Workshops & Events

Graduate Student "Just Write" Program

Just Write provides graduate students two valuable resources for the completion of their graduate degrees: time and space. Recognizing that large scale graduate projects like the dissertation usually require sophisticated time management strategies, Just Write attempts to disrupt potential writing reprieves by supporting a regularly scheduled time and offering a regularly available place for graduate students to focus on progressing through the demands of drafting extensive research projects. Just Write events will be held on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in 216 College Hall throughout the semester. Please contact Will Powell, the assistant director (powellw1@duq.edu), if you have questions or would like more information

Spring 2019 Workshops

The following workshops are available to faculty and graduate student instructors

Writing Prompts that Work: A Workshop in Crafting Effective Assignment Sheets for Writing Projects

Monday, February 4, 2019, 12:00-1:00 p.m., 715 Fisher Hall

Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 11:00-12:00 p.m., 715 Fisher Hall

Do you have questions about how your students will (mis)understand your writing prompt or assignment sheet? Come to this hands-on session where the Writing Center Director and consultants will be available to meet with faculty and teaching assistants individually or in small groups to answer questions, point out areas where students might be confused, and offer suggestions for presenting writing tasks in ways to maximize student comprehension and performance.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Cross-Campus Perspectives on Teaching Writing-Intensive Courses
with Elaine Abbott, Elena Donoso Brown, Kristin Klucevsek, Benjamin Goldschmidt, and Sandra Quinones

Thursday, March 28 at 12:15 -1:30 p.m., 715 Fisher Hall

Instructors in writing-intensive courses (WICs) often have questions about how to approach writing instruction. At this workshop, participants will learn strategies from panelists across campus who have successfully taught WICs. Panelists include faculty from the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, the Rangos School of Health Sciences, the School of Education, the McAnulty College of Liberal Arts, and the Pappert School of Music. After a review of the current WIC requirements and some general guidance regarding best practices for teaching such courses, panelists will share tips for teaching a WIC in their respective disciplines. They will also share specific assignments that have been effective and discuss how they communicate the value of WICs to their students. Attendees will have time at the end of the session to ask the panelists questions.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Writing Job Materials for ARYSE (Alliance for Refugee Youth Support and Education)

Thursday, April 4 at 4 p.m.

This workshop will be available for all ARYSE students on writing resumes and cover letters.

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 Writing Center Director Dr. Jim Purdy.)

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Example Workshops from 2009-2018

Faculty

Approaches to Peer Writing Workshops
October 2, 2018, 12:15-1:30 p.m.
119 Union
An increasingly common and potentially effective way to promote process writing as well as to improve student writing is to conduct peer workshops. Sometimes, however, teachers and students worry about the logistics of conducting such workshops as well as quality of the feedback students provide their peers. This workshop will explain how to address this and other potential challenges of peer writing workshops, possible benefits of them, 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.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence

Teaching the Digital Humanities
Friday, September 21, 2018, 11:00-1:00 p.m.
Africa Room, Student Union
The digital humanities has gained visibility in the last several years in the academy and beyond. But what is it? And what does it mean to teach in/with/for it? In response to these questions, come hear panelists discuss approaches to digital humanities pedagogy. Panelists include Dr. Michelle Brock from the Department of History at Washington & Lee University; Dr. Alison Langmead, the Director of the Visual Media Workshop at the University of Pittsburgh; and Dr. James P. Purdy from the Department of English at Duquesne.
Co-sponsored by the Department of History, the Department of English, and the Center for Teaching Excellence

https://duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-the-digital-humanities

Writing Prompts that Work: A Workshop in Crafting Effective Assignment Sheets for Writing Projects
Tuesday, September 11, 2018, 11:00-11:30 a.m.
314 Canevin Hall
Wednesday, September 12, 2018, 3:00-3:30 p.m.
727 Fisher Hall
Do you have questions about how your students will (mis)understand your writing prompt or assignment sheet? Come to this hands-on session where the Writing Center Director and consultants will be available to meet with faculty and teaching assistants individually or in small groups to answer questions, point out areas where students might be confused, and offer suggestions for presenting writing tasks in ways to maximize student comprehension and performance.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence

What Are Writing-Intensive Courses? (with Jerry Stinnett)
Monday, April 9, 2018, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
613 Union
This workshop will educate instructors about the value and purpose of writing-intensive courses (WICs) and address myths about what it means to teach them. Faculty and graduate students will learn the rationale behind WICs and the criteria that make a course writing-intensive, what constitutes writing instruction and writing feedback in a WIC, as well as what support is available for WIC instructors.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence, the First-Year Writing Program, and the CORE Curriculum. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

(How) Should We Teach Grammar?: Strategies for Responding to Sentence-Level Writing Mistakes
Monday, February 26, 2018, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
727 Fisher Hall
Concern and frustration over students' grammar errors seem to be ever-present-and recurring-elements of teaching and grading writing. What is an instructor to do? This workshop, co-sponsored by the University Writing Center and CTE, will briefly point to some scholarship that provides useful frameworks to help understand students' sentence-level writing errors. Then it will offer techniques for responding to these mistakes that promote student learning over teacher editing. Faculty and graduate students will learn strategies they can apply to their classroom instruction and writing feedback.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Three Ways to Incorporate the Writing Center into Your Teaching, Or How to Get the Most out of the Writing Center as an Instructor
Wednesday, January 31, 12:00-12:30 p.m.
Location to be announced
This mini-workshop will share with instructors strategies for using the Writing Center in class. Faculty and graduate students will leave with ideas for three ways to incorporate the Writing Center into their teaching beyond just a blurb on their syllabus. It will also include a demonstration to show what happens during consulting sessions.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence, To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Please visit the following link to view a recording of the workshop:

https://edtech.msl.duq.edu/Mediasite/Play/f1f97e1eb4454587a498f868bee9f7091d?catalog=f4a2a3e9-90f3-464e-8f1e-cfdacb822db2

Writing and Information Literacy Frameworks: Intersections for Lifelong Learning (with Marcia Rapchak)
Tuesday, October 31, 2017, 12:15-1:30 p.m.
301 Canevin Hall
This workshop will introduce faculty and graduate students to the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing (published by the Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Writing Project) and the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (published by the Association of College and Research Libraries). The session will highlight connections between these Framework documents to provide ideas for faculty and graduate students to frame writing and research activities in any course across campus.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence and Gumberg Library. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Writing to Learn: Activities for Working with ESL Students at Duquesne University (with Julia Salehzadeh, Janine Carlock, Jerry Stinnett)
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
109 Union
This session is designed to help instructors increase their knowledge and effectiveness in using writing to learn activities when teaching students for whom English is a second language. Faculty and staff from the ESL Program and the Writing Center will facilitate a discussion to provide information about these students and the resources available to them. Participants will leave with practical strategies for engaging with and improving the educational experience of ESL and non-ESL students alike. Participants are asked to complete a brief pre-workshop questionnaire.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence and the ESL Department. To register, please visit http://duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/writing-to-learn-activities-for-working-with-esl-students-at-duquesne-university

Open House
Friday, September 8, 2017, 11:30-12:00 p.m.
408 Gumberg
Faculty, graduate students, and staff are invited to attend this open house to learn more about the University Writing Center and its resources available to support instructors and writers across campus. The open house will feature a consulting session demonstration to show what happens when students visit the Writing Center for help with their writing. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask the Director questions, meet members of the staff, and pick up resources.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Three Ways to Incorporate the Writing Center into Your Teaching, Or How to Get the Most out of the Writing Center as an Instructor
Friday, September 8, 2017, 11:00-11:30 a.m.
Location: 408 Gumberg
This mini-workshop will share with instructors strategies for using the Writing Center in class. Faculty and graduate students will leave with ideas for three ways to incorporate the Writing Center into their teaching beyond just a blurb on their syllabus. This workshop will be followed by an open house (see below).
Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence, To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Teaching a Writing-Intensive Course the Easy Way (Dr. James P. Purdy, English and Writing Center, and Dr. Jerry Stinnett, English and First-Year Writing)
Time: Tuesday, April 11, 2017, 12:15-1:30 p.m.
Location: 613 Union

Are you teaching a Writing-Intensive Course and worry about taking time away from material you need to cover in order to teach writing? Does it seem like students should have already learned how to write by the time they reach your class? Or perhaps you feel unqualified to teach writing? Are you wondering how you will be able to grade additional writing assignments? These are good questions that many writing-intensive course instructors have. Many, however, are borne of misunderstandings of what writing-intensive courses are supposed to be about. At this workshop, faculty and graduate students will learn ways to make writing-intensive course instruction easier and how it can supplement-and even improve-student acquisition of course material-all while not requiring you to stop your class to teach grammar.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/x21332.xml.

Responding to Five Common Student Writing Struggles
Time: Tuesday, March 14, 2017, 12:15-1:30 p.m.
Location: 613 Union

Students sometimes face challenges meeting the expectations surrounding five elements of college-level writing: thesis statements, conclusions, paragraph organization, transitions, and source integration. This workshop will review conventionally effective characteristics of each of these elements and offer participants responses to help students work to meet these conventions. Faculty and graduate students will get practice responding to sample student writing excerpts and will leave with teaching strategies and activities they can apply in the classroom.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/x21332.xml.

Better Business Communication
Tuesday 29, November 29, 2016, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Location TBD

This workshop will focus on proper, written University communications and help identify proper communication methods, whether electronic or in written form. Attendees will learn how to recognize rhetorical elements that drive business writing decisions, discover conventions for writing to internal and external audiences, and determine which medium (print, digital, oral) to use for different business communication tasks. Participants will also leave with proofreading tips and guidelines for appropriate email and social media etiquette.

Co-sponsored by Human Resources. To register, please email writingcenter@duq.edu.

Planning a Writing-Intensive Course
Thursday, November 10, 2016, 10:45-12:00 p.m.
Location TBD

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 2017 writing-intensive course. Faculty and graduate students will leave with an outline of the schedule of writing projects and tasks. If you teach a University-designated "W" course, you will find this workshop especially useful as you prepare your new syllabus.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Creating Plagiarism-Resistant Assignments
(with Dr. Jerry Stinnett)
Monday, October 3, 2016, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Location TBD

In the copy and paste culture of today's students, plagiarism is a recurring problem for higher education. However, faculty can minimize the risk of plagiarism through the design of their assignments. In this workshop, faculty will learn strategies to create research and writing assignments that are resistant to plagiarism.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Teaching the New MLA Citation Style
Monday, September 12, 2016, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
608 Union

In late Spring 2016, the Modern Language Association published its 8th edition of the MLA Handbook with significant revisions to its citation style. This workshop will acquaint faculty and teaching assistants with the major changes and offer tips for teaching the logic of source documentation behind the updates. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. To register, please visit http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/events/workshops

Planning a Writing-Intensive Course
Thursday, April 14, 2016, 1:45-3:00 p.m.

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 Fall 2016 writing-intensive course. Faculty and graduate students will leave with an outline of the schedule of writing projects and tasks. If you teach a University-designated "W" course, you will find this workshop especially useful as you prepare your new syllabus.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Five Writing Activities for Any Day
February 4, 2016, 1:45-3:00 p.m.

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.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Responding to Five Common Student Writing Struggles

Tuesday, September 29, 2015, 12:15-1:30 p.m.

Approaches to Peer Writing Workshops

Thursday, February 26, 2015, 10:45-noon

An increasingly common and potentially 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 their peers. This workshop will explain how to address this and other potential challenges of peer writing workshops, possible benefits of them, 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.

Planning a Writing-Intensive Course

Thursday, April 16, 2015, 12:15-1:30 p.m.

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 Fall 2015 writing-intensive course. Faculty and graduate students will leave with an outline of the schedule of writing projects and tasks. If you teach a University-designated "W" course, you will find this workshop especially useful as you prepare your new syllabus.

Designing Effective Writing Projects

Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 12:00-1:30 p.m., 613 Union

Have students ever been confused by a writing assignment you thought was clear? Have you ever received from students responses to a writing assignment that did not match what you thought you assigned or what you expected? Good assignment design helps you lessen student confusion and receive the writing projects you intend. This workshop will provide participants with tips for creating clear, productive writing assignments. Faculty and graduate students will learn instructional verbs to use when assigning particular writing tasks, design suggestions for chunking information for today's students, and approaches to scaffolding/breaking down projects. Participants are welcome to bring drafts of assignments to workshop. If you assign writing tasks in your course, whether it is a University-designated "W" course or not, this workshop is for you!

Grading Writing to Encourage Revision

Thursday, February 27, 2014, 12:15-1:30 p.m., 608 Union

Wednesday November 20, 2013, 12:00-1:00 p.m. -- RESCHEDULED to Spring 2014
SLPA Webinar

This workshop will provide strategies for grading writing to encourage students to revise. The session will address tips for using comments to teach students rather than to justify a grade. Faculty and teaching assistants will learn about giving comments a future orientation, using minimal marking, and asking students to respond to comments. Taken together, these approaches offer ways to help students take responsibility for their learning.

Five Writing Activities for Any Day

Tuesday, October 22, 2013, 1:45-3:00 p.m.
108 Canevin

Plagiarism Resistant Assignments and Tools for Promoting Academic Integrity
Presenters: James Purdy (Writing Center and English) and Dana Oliver (Educational Technology)

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
613 Union

In the copy and paste culture of today's students, plagiarism is a recurring problem for higher education. However, faculty can minimize the risk of plagiarism through the design of their assignments and the strategic use of SafeAssign to help students monitor their use of sources. In this workshop, faculty will learn strategies to create research and writing assignments that are resistant to plagiarism. They will also learn about the Blackboard's SafeAssign tool as a way to encourage academic integrity among their students.

Planning a Writing-Intensive Course

Thursday, November 12, 2015, 12:15-1:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 6, 2014, 12:15-1:30 p.m., 109 Union

Thursday, April 10, 2014, 12:15-1:30 p.m., 608 Union

Tuesday, December 3, 2013, 1:45-3:00 p.m., 108 Canevin

Thursday, April 11, 2013, 12:15 - 1:30 p.m., 613 Union

Wednesday, November 7, 2012, 11:00-12:00 p.m., 643 College Hall

Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 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 writing-intensive course. Faculty and graduate students will leave with an outline of the schedule of writing projects and tasks.If you teach a University-designated "W" course, you will find this workshop especially useful as you prepare your new syllabus.

(How) Should We Teach Grammar?: Strategies for Responding to Sentence-Level Writing Mistakes

Wednesday, September 19, 2012, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
505/506 Rockwell Hall

Concern and frustration over students' grammar errors seem to be ever-present-and recurring-elements of teaching and grading writing. What is an instructor to do? This workshop, co-sponsored by the University Writing Center and CTE, will briefly point to some scholarship that provides useful frameworks to help understand students' sentence-level writing errors. Then it will offer techniques for responding to these mistakes that promote student learning over teacher editing. Faculty and graduate students will learn strategies they can apply to their classroom instruction and writing feedback.

Five Writing Activities for Any Day

Tuesday, September 20, 2012, 1:45-3:00 p.m.
119 Union

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 the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Students

The Writing Center will be celebrating the National Day on Writing, October 20, 2018, with the following activities the week of October 22-26, 2018:

- Treats and candy: Stop by the Writing Center in 216 College Hall for some sweet treats!
- Six-word scary stories: Stop by 216 College Hall to share your best six-word scary story. Participants will be entered into a prize drawing for some cool writing supplies, books, and Duquesne gear.
- Collaborative horror story: Stop by the College Hall lobby on Monday (10/22), Wednesday (10/24), and/or Thursday (10/25) from 9am-12pm to help us write a collaborative horror story. Bring your scariest ideas, plot twists, and characters. We'll share the final story in the Writing Center in 216 College Hall Halloween week.
- Scrabble-a-Thon: Stop by the Writing Center in 216 College Hall to play some Scrabble and show us your word prowess. Take on our staff members to see if you can win! The documented high scorer will win a prize!
- #whyiwrite: Tweet with the hashtag #whyiwrite to @DU_WriteCenter to share the reasons why you write.

The National Day on Writing, October 20-23, 2015

All members of the campus community are invited to stop by the Writing Center (216 College Hall) October 20-23, 2015 to enjoy some treats and to participate in the Writing Center slogan contest. Share ideas for a slogan for the Writing Center. In ten words or fewer, capture the benefits of visiting the Writing Center. Describe what the Center does to help with writing at Duquesne. The winning slogan will be chosen in November, and the winner will receive a Starbucks gift card! Entries can be dropped off in 216 College Hall or emailed to writingcenter@duq.edu from Oct. 20-23, 2015.

The National Day on Writing, October 20-24, 2014

The Writing Center will be celebrating the National Day on Writing, October 20, 2014, with two events:

Collaborative Brainstorming Session
Want to get a head start on that next writing project or final term paper? Not sure where to begin? Looking for advice?

Participate in the Writing Center's Collaborative Brainstorming Session. Between 12-4 p.m. on Monday, October 20, a consultant will be available in 216 College Hall to help you with strategies for getting started and organizing your ideas. Take advantage of the Writing Center's resources and workspace. There will be note cards, a cork board, pushpins, post-its, markers, a dry erase board, textbooks, style manuals, handouts, and a designated writing consultant ready to help. No appointments are necessary, and there will be candy for you to enjoy while you work!

Scavenger Hunt
Participate in the Writing Center's scavenger hunt! Stop by the Writing Center (216 College Hall) to pick up your activity sheet. Correct answer sheets will be entered into a drawing for gift cards to Barnes & Noble and Starbucks! Candy will be available in the Writing Center for all participants! Please return your completed scavenger hunt form to the Writing Center by 3 p.m., Friday, October 24 to be entered into the drawing for prizes.

Winners of the National Day on Writing Scavenger Hunt prize drawing are Devon McCabe ($30 Stabrucks gift card), Charquinta McCray ($20 Starbucks gift card), and Elizabeth Sippy ($30 Barnes & Noble gift card). Congratulations, winners!

Peer Review of CVs and Cover Letters

January 22, 2014, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
413B Canevin

Don't let your job application materials go to the bottom of the pile! Getting a second set of eyes on these important documents can only increase your chance of rising to the top. Graduate students are invited to bring CVs and cover letters to a peer review session facilitated by the Writing Center.

APA Source Use and Citation

Friday, January 10, 2014, 1:15-2:15 p.m.
102 Bayer

Thursday, October 3, 2013, 10:50-12:05 p.m. and 1:40-2:20 p.m.
553 Fisher Hall

Thursday, February 7, 2013, 10:50-12:05 p.m.
713 Fisher Hall

Wednesday, January 9, 2013, 10:45-11:45 a.m.
719 Fisher Hall

Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 9:00-9:45 a.m.
309 Canevin Hall

Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 10:00-10:45 a.m.
314 Canevin Hall

This presentation will review conventions of APA citation style for both in-text and references citations. Students will learn the rationale behind these guildelines. They will also see examples of the most common types of citations, learn options for integrating sources, and learn tips for avoiding common mistakes.

MLA Source Use and Citation

Wednesday, September 4, 2013, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
St. Martin Residence Hall Lounge

Thursday, January 17, 2013, 3:30-4:20 p.m. p.m.
423 College Hall

Wednesday, January 18, 2013, 8:00-8:50 a.m.
220 College Hall

This presentation will review conventions of MLA citation style for both in-text and references citations. Students will learn the rationale behind these guildelines. They will also see examples of the most common types of citations, learn options for integrating sources, and learn tips for avoiding common mistakes.

Structural and Sentence-Level Conventions of Scientific Research Papers

Friday, October 5, 2012, 4:00-5:00 p.m.
447 Mellon Hall

This presentation will address the IMRAD organizational structure for and two common types of writing in scientific research papers. It will also address sentence structure expectations and common sentence level errors in science writing.

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 25, 2012, 10:00-10:45 a.m.
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.