The Jones White Writing Center is excited to offer our Thesis and Dissertation Writing Boot Camp for the spring 2022 semester!
Our Thesis and Dissertation Writing Boot Camp will take place via Zoom on Saturday, March 26, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT. Graduate students at all stages, including those still in coursework, are welcome to attend. We will feature four workshops (all different than our fall boot camp) and the Silent Writing Room, and we'll have graduate tutors, librarians, and other tutorials available.
We recommend that students attend several of our boot camps, starting in coursework and continuing into thesis/dissertation writing. Our boot camps offer a number of advanced writing strategies (literature review writing, source synthesis, library resources and source management, etc.), and these benefit all graduate students.
You can attend all day or part of the day and you can choose which workshops you attend. For those of you who haven't yet started your thesis or dissertation, you can come to attend many of our workshops to get a jump start on the writing process.
The Writing Center can provide attendance vouchers for any students who you would like to see attend the event. Faculty are also welcome to attend (and we had several in attendance using our Silent Writing Room).
Advanced registration is required to attend the boot camp; the Zoom URL and instructions will be sent to participants the week prior to the event.
Full Schedule for the Spring 2022 Boot Camp
Introduction to the Thesis and Dissertation Writing Boot Camp
Presented by Dana Driscoll, Professor of English and Director of the Jones White Writing Center: 11:00-11:10 a.m.
A brief introduction to how our boot camp is structured and the activities for the day. All participants are encouraged to attend.
Writing Workshop: Building Arguments and Organization Strategies for Advanced Academic Writing
Presented by Andrew Yim, Assistant Director of the Jones White Writing Center and PhD student in Composition and Applied Linguistics: 11:10-11:50 a.m.
In this advanced writing workshop, you will learn a variety of techniques for effectively writing from the literature. This work includes building your argument through sources, creating a research space, and organizing your literature review for maximum effectiveness. For this interactive workshop, please bring a working draft of a literature review you have written or are working on. This workshop is appropriate for all graduate writers engaging in working with secondary sources.
SAGE Research Methods: The Essential Online Tool for Researchers
Presented by Kelly Heider, Graduate Information Literacy Librarian: 12:00-12:50 p.m.
SAGE Research Methods is the ultimate online methods library with more than 1,000 books, reference works, journal articles, case studies, podcasts, and instructional videos by expert researchers from across the social sciences, including the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online from any scholarly publisher. The site is designed to guide users to the content they need to learn a little or a lot about their method. Built upon SAGE’s legacy of methods publishing, SAGE Research Methods is the essential online tool for researchers. Workshop participants will learn how to: 1) use the Methods Map to explore research methods, read definitions of key terminology, and discover content relevant to their research methods journey; 2) find lists of key research methods and statistics resources in Reading Lists created by users; 3) use the Project Planner to plan their research; 4) choose an appropriate statistical method using the Which Stats Test.
Writing Results: Visualizing and Writing About Data
Presented by Jun Akiyoshi, Composition and Applied Linguistics doctoral program and Writing Center tutor: 1:00-1:50 p.m.
Presentation of results (Chapter 3 or 4 for most dissertations) is often described by graduate students as one of the most challenging to write. This presentation will cover general writing strategies including deciding how to tell the ‘story’ of your data in ways that are clear, attending to the needs of readers through intentional organization, and effective visualizing and presenting qualitative and quantitative data.
Formatting and Submitting Your Thesis or Dissertation
Presented by Willa Black, School of Graduate Studies and Reseach-Thesis/Dissertation Office and PhD student, Composition and Applied Linguistics: 2:00-2:50 p.m.
The School of Graduate Studies and Research (SGSR) Thesis/Dissertation Office will offer a complete overview of the process of preparing your thesis or dissertation to deposit. Material covered will include formatting, submitting your dissertation, preparing your signature pages, timing, addressing revisions, and choices for copyrighting your work.
Publishing Your Thesis or Dissertation and Introduction to Writing for Publication
Presented by Dana Driscoll, Professor of English and Director of the Jones White Writing Center: 3:00-3:50 p.m.
In this presentation, we’ll cover multiple strategies for publishing from your thesis or dissertation and how to overcome challenges with doing so. The workshop will cover key aspects of writing for publication in peer-reviewed journals and how this writing is different than writing a thesis, dissertation, or course paper. This workshop will also include a discussion of how to manage large amounts of feedback (from reviewers, committee members, directors) and effective revision strategies.
Silent Writing Room
With Omar Yacoub, Writing Center tutor and PhD candidate in Composition and Applied Linguistics: 11:15 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
The Silent Writing Room opens at 11:15 a.m. and stays open until 4:00 p.m. Turn off your video and audio and set aside time to write your thesis or dissertation.
Please direct any inquiries about the spring 2022 Thesis and Dissertation Boot Camp to w-center@iup.edu. We look forward to seeing you there!