Summer/Early Fall 2019 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

Workshop Videos

General Workshops

UCLA IRB Review: Policy and Procedures
Moore Rhys, UCLA Office of the Human Research Protections Program (OHRPP)
This workshop will provide an overview of the UCLA IRB application process and related policies and procedures.
Thursday, July 18th, 3:00-4:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Creating Effective Figures and Visual Aids for Conference Presentations and Publications
Gaurav Kandlikar, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
This workshop focuses on strategies for designing effective figures and visual materials for conference presentations, publications, and other contexts. The workshop will also introduce different software packages that can be used to create high-quality figures, and offer further resources for learning these programs.
Wednesday, August 7th, 3:00-4:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Writing the Personal Statement
Robert K. Smith, English, 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, September 5th, 5:30-6:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Social Sciences Workshops

Managing and Publishing Research Data
Jamie Jamison, UCLA Library Data Science Center
This workshop will cover best practices for managing research data generated in the social sciences. Topics include: rationale for data management planning; best practices for collecting and organizing research data; best practices for protecting privacy and confidentiality and publishing your research data. Additionally, the workshop will cover publishing topics such as ORCID, Zenodo, DOIs, and data citation.
Thursday, August 8th, 3:30-5:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 3, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

ESL Workshops

Self-Editing Strategies for Non-Native Speakers of English
Adrienne Lynett, GWC Program Manager
This workshop will provide concrete strategies and online tools to enable non-native speakers of English to make appropriate vocabulary choices and approach issues like article and preposition usage in their own writing projects.
Thursday, July 25th, 3:00-4:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Grants/Fellowships Workshops

Writing the Fulbright U.S. Fellowship Application
Jay Johnson, Fulbright Recipient, Writing Consultant
Shannon Yu, Graduate Division Fellowship Services
This workshop will cover strategies for writing the Fulbright U.S. fellowship application. We will discuss the structure and content of key documents using examples. We will address writing tips for fellowship applications as well as specific advice for this Fulbright fellowship.
Thursday, July 11th, 3:30-5:00 PM
Location: Bunche 6275 (History Department Conference Room)

Applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Maureen Sampson, Molecular Toxicology, NSF GRF Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Amber Villalobos, Sociology, NSF GRF Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Rob Ulrich, Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, NSF GRF Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Shannon Yu, Graduate Division Fellowship Services
Cherie Francis, 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.
1) Thursday, August 1st, 3:00-4:30 PM
Location: Career Center, Room 200 (2 nd Floor)
2) Friday, August 30th, 12:00-1:30 PM
Location: Career Center, Room 200 (2 nd Floor)

Writing Successful Grant and Fellowship Applications (Science and Engineering Focus)
Macrina Cooper-White, Psychology, NDSEG Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Rob Ulrich, Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, NSF GRF Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Jaime De Anda, Bioengineering, NSF GRF Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
Cherie Francis, Graduate Division Fellowship Services
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, August 28th, 3:00-5:00 PM
Location: Conference Rooms 1-2, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Writing Successful Grant and Fellowship Applications (Humanities and Social Science focus)
Adrienne Lynett, Graduate Writing Center Program Manager
Cherie Francis, Graduate Division Fellowship Services
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.
Thursday, September 12th, 3:00-5:00 PM
Location: Conference Rooms 1-2, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Applying for the NIH Training Fellowship
Karen Cheng, NIH NRSA Recipient, Graduate Writing Center Consultant
This workshop will cover the application process and required components of an NIH NRSA application. We will discuss preparation, documents needed, and writing strategies. The workshop will mainly focus on NIH Grant F31, but F30 and F32 are very similar. The workshop will also address how to find appropriate materials/resources for a complete application.
Friday, September 27th, 12:00-1:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Statistical Software Workshops and Consultation

Current and former workshops may be found here.

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.

Research Workshops at the Library

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

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.