Hume Writing Center

“Writing the Dissertation: Getting Started (Humanities and Social Sciences).” Hilton Obenzinger.

This workshop reviews the wide range of issues starting dissertation writers face and offers strategies for addressing them. We will review expectations, questions, and anxieties in several areas: formulating your research question; negotiating existing research literature in your field (including the “literature review”); acquiring authority in your writing; facing your audience; balancing breadth and depth; keeping personal control of your project; managing your dissertation committee; finding an effective work style. Come to the workshop with laptop or paper and pencil and be prepared to write a short exercise.

“Writing the Dissertation: Getting Started (Sciences and Engineering).” Hilton Obenzinger.

This workshop reviews the wide range of issues starting dissertation writers face and offers strategies for addressing them. We will review expectations, questions, and anxieties in several areas: formulating your research question; designing your project; negotiating existing research literature in your field and preparing the literature review; presenting adequate background; developing your methodology; writing while the experiment or data collecting is still on-going; keeping control of your project; managing your dissertation committee/lab; finding an effective work style. Come to the workshop with laptop or paper and pencil and be prepared to write a short exercise.

“Writing Clear Research Statements for Fellowship and Grant Applications (Humanities and Social Sciences).” Hilton Obenzinger.

Most fellowship and grant applications require you to succinctly describe your research to reviewers that are not be familiar with your field much less your project. In this workshop, we will review strategies for how to persuade an academic committee to give you money. Reviewers want to know what the research will accomplish, how you’re going to do it, how it’s different from other research, and why it’s important. Consequently, we will discuss how to break down your project into its salient components; present your project’s research question; formulate its major significance; describe your project’s position within the field of existing research; present your methodology. In all of this, we will discuss how to maintain intellectual or theoretical integrity while avoiding unnecessary jargon and convoluted explanations – how to translate your analytical or descriptive complexity into succinct language that reviewers will be able to understand. Come to the workshop with laptop or paper and pencil and be prepared to write a short exercise.

“Writing Clear Research Statements for Fellowship and Grant Applications (Sciences and Engineering).” Hilton Obenzinger.

Most fellowship and grant applications require you to succinctly describe your research to reviewers that are not be familiar with your field much less your project. In this workshop, we will review strategies for how to persuade an academic committee to give you money. Reviewers want to know what the research will produce, how you’re going to do it, how it’s different from other research, and why your research is significant. Consequently, we will discuss how to break down your project into its salient components; present your project’s research question, formulate its major significance; describe your project’s position within the field of existing research; present your methodology. In all of this, we will discuss how to maintain technical integrity while avoiding unnecessary jargon and convoluted explanations – how to translate your technical description into succinct language that reviewers will be able to understand. Come to the workshop with laptop or paper and pencil and be prepared to write a short exercise.

“Writing and Publishing the Journal Article (Humanities and Social Sciences).” Jonathan Hunt.

In most fields, doctoral students are expected to publish journal articles during their graduate student years. This can be a real challenge, as many peer-reviewed journals accept fewer than 15% of the submissions they receive. This workshop focuses on getting a paper accepted. We will discuss the entire process of writing, submitting, and revising a journal article. Topics to be covered include: framing and shaping the article, turning a course or conference paper into a journal article, identifying an appropriate venue, negotiating the submission process, surviving the revision process, and coping with rejection. The workshop is most helpful to graduate students in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences. Students at any stage of the writing process are welcome.

“Writing and Publishing the Journal Article (Sciences and Engineering).” Jonathan Hunt.

In most fields, doctoral students are expected to publish journal articles during their graduate student years. This can be a real challenge, as many peer-reviewed journals accept fewer than 15% of the submissions they receive. This workshop focuses on getting a paper accepted. We will discuss the entire process of writing, submitting, and revising a journal article. Topics to be covered include: framing and shaping the article, turning a course or conference paper into a journal article, identifying an appropriate venue, negotiating the submission process, surviving the revision process, and coping with rejection. The workshop is most helpful to graduate students in the fields of Sciences and Engineering. Students at any stage of the writing process are welcome.

“ Establishing and Finding an Effective Dissertation Writing Group.” Sohui Lee and Chris Golde.

Dissertation Writing Groups help advanced graduate students complete their work by providing a supportive environment for the exchange of critical feedback. These support groups have helped many students navigate the dissertation writing process and improve the quality of their dissertations along the way. But good intentions do not automatically result in productive Writing Groups. This workshop provides concrete suggestions for starting and maintaining an effective dissertation writing group, establishing a writing group for postdocs, or re-organizing an existing group. The second half of the workshop focuses on helping those interested in finding a Dissertation Writing Group to form one on the spot with those attending the workshop. Writing Groups will use the Starter Kit provided to establish their new group by clearly outlining expectations and rules. We welcome students who want to form a group for themselves but also those who are already in Dissertation Writing Groups, but want to improve feedback activities or communication.

“Finishing the Dissertation: Writing the ‘Story’ of Your Dissertation (Humanities and Social Sciences).” Clyde Moneyhun.

This workshop is meant to help graduate student writers in the Humanities and Social Sciences who have substantially written their dissertation but are confronted with structural challenges to finishing. It focuses on helping students see the formal aspects of their writing and shape their ideas into a larger, consistent narrative. The workshop offers tools such as creating a big picture argument, sustaining critical concepts through key words, tying together the loose ends of chapter ideas, and writing clear statements that appeal to non-specialist audiences.

“Publishing a Journal Article: Revising and Resubmitting.” Jonathan Hunt.

This workshop is meant to help students understand reviewer comments, lay out a plan of action, and effectively edit, revise, and resubmit their essay/article in light of reviewer feedback. While the workshop helps students who have received a "revise and resubmit" response from journal reviewers--but it can also help students who have their articles rejected but still wish to submit it to other journals.