Fall 2013 Writing and Research Workshops

The Graduate Writing Center offers a wide variety of writing workshops, ranging from general to more specialized topics, such as academic genres, writing in certain disciplinary areas, or writing English as a Second Language. We also provide information on workshops and services from selected campus offices that that provide assistance with research, data management, and data analysis. Special thanks to our campus programming partners: the UCLA Library, Writing Programs, the Institute for Digital Research and Education, Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Career Center.

General Writing Workshops

Strategic Reading
Rebecca Hill, English
Feeling overwhelmed by your reading lists? Concerned that you are missing the point of what you have just read? Are you taking pages of notes for every article you read? This workshop will cover effective reading and note-taking strategies so that you read more efficiently, assess your reading with a critical eye, and annotate each work so that important concepts are easily accessible.
Five times (same workshop):
Wednesday, October 2nd, 12:30-1:30pm
Thursday, October 3rd, 3:30-4:30 or 5:30-6:30pm
Tuesday, October 8th, 2:30-3:30pm or 5:00-6:00pm
Location: Conference Room 2, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Academic Writing Skills Workshop for ESL Graduate Students
Carole Yue, Psychology
In this interactive workshop, ESL graduate students will learn skills and strategies to build their fluency, accuracy, and comprehensibility in English academic writing. In addition, we will discuss useful on-campus, online, and print resources that will help students to work independently to improve their writing. There will also be time for questions and answers about ESL writing issues and concerns.
Two times (same workshop):
Thursday, October 10th, 5:10-7:00pm
Friday, October 11th, 12:00-1:50pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Teaching and Writing: What Teachers & TAs Need to Know
Bruce Beiderwell, Director, UCLA Writing Programs
Marilyn Gray, Coordinator, Graduate Writing Center
This workshop, which is designed for TAs in the humanities and social sciences, will cover how to help students improve their writing and review how to teach writing concepts, such as thesis statements, organization, and summary versus analysis. The workshop will also cover appropriate ways to respond to student writing, including etiquette for commenting on student papers and best practices for one-on-one meetings with students. The workshop will also offer a few resources for writing paper prompts and integrating writing assignments into a course's design.
Thursday, November 7th, 5:10-7:00pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Writing the Personal Statement
Matt Knauff, Philosophy
This workshop will cover strategies for writing personal statements for fellowship applications, internships, and Ph.D. programs. Among other topics, we will discuss organization, introductions and conclusions, and use of examples. Students from all schools and departments are welcome to attend. If you are currently working on a personal statement, we encourage you to bring your draft to the workshop.
Friday, October 25th, 12:00-1:30pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Policy Writing: Best Practices in White Paper and Memo Writing
Patty Carroll, Education
This workshop provides an overview of best practices in memo and white paper writing as seen in policy-related fields (e.g., urban planning, public policy, public health, business and education). We will discuss the purpose, organization, and style of this genre of writing. Then we will apply this knowledge through an in-depth analysis of exemplar papers. This workshop is designed to enable you to write effective memos and white papers for graduate and professional settings.
Thursday, November 14th, 11:10-12:45pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

How to Make an Argument
Matt Knauff, Philosophy
This workshop will discuss how to make, situate, and qualify arguments appropriately in graduate-level academic writing. Participants will learn what the basic components of any solid argument are and how to structure them into a coherent, persuasive whole. They will practice constructing their own arguments and analyzing arguments from scholarly articles. If participants would like to practice analyzing arguments in their own fields, they should bring one or two scholarly articles to the workshop.
Thursday, November 21st, 5:10-7:00pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Humanities Writing Workshops

Writing the Humanities Course Paper
Renee Hudson, English
This workshop will cover strategies for writing and revising graduate-level humanities course papers. In this workshop we will discuss ways to develop papers for graduate courses, including how to develop a more complex thesis and how to write a literature review.
Tuesday, October 29th, 5:10pm-7:00pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Writing a Paper in the Arts
Lisa Yamasaki, Education
The workshop will cover ways to analyze art in relation to theory and its sociological and historical context. Although the approach covered is applicable to different art forms, the workshop will mainly discuss visual art. The workshop will also cover ways to discuss formal elements of visual art.
Friday, November 1st, 12:00-1:50pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Social Sciences Writing Workshops

Applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Aaron Green, Chemistry, NSF GRF recipient
Lauren Krogh, Psychology, NSF GRF recipient
This workshop will discuss strategies for applying for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Open to US citizens in the Social, Biological, and Physical Sciences, this highly competitive fellowship provides three years of fellowship funding to successful applicants. The workshop will focus on the intellectual merit and broader impacts criteria for NSF grants, the structure of the proposal, suggestions for writing style, and technical details of Fastlane submission.
Tuesday, October 1st, 5:10-7:00pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Writing Successful Grant and Fellowship Applications
Sarah Al-Hiyari, Oral Biology, NIH fellowship recipient
Aaron Green, Chemistry, NSF GRF recipient
Lauren Krogh, Psychology, NSF GRF recipient
This workshop focuses on strategies for writing effective applications for grants and fellowships to support graduate study and research, especially for students seeking doctorates and research MAs. The workshop also covers tips for organizing the process. Finally, the workshop addresses briefly a few major funding opportunities for graduate students, including the NSF and NIH fellowships.
Friday, October 4th, 12:00-1:45pm
Location: Conference Room 2, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Writing the Social Sciences Graduate Course Paper
Tolu Bamishigbin, Education
This workshop will cover strategies for writing and revising graduate-level course papers in the social sciences. In this workshop we will discuss ways to develop papers for graduate courses, including how to develop a more complex thesis and how to write a literature review. A few pointers on the differences between qualitative and quantitative papers will be covered as well.
Two times (same workshop):
Tuesday, October 22nd, 5:10-7:00pm
Thursday, October 24th, 5:10-7:00pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Science and Engineering Writing Workshops

Applying for the NIH Training Fellowship
Sarah Al-Hiyari, Oral Biology, NIH fellowship recipient
This workshop will cover the basics of an NIH NRSA application including the application process and components. We will discuss preparation, documents needed, and writing strategies. The workshop will mainly focus on NIH grant F31. The workshop will also focus on how to find appropriate materials/resources for a complete application.
Friday, September 27th, 12:00-1:30pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Practical Tips for Writing a Scientific Paper
Carole Yue, Psychology
This workshop will cover the basics of how to plan for, prepare, and organize science-specific writing, including term papers, manuscripts and abstracts. We will also cover style, common structure and tips for avoiding problems such as excess jargon and ambiguously stated hypotheses.
Friday, November 8th, 12:00-1:30pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

ESL Workshops

Email Etiquette at the University
Carole Yue, Psychology
A graduate student will write hundreds of emails while getting his or her degree—emails that invite professors to serve on thesis/dissertation committees, emails that ask for extensions on papers, emails in which graduate students introduce themselves to potential mentors or advisors. Designed for graduate students who speak English as a second or foreign language, this workshop breaks down the language necessary to make polite requests over email. It also covers basic email etiquette and includes opportunities to edit real example emails written by graduate students
Two times (same workshop):
Thursday, October 17th, 5:10-7:00pm
Friday, October 18th, 12:00-1:50pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Statistical Software Workshops and Consultation

Introduction to Stata, Wednesday, October 2, 9 a.m. to 12 noon in CLICC Classroom C, sign up here.
Stata is a powerful statistical package that runs on many platforms, including Windows and Macintosh. This workshop is designed for people who are just getting started using Stata. The students in the workshop will have a hands-on experience using Stata for statistics, graphics, and data management. The notes for this workshop.

Introduction to SPSS, Friday, October 4, 9 a.m. to 12 noon in CLICC Classroom C, sign up here.
SPSS is a powerful statistical package that runs on many platforms, including Windows and Macintosh. This workshop is designed for people who are just getting started using SPSS. The students in the workshop will have a hands-on experience using SPSS for statistics, graphics, and data management. The notes for this workshop.

Introduction to SAS, Wednesday, October 9, 9 a.m. to 12 noon in CLICC Classroom C, sign up here.
SAS is a powerful statistical package that runs on many platforms, including Windows and Unix. This workshop is designed for people who are just getting started using SAS. The students in the workshop will have a hands-on experience using SAS for statistics, graphics, and data management. The notes for this workshop.

Introduction to R, Friday, October 11, 9 a.m. to 12 noon in CLICC Classroom C, sign up here.
R is a powerful statistical package that runs on many platforms, including Windows and Macintosh. This workshop is designed for people who are just getting started using R. The students in the workshop will have a hands-on experience using R for statistics, graphics, and data management. The notes for this workshop.

Survey Monkey and SPSS
Survey Monkey is a widely used tool for building surveys and collecting responses. Learn more about using Survey Monkey to set up a questionnaire and then getting your data from Survey Monkey into a statistics package to analyze it. Taught by Christine Wells, statistical consultant, Institute for Digital Research and Education.
Monday, November 4th, 9:30-11:30am
Location: Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

For walk-in consulting information, Stat books for loan, and the most up-to-date listing of seminars, please see the Statistical Consulting Services web page of the Institute for Digital Research and Education. The Statistical Consulting Services also keep an extensive archive of past workshops.

Research Workshops

Charles E. Young Research Library Orientation Tour
These guided tours offer introductions to the library's collections, services, and facilities.
Four times (same tour):
Monday, September 23rd, 2:00-2:30pm
Tuesday, September 24th, 12:00-12:30pm
Wednesday, September 25th, 11:00-11:30am or 3:00-3:30pm
Location: Meet on the front porch of the Charles E. Young Research Library

Organizing Your Research (and Your Life) with Evernote
Get off to a productive start for the new academic year by learning how to use Evernote to organize your research, class and meeting notes, or pretty much any kind of information you want to save. This session will cover: creating and accessing documents from the desktop program, web interface and mobile apps; organizing your information with tags and notebooks; converting your written notes or lab notebooks into digitized, searchable documents; and more. Wednesday, September 25th, 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Biomedical Library Classroom, room 12-077X CHS
Seating is limited; RSVP at http://uclaevernote-eorg.eventbrite.com/

Research@UCLA Library
Learn to effectively navigate the Library's website, search online catalogs for books and other materials, and discover the best databases for articles on a given topic.
Four times (same workshop):
Wednesday, October 2nd, 3:00-4:00pm
Monday, October 7th, 3:00-4:00pm
Wednesday, October 16th, 1:00pm-2:00pm
Tuesday, November 5th, 2:00-3:00pm
Location: Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F ( map )

EndNote for the Sciences
This hands-on session covers everything you need to get started using the citation management software EndNote: creating and adding references to an EndNote library, inserting citations into a Word document, and formatting a bibliography in your chosen journal style.
Two times (same workshop):
Friday, October 4th, 12:00-1:00pm (RSVP: http://biomedendnoteflier.eventbrite.com )
Thursday, November 7th, 12:00-1:00pm (RSVP: http://endnotesci-flier.eventbrite.com )
Location: Biomedical Library Classroom, room 12-077X CHS

EndNote for the Social Sciences and Humanities
These hands-on sessions offer an overview of this citation management software program, which helps researchers manage and organize references and automatically create and format citations and bibliographies.
Two times (same workshop):
Thursday, October 10th, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Wednesday, October 23rd, 1:00-2:00pm
Location: Research Library East Electronic Classroom, room 21536

Introduction to Zotero
Find out about the purpose, uses, and features of Zotero, a free, open-source application that helps researchers manage their references and notes and create formatted bibliographies.
Two times (same workshop):
Tuesday, October 15th, 1:00-2:00pm
Wednesday, November 6th, 2:00-3:00pm
Location: Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Copyright for Creators
Whether you are writing an article for a peer review publication, or you are a poet, blogger, remix artist, songwriter, videographer, painter, digital artist, or some other form of creator, you need to know about copyright. How can you incorporate others’ work ethically and legally? When can you claim fair use, and when must you ask permission? How can you protect your own copyright on items you create? This session, designed by UCLA Librarians who specialize in copyright and intellectual property concerns, will cover the basics for you and point you to important resources to help you as you create within your scholarly work and beyond.
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2:00-3:30pm
Location: Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Take Control of Your Web Presence
This workshop, designed primarily for graduate students thinking of entering the academic job market, will help you actively shape your online identity and online representation of your research and teaching. It will cover basic principles and help you put them into practice, including locking your Facebook account, bumping your Google search results, and using Twitter effectively.
Tuesday, October 29th, 2:00-3:00pm
Location: Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Survey Monkey and SPSS (two hours)
Survey Monkey is a widely used tool for building surveys and collecting responses. Learn more about using Survey Monkey to set up a questionnaire and then getting your data from Survey Monkey into a statistics package to analyze it.
Monday, November 4th, 9:30-11:30am
Location: Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

UCLA Institutional Review Board (IRB) Review: Policy and Procedures (sixty minutes)
The UCLA Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are required to ensure adherence to federal, state, local, and institutional regulations concerning the protection of human subjects in research. This workshop provides an. overview of the UCLA IRB application process and related policies and procedures and covers specific to UCLA Graduate Student Research projects.
Tuesday, November 12th, 1:00-2:00pm
Location: Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Intermediate Zotero
Already a Zotero user? Explore more features in this session, including working with groups, sharing bibliographies, generating reports, and more.
Wednesday, November 13th, 2:00-3:00pm
Location: Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Research Guides
Online research guides link to key resources and reference books for certain courses and disciplines. Subject guides, course guides, and general research guides are available.

Research Appointments
Subject specialists offer graduate students specialized assistance with research and subject resources and databases; contact the relevant librarian via a complete list of all subject specialists here.

Copyright Questions
Contact the Library's copyright experts for assistance with copyright, publishing, intellectual property, and other related issues at copyright@library.ucla.edu.

Lynda.com Online Training Tutorials
This online software training resource provides over a thousand video tutorials on software tools and techniques and business skills; access it through UCLA’s LearnIT gateway site.

To see the most current schedule of UCLA Library workshops, consult the UCLA Library seminar page.