Teachers’ Language Development Centre

Workshops on reading and writing for students

Semester 2 2007-2008

 

Workshop

Conducted by:

Date/Time

1

That all-important, indispensable THESIS: you DON’T have an essay without it

Dr Pat Wong

Thur, 14-Feb-08

12.30pm – 2.30pm

2

Coping with reading in your courses.

Mrs Cynthia Macknish

Fri, 15-Feb-08

10.30am – 12.30pm

3.

Purposeful reading for essay writing

Dr Antonia Chandra

Thur, 21-Feb-08

4.30pm – 6.30pm

4.

Mechanics of citation

Mrs Cynthia Macknish

Wed, 5-Mar-08

10.30am – 12.30pm

5

How to position VOICE in creative writing or essay writing

Dr Pat Wong

Fri, 7-Mar-08

12.30pm – 2.30pm

6.

How to use sources (course reading) to impress in assignment writing

Dr Antonia Chandra

Thur, 13-Mar-08

4.30pm – 6.30pm

 

Interested?

Just turn up at the venue at the stated time. ▪ No registration required ▪ No charge (This means no printed notes can be supplied, but notes will be available online after the workshop.)

30 places available ▪ Admission on a first come first served basis.

 

 

 

Information on workshop topics

 

Coping with reading in your courses (back to top)

This workshop aims to help you manage heavy reading loads with less stress. You will be introduced to skills and strategies for more efficient and effective reading such as: skimming, questioning the text, noting key points, and reviewing. Opportunities will be given to practice the skills learned so participants are asked to bring a sample of an assigned reading to the workshop.

 

 

That all-important, indispensable THESIS (back to top)

This workshop deals with the most essential part of any essay—the THESIS. The thesis is not a mere description of the topic or a restatement of the question; it is the stance or position the writer takes in dealing with a topic. Without this stance the essay is direction-less and at best a hodgepodge of information.

 

 

How to position VOICE in creative writing or essay writing (back to top)

We often don’t realize that how we position our “voice” when we write an essay or when we write a short story makes a difference in the overall effectiveness of the piece of writing. In creative writing that “voice” comes through the narrator or persona in the telling of the “story”. In expository writing “voice” is also the essential mediator between the writer and the reader— do you choose to be the mere conveyor of “facts” or do you choose to be more involved with your reader, in other words to position yourself as more than the purveyor of information?

 

 

Purposeful reading for essay writing (back to top)

There always seems to be too much to read in a limited time before writing an essay (or other written assignment). How can we quickly identify what parts of which articles to read? How do we know what we should extract from our reading to develop the argument in the essay? This workshop shows you how to do purpose-directed reading and write the essay at the same time. To practice the skills taught, bring a writing assignment and a piece of course reading. 

 

 

Mechanics of citation (back to top)

This workshop aims to help you avoid plagiarism by properly acknowledging sources used in your academic writing. Participants will be made aware of the principles of referencing including how to introduce citations and format references accurately in APA style. Some of the more complex aspects of referencing will be discussed such as citing un-named authors and dealing with electronic sources. Opportunities will be given to apply the formatting styles learned

 

 

How to use sources (course reading) to impress in assignment writing (back to top)

When writing essays many students do little more than state knowledge they have read on the topic. This workshop will show students how to use knowledge from course readings to serve a persuasive purpose in arguing their thesis in an essay.