This summer we’re offering a range of online programming to provide you with writing support:
Accountability Groups
This summer we are running two ten-week accountability groups. All accountability groups will be held over Zoom. Weekly groups will be held on:
Thursdays @ 10 AM, June 16 – August 18, register here.
Groups will begin meeting the week of June 13th, but you are welcome to join later on, space permitting. If you are interested in joining a group but the Eventbrite registration is already sold out, just send an email to writingcenter@gc.cuny.edu stating your name and the group you’d like to join. The facilitator will get in touch and let you know whether there’s room for you to join.
Dissertation and Thesis Writing Clinics
This summer, we are running three week-long clinics for dissertation and thesis writers. Conducted remotely, each clinic will bring participants together in a community of support aimed at recalibrating one’s relationship to self-structured writing time. Participants will convene each morning for a brief information session, work independently during the day, then reconvene for a group debrief in the afternoon. Participants will gain increased process-awareness of the daily habits and practices that support (and undermine) writing productivity.
Goal Setting and Time Management
In this webinar, designed for students in varying stages of the writing process, we will discuss how to schedule time and keep oneself accountable to academic research and writing goals and deadlines. We’ll discuss habitual writing goals and project-based goals. Participants will make a plan for completing their writing goals, breaking down long-term goals into manageable short-term goals. We’ll also go over some web apps that can help with this process.
Wednesday, June 8 @ 1:00 PM; register here.
Taking Smarter Notes
When doing research, many people take notes in ways that don’t help them enough. Less organized people jot down their ideas on loose papers that can easily get lost, and more organized people gather their notes into project-based books and folders that may never get consulted again when that particular project is finished. This webinar introduces participants to a particular note-taking system, the Zettelkasten, that can serve as a life-long research and learning companion. It is a way to take and store notes so that the ideas you develop over your entire career are always at hand and never get lost. Whether you are taking courses, reading for orals, or already writing your thesis or dissertation, consider the enormous long-term advantages of taking smarter notes.
Thursday, June 16 @ 12:00 PM; register here.
Revising an Essay for Publication
This webinar will introduce participants to the process of submitting an article to a peer-reviewed journal. It will cover issues like (1) the key elements of an article, (2) choosing the right journal, (3) understanding what editors and reviewers do after you submit (and the ways this knowledge may affect your revision choices); and (4) responding to reviewer comments if you get a “revise and resubmit.”
Thursday, July 7 @ 12:00 PM; register here.
Writing the Academic Job Cover Letter
The academic job cover letter is a crucial document in any candidate’s application material; often, it makes the first and most lasting impression on members of a search committee. In this webinar, participants will learn how to approach the writing of their cover letter in a way that makes a coherent and compelling argument about their suitability as a candidate rather than simply repeating information contained in their CV.
Tuesday, August 9 @ 1:00PM; register here.
Statement of Purpose for the PhD Application
Among the documents one has to craft for a PhD application, the statement of purpose is one of the trickiest to get right. On the one hand, you need to demonstrate that you have some kind of research agenda already in mind. On the other hand, you aren’t a PhD student yet, so how are you supposed to know what you are going to research? This webinar helps participants understand the expectations of the readers they are writing for and how to strike a good balance between personal narrative and academic certainty.
Wednesday, August 17 @ 1:00PM; register here.