Class Workshops

 Workshops

We offer workshops on a variety of writing-related topics for courses across Mason. Consultants can visit your face-to-face class in person or deliver the workshop to your synchronous online course on Zoom or Collaborate Ultra. You also have the option to bring your class to the Lab for Writing and Communication, our state-of-the-art instructional and studio space in Johnson Center 227E, where our consultants will deliver the workshop to your students and provide a brief tour.

The best workshops often become conversations among the presenters, the students, and the instructor. We invite instructors to discuss how the material in the workshop applies specifically to their courses and assignments, and we require the instructor to be present when consultants are delivering a workshop to the class. Let us know if you'd like to discuss how our workshops can support your assignments and learning goals.

A pandemic-related note: to maintain a safe workspace, we have fewer consultants on site than in previous years, so while we will do our best to fulfill requests for in-person workshops, we may need to ask you to host the consultants on Zoom.

request workshop

  • Building an Argument

This workshop presents the basics of developing and building an argument, with an emphasis on developing a sound thesis statement, generating and structuring supporting claims and evidence, and working with counterarguments. The workshop allows space for the course instructor and students to discuss the kinds of claims and evidence that they might develop, given the specific discipline, course, assignment, or audience. (45 minutes)

  • Strategies for Getting Started on a Draft

In this workshop, writers learn and practice using a variety of strategies for generating ideas and structuring those ideas into a rough draft. Techniques include free-writing, sketching webs and maps, composing rough "discovery" drafts, and outlining. Instructors have the opportunity to comment on how particular techniques might work for specific writing tasks in the course. Writers leave this workshop with concrete verbal and visual tools for getting started on a writing project, as well as some strategies for dealing with writers' block. (45 minutes)

  • Strategies for Revising a Draft  (students need to bring a print copy of their draft)

In this workshop, writers learn and practice strategies for seeing strengths and weaknesses in their own drafts and for revising accordingly. The workshop focuses on techniques writers can use to evaluate their drafts for whole-text concerns such as content development, line of argument, and structure. Students leave this workshop understanding the difference between revision and editing, and possessing concrete tools for identifying areas in which the draft can be further developed and improved. (50 minutes)

This session should be scheduled to coincide with students' having completed a first draft of a course assignment. Students bring a hard copy of their draft to the workshop and practice various techniques on that draft.

  • Peer Review Workshop: Providing Helpful Feedback on Other Writers' Drafts
In this workshop, writers learn to provide feedback that addresses important issues in a draft and maintains a positive relationship between writer and reviewer. Workshop leaders provide instruction on reading and feedback strategies, then invite students to apply those general principles to a class assignment chosen by the instructor. First, students are invited to identify the important issues specific to the assignment they are currently working on. They then practice providing feedback on a sample draft, which the instructor provides. Participants then debrief on the experience of doing peer review. (75 minutes)
 
The workshop introduces students to peer review and allows them to examine and discuss a sample draft of the writing assignment they are working towards in the class.

If you don’t have class time to devote to a full workshop, or if you are teaching asynchronously, assign our video on doing peer review.

  • Using and Citing Sources in Your Writing — Basics

In this presentation, students learn the benefits of citing sources, the kinds of material they need to cite, options for incorporating source material into their own prose, and how to find the guidelines for properly formatting those citations. Students discuss scenarios in which source material needs to be cited and they practice paraphrasing sample sources. This workshop is not specific to any single citation style; it focuses on the broad logic and rhetoric of citing sources. (55 minutes)

Please note that this presentation does not address the mechanics and fine points of formatting in-text citations and lists of works cited.

  • Using APA Citation Style  (students need a draft and a device with internet access)

This workshop focuses on helping students look up and apply the guidelines for using APA citation style for in-text citations and list of references. Student writers don't always learn effectively when consultants lecture on the numerous and detailed rules for properly presenting author names and page numbers, and formatting titles and publication information. In this workshop, therefore, Writing Center consultants walk student writers through the process of writing an in-text citation and an entry for the list of references, then guide the writers as they locate and apply relevant rules to their own drafts. (45 minutes)

This workshop should be scheduled to coincide with students' completing a draft of a document that incorporates sources. To participate in the workshop, students will need a draft (hard copy or electronic) and a laptop or tablet.

  • Using MLA Citation Style  (students need a draft and a device with internet access)

This workshop focuses on helping writers look up and apply the guidelines for using MLA citation style for in-text citations and list of works cited. Student writers don't always learn effectively when consultants lecture on the numerous and detailed rules for properly presenting author names and page numbers, and formatting titles and publication information. In this workshop, therefore, Writing Center consultants walk student writers through the process of writing an in-text citation and an entry for the list of works cited, then guide the writers as they locate and apply relevant rules to their own drafts. (45 minutes)

This workshop should be scheduled to coincide with students' completing a draft of a document that incorporates sources. To participate in the workshop, students will need a draft (hard copy or electronic) and a laptop or tablet.

  • From Casual to Scholarly: Strategies for Elevating and Formalizing Your Writing

In this hour-and-fifteen-minute workshop, participants will gain tips and strategies for using language, grammar, and style to their best advantage as they work to elevate the level of formality in their academic writing. Students will learn specific strategies for writing and editing, as well as begin to understand why particular kinds of language have come to be used in scholarly work. (75 minutes)

  • Five Techniques for a Clear Writing Style

In this workshop, writers learn to identify features of writing that make texts murky and difficult to understand, and learn and practice five strategies for revising murky writing to make it clearer. (50 minutes)

Professional Development Workshops for Faculty

The Writing Across the Curriculum program offers professional development workshops to faculty who want assistance developing writing assignments or assessments. To request those services, please contact Tom Polk, Interim WAC Director, at tpolk2@gmu.edu.