On February 3, our Outreach and Workshops teams collaborated to represent The UCWbL at this year’s Thesis and Dissertation Conference. The conference, organized by DePaul’s Office of Adult, Veteran and Commuter Student Affairs, featured a variety of presentations and workshops for graduate students at all levels of the writing process. The UCWbL gave presentations on three topics.
Creating an Editing Game Plan
Presented by Savy Leiser & Lo Hunter
After a fun breakfast of free bagels and pastries, Lo and I kicked off the UCWbL presentations with a workshop on how to begin the editing process. We covered global vs. local concerns and discussed different editing strategies, like making reverse outlines and reading your work out loud.
At the end of the presentation, we gave attendees a worksheet with a freewriting activity. Everyone did some self-reflection and identified three strengths and three weaknesses in their writing. They wrote about whether those strengths and weaknesses were global or local and considered which strategies might go well with those strengths and weaknesses. After we had a full-group discussion about everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, participants were ready to create their own personalized editing game plans.
Writing Resources at DePaul: Ways to Relieve Burdens of the Writing Process
Presented by Katie Olsen and Lisa Parzefall
Katie and Lisa gave a presentation about different writing resources available at DePaul and how students can utilize those resources to make their writing process less stressful. They gave attendees an overview of services available at The UCWbL and talked about how students can go about setting up a tutoring appointment at the writing center. They walked students through every step of the process, including how to choose the right tutor for them, how to schedule an appointment, and how to attach a draft for written feedback and screencast appointments.
After explaining The UCWbL’s resources, Katie and Lisa moved on to discussing how to manage the stress that often accompanies writing. This part of the presentation focused on mindfulness techniques. Katie and Lisa discussed how graduate students can plan ahead, manage their time, and build in time for reflection and revision. They also discussed how students can use a writing center appointment to work through these steps with their tutor. They finished with a group discussion about what the writers’ next steps would be, and what strategies they plan to use to address the challenges they foresee.
One of the most fun parts of the presentation was when Katie and Lisa led a guided meditation for the audience. The meditation was a body scan, which consisted of participants grounding their bodies through acknowledging their surroundings. The meditation helped attendees feel a sense of calmness and relaxation, as well as helping them feel more mindful of themselves, keeping their minds sharp for the next stage of writing.
Surviving Revision
Presented by Katharine Romero and Marin Scott
Katharine and Marin presented during the final presentation block of the day. Their presentation, “Surviving Revision,” walked attendees through the different stages of the revision process. They started off by differentiating revising from proofreading.
They also discussed the importance of organization in writing and talked about ways to organize the introduction and the conclusion of a larger work. Then, attendees broke into small groups of 2 or 3 and discussed what strategies they found helpful in the revision process. After that, Katharine and Marin left time for a Q&A before closing out the final presentation of the conference.
Overall, the UCWbL covered many different writing strategies at the conference, from time management to proofreading, from brainstorming to revision. It was a successful day of sharing and generating knowledge!
Also, I would like to give a shout-out to the fajita bar we had for lunch.
Happy writing!