All Workshops

Virtual Writing Workshop Offerings

Our writing workshops provide Cal undergraduates with the tools to take their writing to the next level! Writers will practice key elements of academic writing and acquire a clear understanding of writing conventions and expectations at Cal. They will come away with an enhanced ability to create a strong essay and the confidence to project their academic voice.

We are offering the following five workshops and a weekly virtual writing group this semester. Click below to see dates and times and to RSVP! If you're interested in any of the topics but the workshop times do not work for you, sign up to request a topical consultation for groups and individual student writers. Please send a request or questions to slcwritingprg@berkeley.edu and we will work with you to schedule a session!

Our Spring 2024 Virtual Workshop Series: Undergraduate Thesis Workshops

In It to Win It: Generating Your Action Plan to Finish Early

This workshop provides the roadmap for your research process over the next five weeks. We will discuss strategies for making steady progress on your project and revisit the resources available to you on campus. You will leave with a concrete timeline for completing your project and the toolkit to move from your current draft to a successful final product.

Wednesday, 3/13 || 12PM-1PM || RSVP to receive the Zoom link!  (bmail login required)

Monday, 3/25 || 12PM-1PM || RSVP to receive the Zoom link!  (bmail login required)

Staying Inspired: Letting Your Lit Review Sing 

This workshop covers strategies for organizing your readings into a lit review that sings. We will discuss concrete tools for organizing your sources’ arguments and putting your project in conversation with scholars in your field. You will come away with the know-how to generate a strong lit review - one that reveals the significance, originality, and potential of your research.

Wednesday, 3/20 || 12PM-1PM || RSVP to receive the Zoom link!  (bmail login required)

Tuesday, 3/26 || 12PM-1PM || RSVP to receive the Zoom link!  (bmail login required)

Mapping and Remapping: Molding the Narrative of Your Thesis

This workshop offers strategies for refining your research question and paper organization to reflect the shifting terrain of your project. We will review the qualities of an intellectually significant research question, as well as strategies for plotting your chapters and presenting your findings in a coherent and concise manner. You will leave with a clearer understanding of the overall direction of your research, and a renewed sense of focus to complete your project.

Wednesday, 3/27 || 12PM-1PM || RSVP to receive the Zoom link!  (bmail login required)

Keeping Up with Your Kreative Juices: Reaching the Finish Line

This workshop is designed to get your writing juices flowing. We will cover creative strategies for sustaining your stamina and renewing your energy when working on a long-term writing project. Whether you are 5, 20, or 50 pages into your thesis, you will come away with the tools to stay inspired, focused, and motivated as you enter the last weeks of your project.

Wednesday, 4/3 || 12PM-1PM || RSVP to receive the Zoom link!  (bmail login required)

The "Re-" in Research: Realizing Your Vision Through Revision 

This workshop covers strategies for cultivating your critical eye to improve your paper. You will acquire the tools to deepen your analysis, bolster your organization, and enliven your writing. Whether you are incorporating your advisor’s feedback or restructuring an entire chapter, you will come away with an enhanced understanding that writing is rewriting and that the best way to strengthen your research is through revision. 

Wednesday, 4/10 || 12PM-1PM || RSVP to receive the Zoom link!  (bmail login required)

Weekly Writer Hours

This weekly writing space is designed to get your writing juices flowing and offers you a consistent space to get your writing done. We will cover creative strategies for sustaining your stamina and renewing your energy when working on a long-term writing project. Whether you are 5, 20, or 50 pages into your thesis, you will come away with the tools to stay inspired, focused, and motivated as you draft your project.

If interested in a weekly writing group, contact us at slcwritingprg@berkeley.edu!

Past Workshop Offerings

Academic Writing 

Our academic writing workshops provide Cal undergraduates with the tools to take their writing to the next level! Writers will practice key elements of academic writing and acquire a clear understanding of writing conventions and expectations at Cal. They will come away with an enhanced ability to create a strong essay and the confidence to project their academic voice.

Workshops are available by request to courses, groups, and individual student writers. Please send a request to slcwritingprg@berkeley.edu and we will work with you to schedule a session!

Our Virtual Workshops: 

Hooking 'em with One Sentence: Make a Statement with Your Thesis

The thesis statement is the heart of the academic essay: It identifies your main argument, informs the reader of the purpose of your essay, controls and focuses your discussion, and gives your paper a clear sense of direction. In this hands-on workshop, we will unpack key components of a thesis statement and practice the tools to construct an effective statement from scratch.

On Firm Ground: Bolstering the Structure of Your Essay 

In this workshop, we will unpack key structural elements of the academic essay and practice the tools to construct a solid paper. You will come away with a renewed appreciation for paragraphing and an enhanced ability to organize your ideas.

Take Your Writing to the Next Level: Revision Strategies that Work

In this workshop, we will discuss the centrality of revision to the writing process and present concrete strategies for improving your paper. You will come away with your critical eye activated and the ability to apply your critical eye to your paper. You will become more adept at balancing complexity with nuance, creativity with precision, and simplicity with clarity.

Navigate Grammar (and Have a Blast Doing It): Making the Rules Sing For You

Come engage in hands-on, fun-filled activities to further strengthen your grasp of grammar - from sentence structure to punctuation! Whether you are a speaker of one or several languages, you will benefit from [re]acquainting yourself with many of the rules that shape and enrich English-language writing.

Small Changes, Big Impact: Useful Tips for Last-Minute Editing

Come explore quick strategies for polishing your paper when you don’t have the luxury of time! Find out how you can spot careless errors and implement quick changes to elevate your writing.

Reading and Composition 

Designed to complement R&C writing instruction, our workshops offer an inclusive learning space for R&C students to further strengthen their writing skills. From thesis development to grammar exercises, writers will review the fundamentals of academic writing and practice the tools to engage effectively with the writing process. They will come away with concrete strategies for writing clearly, cogently, and convincingly as well as an enhanced understanding of writing conventions and expectations at Cal. 

Workshops are available by request to courses, groups, and individual student writers. Please submit a request to slcwritingprg@berkeley.edu and we will work with you to schedule a session!

Research 

Our research workshops support Cal undergraduates in their journey to become scholars. Come join us for an interactive conversation about the function of research and explore the skills to strengthen your scholarly voice. Find out how you can animate the process of knowledge production and contribute to Cal’s mission as one of the world’s leading centers for research.

Workshops are available by request to courses, groups, and individual student writers. Please send a request to slcwritingprg@berkeley.edu and we will work with you to schedule a session!

Our Virtual Workshops:

Kick Start Your Research: Making Plans to Stay Ahead

This workshop will get you started on your research project. We will cover faculty expectations of research at Cal, walk through the general structure of a research paper, and explore the resources available to student researchers on campus. From the Deep Web to the Main Stacks, you will acquire the know-how to navigate the research process at Cal. Whether you’re eager to get started or unsure how to begin, you will leave the session with a realistic and accomplishable action plan that will keep you engaged and on-track to finish strong.

Scholar, Activated: From Curiosities to Tangible Research Questions 

This workshop offers strategies for bringing your research project into sharper focus. We will discuss qualities of a feasible research project, and explore elements of an intellectually significant research question. Whether you are overflowing with ideas or still looking for inspiration, you will come away with an enhanced understanding of how to choose your subject, identify your audience, focus your research effort, and come up with your research question.

From the Archives and Back: Making Meaning of Your Sources 

Engaging with primary and secondary sources is integral to the research process. It informs your scholarly voice, shapes the direction of your research, and strengthens your claim. This workshop provides you concrete strategies for analyzing and making meaning of your sources. You will come away with a healthy dose of scholarly skepticism and the skills to discern the validity and rigor of scientific evidence. Ultimately, you will understand how evidence can be used to convince the reader of your claim.

Break Ground: Building the Paper You Envisioned 

This workshop is designed to get your writing juices flowing. We will cover strategies for transforming your findings and observations into a coherent, well-supported, and well-written research paper. You will discover creative ways to stay committed to the writing process and allow your vision to materialize. Whether you’re still brainstorming or already working on a draft, you will come away with a sound structure for your paper, a clear plan of action, and a renewed motivation to reach the finish line.

Let Your Writing Sing: Realizing Your Vision Through Revision 

Now that you have turned in your research proposal, analyzed your primary and secondary sources, and produced a draft of your research paper, you could benefit from a discerning reader to help you strengthen your work. This hands-on workshop provides you with concrete strategies for becoming your own discerning reader. You will come to appreciate revision as an integral, and rewarding, part of the writing process, and will leave with the tools to bolster your critical eye, strengthen your organization, and enliven your writing.

Undergraduate Thesis Writing  

The honors/senior thesis is an opportunity for undergraduates to advance knowledge in a meaningful and often transformative way. This hands-on, writing-focused workshop series covers strategies for finishing your thesis with time to spare. Come join a community of fellow thesis writers and find out how you can craft your findings into a coherent, compelling, and well-written thesis in five weeks. Join us for one or all sessions!

Workshops are available by request to courses, groups, and individual student writers. Please send a request to slcwritingprg@berkeley.edu and we will work with you to schedule a session!

Our Virtual Workshops:

In It to Win It: Generating Your Action Plan to Finish Early 

This workshop provides the roadmap for your research process over the next five weeks. We will discuss strategies for making steady progress on your project and revisit the resources available to you on campus. You will leave with a concrete timeline for completing your project and the toolkit to move from your current draft to a successful final product.

Staying Inspired: Letting Your Lit Review Sing

This workshop covers strategies for organizing your readings into a lit review that sings. We will discuss concrete tools for organizing your sources’ arguments and putting your project in conversation with scholars in your field. You will come away with the know-how to generate a strong lit review - one that reveals the significance, originality, and potential of your research.

Mapping and Remapping: Molding the Narrative of Your Thesis 

This workshop offers strategies for refining your research question and paper organization to reflect the shifting terrain of your project. We will review qualities of an intellectually significant research question, as well as strategies for plotting your chapters and presenting your findings in a coherent and concise manner. You will leave with a clearer understanding of the overall direction of your research, and a renewed sense of focus to complete your project. 

Keeping Up with Your Kreative Juices: Reaching the Finish Line 

This workshop is designed to get your writing juices flowing. We will cover creative strategies for sustaining your stamina and renewing your energy when working on a long-term writing project. Whether you are 5, 20, or 50 pages into your thesis, you will come away with the tools to stay inspired, focused, and motivated as you enter the last weeks of your project.

The "Re-" in Research: Realizing Your Vision Through Revision 

This workshop covers strategies for cultivating your critical eye to improve your paper. You will acquire the tools to deepen your analysis, bolster your organization, and enliven your writing. Whether you are incorporating your advisor’s feedback or restructuring an entire chapter, you will come away with an enhanced understanding that writing is rewriting and that the best way to strengthen your research is through revision.