Winter 2017 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, Graduate Division, the Institute for Digital Research and Education, Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Career Center.

General Workshops

Self-Editing Strategies for Non-Native Speakers of English
Alexandra Verini, English
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.
Friday, January 13th, 12:00-1:45pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Dissertation Writing Groups, Support Groups, and Resources for Dissertators
Dr. Aleksandra Kalinich, Counseling and Psychological Services
Marilyn Gray, Graduate Writing Center Director
The workshop will provide information about resources for dissertators and thesis-writers. It will present information on writing groups and support groups, including how to run your own dissertation writing group or writing partnership. Finally, at the end of the workshop, graduate students who are interested in being placed in a writing group will stay in order to form groups and discuss scheduling. If you are interested in being in a group, fill out the writing group questionnaire and bring it to the workshop.
Wednesday, January 18th, 5:10-6:45pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Strategic Reading
Allison Collins, Comparative Literature, 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.
Friday, January 27th, 12:00-1:30 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.
Tuesday, January 31st, 5:10-7:00 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.
Friday, February 17th, 12:00-2:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Workshops on Writing Grants and Fellowships

Writing the Fulbright-Hays Fellowship Application
Marilyn Gray, Graduate Writing Center Director
Estevan Hernandez, Graduate Division Fellowship Services
This workshop will cover strategies for writing the Fulbright Hays fellowship application. We will discuss the structure and content of key documents using examples. We will cover writing tips for fellowship applications as well as specific advice for the Fulbright Hays.
Thursday, February 2nd, 4:00-6:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

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, February 3rd, 12:00-1:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Humanities Writing Workshops

Strategies for Writing the Humanities Dissertation Prospectus
Eric Newman, English
This workshop is geared towards giving incipient prospectus writers the tools to write their prospectus over the course of two months. We will discuss literature review and argument development as well as how to turn the many different pieces of a prospectus into a coherent document. Nota bene: this is meant to be an addition to--not a substitution for--serious discussions with your advisor about what is expected of you in your home department.
Thursday, January 19th, 5:00-7:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Writing the Fulbright-Hays Fellowship Application
Marilyn Gray, Graduate Writing Center Director
Estevan Hernandez, Graduate Division Fellowship Services
This workshop will cover strategies for writing the Fulbright Hays fellowship application. We will discuss the structure and content of key documents using examples. We will cover writing tips for fellowship applications as well as specific advice for the Fulbright Hays.
Thursday, February 2nd, 4:00-6:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Social Sciences Writing Workshops

Strategies for Writing the Social Sciences Dissertation Proposal
Mercedes Douglass, Anthropology
This workshop will give an overview of the main components of a dissertation proposal in the social sciences and cover strategies for writing the introduction, literature review, methods, and significance sections. These strategies should be adapted to your department's and advisor's expectations about the structure and content of your proposal. If you have preliminary drafts of an abstract or research questions, please bring them.
Thursday, January 26th, 5:00-7:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Preparing a Conference Poster in the Social Sciences
Anne Blackstock-Bernstein, Education
This workshop will cover strategies for designing and presenting conference posters. We will examine various template styles, discuss expected content, and review tips for orally presenting your poster. We will also identify various campus resources for printing posters.
Thursday, February 9th, 5:10-7:00pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Conference Proposals and Presentations in the Social Sciences
Anne Blackstock-Bernstein, Education
This workshop will cover strategies for preparing conference proposals/abstracts and for presenting papers orally at conferences. We will address the expected content of a submission as well as the structure and aesthetics of typical 10-20 minute presentations. We will specifically focus on using PowerPoint as a platform.
Thursday, February 23rd, 5:10-7:00pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Science and Engineering Writing Workshops

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, February 3rd, 12:00-1:30 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Preparing a Conference Poster in the Sciences
Katelyn Caslavka, Biochemistry
This workshop will cover strategies for preparing and presenting a poster at conferences. We will address how to write an abstract for a poster presentation and general content and structure of presented posters. We will also discuss how to use PowerPoint to format a poster.
Tuesday, February 7th, 5:15-6:15pm
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )

Conference Proposals and Presentations in the Sciences
Katelyn Caslavka, Biochemistry
This workshop will cover strategies for presenting at conferences. We will address how to effectively prepare the abstract, figures, and PowerPoint slides as well as appropriate structure, content, and format for a conference presentation. We will specifically discuss the 10-minute talk format and how that structure can also be adapted for longer talks.
Thursday, March 2nd, 5:10-6:45 PM
Location: Conference Room 4, Student Activities Center (basement level) ( map )
{Please note: we are considering an alternate location for this workshop. Please check back to confirm.}

ESL Workshops

Statistical Software Workshops and Consultation

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

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

Collaborative Writing with Authorea (sixty minutes)
Friday, January 20, 2-3 p.m. in Young Research Library, Research Commons Classroom
and Friday, January 20, 4-5 p.m. in SEL/Boelter, Learning Commons
The UCLA Library has licensed access to Authorea, an online collaborative research writing tool, for UCLA faculty and researchers. Authorea allows authors to write and edit privately or with others, insert and format citations, add and review comments, include data and figures, and export and publish documents in 100+ journal formats. In this workshop, learn how to use Authorea to make collaborative writing easier! Taught by Alberto Pepe, Authorea CEO.

Introduction to Zotero (sixty minutes)
Monday, January 23, 4:30-5:30 p.m. in Young Research Library, Research Commons Classroom
Find out about the purpose, uses, and features of Zotero, a free, open-source application that helps researchers manage references and notes and create formatted bibliographies. Taught by Teresa Barnett, Head of The Center for Oral History Research, Charles E. Young Research Library.

EndNote for the Social Sciences and Humanities (sixty minutes)
Wednesday, February 15, 2-3 p.m. in Young Research Library, East Electronic Classroom
This hands-on session offers an overview of the EndNote citation management software program, which helps researchers manage and organize their references and automatically create and format citations and bibliographies. Taught by Gabriella Gray, librarian, Charles E. Young Research Library.

To see the most complete, current schedule of UCLA Library 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.