understand how the University defines plagiarism and to learn research and writing strategies to avoid it. The presentation will address academic integrity, note-taking and documentation practices, and MLA and APA citation styles. An activity will allow the group to think through solutions to common writing and citation problems.
Strategies for Successful Research-based Writing
Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
715 Fisher Hall
If you have questions about writing research projects or integrating and citing sources, this workshop is for you! This workshop will cover several strategies for successful research-based writing, including effective methods for integrating outside sources and determining when, why, and how to summarize, paraphrase, and quote. Students will gain knowledge of ways to manage research-based writing projects.
A webcast of the workshop is available here. Email writingcenter at duq.edu for the username and password.
Writing Your Résumé: Content, Structure, and Process
Co-presented by Lee Ann Glowsenski and Deb Saffer
Thursday, November 5, 2009 noon-1:00 p.m.
313 Canevin Hall
This workshop will offer strategies for writing an effective résumé. The presentation will provide tips and techniques for generating ideas, structuring information, and writing to best showcase skills. Students will leave with a better understanding of the processes involved in the task of writing an effective résumé.
Co-sponsored by Career Services.
