Fall 2016 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 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.

Past Workshops

Summer Boot Camps

General Workshops

Strategic Reading
Alexandra Verini, English, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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. Nota Bene: This workshop does not teach speed-reading techniques.
1) Tuesday, September 27th, 12:00-1:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 2, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)
2) Thursday, September 29th, 3:00-4:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 2, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Policy Writing: Best Practices in White Paper and Memo Writing
Drew Westmoreland, Epidemiology, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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.
Tuesday, October 18th, 5:10-6:45 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Writing a Literature Review
Kathryn Renton, History, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
This workshop will cover strategies and best practices for writing a literature review, including note-taking strategies, writing process issues, and common organizational patterns. The workshop focus will be on literature reviews for original research projects but will be generally helpful for all literature reviews.
Thursday, October 20th, 5:10-7:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center(basement level) (map)

Teaching and Writing: What Teachers & TA Need to Know
Bruce Beiderwell, Director, UCLA Writing Programs
Marilyn Gray, Director, 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. Te workshop will also offer a few resources for writing paper prompts and integrating writing assignments into a course's design.
Tuesday, October 25th, 5:00-7:00pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)

Writing the Personal Statement
Kathryn Renton, History, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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.
Thursday, October 27th, 5:10-6:45 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Getting Started on the Master’s Thesis
This workshop will give an overview of how to write a master’s thesis. It will include writing activities and discussion to help participants develop their thesis topics. We will also present strategies for organizing research and literature reviews, as well as tips for drafting and revision.
Tuesday, November 15th, 5:00-7:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)(map)
RVSP: Please register with this Google Form by Thursday, November 10th.

Workshops on Writing Grants and Fellowships

Applying for the NIH Training Fellowship
Diane Goldenberg, NIH Fellowship Awardee (F31), Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Alex Sun, NIH Fellowship Recipient (F30), Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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 23rd, 12:00-1:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level)(map)

Writing Successful Grant and Fellowship Applications (Humanities and Social Science focus)
Eric Newman, Mellon Grant Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
This workshop will first briefly review funding opportunities for graduate students in humanities, social sciences, and related fields. The workshop will then focus 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 will also cover tips for organizing the application process.
Tuesday, September 27th, 5:15-7:15 PM
Location: Conference Room 2, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Writing Successful Grant and Fellowship Applications (Science and Engineering Focus)
Katelyn Caslavka-Zempel, NIH Fellowship Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
This workshop will first briefly review funding opportunities for graduate students in sciences and engineering. The workshop will then focus 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 will also cover tips for organizing the application process.
Wednesday, September 28th, 5:15-7:15 PM
Location: Conference Room 2, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Natsuki Atagi, NSF GRF Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Diane Goldenberg, NSF GRF Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Estevan Hernandez, Graduate Division Fellowship Services
This workshop will discuss strategies for applying for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Open to US citizens in the Social, Physical, and Biological 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 research proposal and personal statement, suggestions for writing style, and tips for Fastlane submission.
Thursday, September 29th, 5:15-7:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 2, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

We have some previously-recorded online workshops.

Humanities Writing Workshops

Introduction to Writing in the Humanities
Eric Newman, English, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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.
Thursday, October 13th, 5:10-7:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center(basement level) (map)

Social Sciences Writing Workshops

Introduction to Writing in the Social Sciences
Drew Westmoreland, Epidemiology, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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.
Thursday, October 6th, 5:10-7:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Policy Writing: Best Practices in White Paper and Memo Writing
Drew Westmoreland, Epidemiology, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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.
Tuesday, October 18th, 5:10-6:45 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Science and Engineering Writing Workshops

Practical Tips for Writing a Scientific Paper
Diane Goldenberg, Psychology, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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, active versus passive voice, and first pronoun versus third pronoun usage. We will offer tips for avoiding problems such as excess jargon and ambiguously stated hypotheses.
Thursday, November 3rd, 5:10-6:45 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

ESL Workshops

Academic Writing Skills Workshop for ESL Graduate Students
Adrienne Lynett, Applied Linguistics, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Alexandra Verini, English, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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.
1) Tuesday, September 27th, 2:00-4:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 2, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)
2) Wednesday, October 5th, 5:00-7:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Email Etiquette at the University
Alexandra Verini, English, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
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.
Friday, October 14th, 12:00-2:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) (map)

Statistical Software Workshops and Consultation

Current and former workshops: http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/seminars/default.htm

Introduction to Stata
Stata is a powerful and yet easy-to-use statistical package that runs on Windows, Macintosh and Unix platforms. This class is designed for people who are just getting started using Stata. The students in the class will have a hands-on experience using Stata for statistics, graphics and data management. The class notes are the scripts for the class available to the students in the class and to others on the Internet. The Stata class notes do not contain any of the output. The class notes are not meant to be a Stata textbook or a reference manual. However, it is possible for individuals to use the class notes to help in learning Stata even if they don't enroll in the workshop.
Monday, October 3rd, 9:00-12:00pm
Location: CLICC Classroom B (third floor of the Powell Library building)
Sign up here. The workshop notes are here.

Introduction to SAS
SAS is a powerful statistical package that runs on many platforms, including Windows and Unix. This class is designed for people who are just getting started using SAS. The students in the class will have a hands-on experience using SAS for statistics, graphics, and data management. The SAS class notes do not contain any of the computer output. The class notes are not meant to be a SAS textbook or a reference manual. However, it is possible for individuals to use the class notes to help in learning SAS even if they don't enroll in the workshop.
Monday, October 10th, 9:00-12:00pm
Location: CLICC Classroom B (third floor of the Powell Library building)
Sign up here. The workshop notes are here.

Introduction to SPSS
SPSS is a very easy-to-use statistical package that runs on Windows, Macintosh and UNIX platforms. This class is designed for people who are just starting to use SPSS. The students in the class will have a hands-on experience using SPSS for doing statistics, graphics, and data management. The class notes are the scripts for the class. The SPSS class notes do not contain any of the computer output. The class notes are not meant to be an SPSS textbook or a reference manual. However, it is possible for individuals to use the class notes to help them learn SPSS even if they don't enroll in the workshop. These notes were developed using SPSS version 22, but most of the material should work with slightly earlier or later versions of SPSS.
Monday, October 17th, 9:00-12:00pm
Location: CLICC Classroom B (third floor of the Powell Library building)
Sign up here. The workshop notes are here.

Introduction to R
R is a powerful statistical package that runs on many platforms, including Windows, Macintosh and Unix. This class is designed for people who are just getting started using R. The students in the class will have a hands-on experience using R for statistics, graphics, and data management. The R class notes do not contain any of the computer output. The class notes are not meant to be an R textbook or a reference manual. However, it is possible for individuals to use the class notes to help in learning R even if they don't enroll in the workshop.
Monday, October 24th, 9:00 to 12:00pm
Location: CLICC Classroom B (third floor of the Powell Library building)
Sign up here. The workshop notes are here.

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

Research Workshops

Discovering Data, Making Maps, and Telling a Story
Andy Rutkowski, Geosppatial Librarian
In this workshop, you will discover and learn more about several databases and online platforms that provide access to data and the opportunity to make maps, including Social Explorer, SimplyMap, PolicyMap, Carto, and Odyssey JS. We will look at these resources as both data sources and as simple map-making tools. You should leave this workshop knowing more about how to find data/make maps and have a firm understanding of how to apply these tools for various research projects. We will have plenty of time for conversation and questions. This workshop is intended for a beginner audience and no map-making skills are needed.
Wednesday, October 12, 10am-11am
Location: Research Library Research East Classroom, room 21536

Research at UCLA
Allison Benedetti, Librarian for Advanced Research and Engagement
Learn to effectively navigate the Library's website, search online catalogs for books and other materials, and discover teh best databases for atciles on a given topic.
Wednesday, October 12, 4pm-5pm
Location: Research Library Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Project/Process Design for Scholars and Instructors
Zoe Borovsky, Ph.D Librarian for Digital Research and Scholarship
Nina Mamikunian, Humanities adn Social Sciences Liaison Librarian
You're faced with deadlines and cannot imagine how to get the work done. This workshop provides a way to design a flexible (and fun) process for managing any research project: digital or analog. The techniques can be used for large or small projects, preparation for exams, creating a syllabus, multiple projects, and individual or team projects. Better yet, all you need is post-its, colorful markers, and a large sheet of paper (supplies will be provided. We'll leave computers behind and head to the Sculpture Garden to de-stress as we plan. Participants are encouraged to bring yoga-mats, picnic blankets, sit-upons or beach chairs.
Thursday, October 13, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Location: Meet in the Research Library Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Dissertation De-Stress Kit
Zoe Borovsky, Ph.D. Librarian for Digital Research and Scholarship
Nina Mamikunian, Humanities adn Social Sciences Liaison Librarian
You've passed your qualifying exams and you're posed to begin work on your dissertation - but you're having trouble getting started. Or, you've worked steadily for months, but you find yourself in a slump. Now what? If you're holed up in YRL (or at home) with a stack of books and your laptop, staring at the cursor, then this workshop is just what the Dr. ordered! Using participatory design techniques, we'll brainstorm practical strategies for motivation and inspiration, building a portable "kit" designed to keep yourself going until you are PhinisheD!
Thursday, October 20, 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location: Research Library Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Los Angeles Time Photo Archive - Visualized!
Zoe Borovsky, Ph.D. Librarian for Digital Research and Scholarship
Andy Rutkowski, Geosppatial Librarian
This workshop will give you hands-on experience working with primary sources from UCLA's Digital Library Collection - and turning them into a stunning, interactive presentation (timelines and maps!) using Tableau Public's free software. You'll learn the basics of a powerful, but intuitive visualizing platform, in addition to working with free digital resources from the library collection. Finally, we'll compare mapping interfaces in Tableau with CartoDB, a more powerful database designed for mapping projects. Two for one!
Thursday, November 3, 5pm-6:30pm
Location: Research Library Research Commons Classroom, room 11630F

Research Clinic
Drop in any time between 12-2pm with your assignment or research project in any stage of completeness. Librarians with expertise in a number of humanities and social science subject areas will be on hand to help you make the most of library resources to move your work forward.
Tuesday, November 8, 12pm-2pm
Location: Charles E. Young Research Library, Lobby Area

Click the link below for more information about the research and teaching support offered by the UCLA Library: http://www.library.ucla.edu/support

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
Graduate students are encouraged to contact the Library's subject specialists for more specialized and personalized assistance with research, library resources, and subject databases; find 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.

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