Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication

Literature reviews accomplish several purposes for scholars writing up their research study, or research story, in order to summarize the scholarly conversation. In the introduction to a research article, research paper, or thesis chapter, for example, writers review research in order to provide readers with relevant background context to situate the current study. But how […]

All too often, citation is approached by students as a frustrating obstacle on the path to completing a writing assignment, rather than as an intellectual pursuit in its own right. Academic writing involves a complicated process of text integration, rather than mechanically following the rules of a particular style guide. No matter the citation style […]

Abstracts play a vital role in the communication of research. Studies show that abstracts are the most frequently read part of a research article: abstracts help researchers determine whether or not to read the entire study. But how do writers communicate the relevance and legitimacy of their research to members of the discipline, and beyond? […]

The research article is the most privileged form of publication in which academics present their intellectual contributions. As such, research article conclusions offer writers several final opportunities to engage with readers in this high-stakes writing situation. With conclusions in mind, the facilitator explores some of the organizational patterns of research articles written in English, while […]

Researchers who study academic writing across the disciplines offer a number of evidence-based models for the macro-structure of research grant proposals. This writing workshop draws on that body of research to produce a versatile, malleable, and dynamic model or heuristic to help solve the problem of what a grant proposal achieves and how. Facilitator: Dr. Patty Kelly, Centre for […]

Literature reviews accomplish several purposes for scholars writing up their research study, or research story, in order to summarize the scholarly conversation. In the introduction to a research article, research paper, or thesis chapter, for example, writers review research in order to provide readers with relevant background context to situate the current study. But how […]

This workshop is designed for graduate students applying for the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (CGS-D) from the national funding agencies: CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC. Drawing on evidence-based research about successful grant proposals, facilitators discuss particular elements of this written academic genre: audience, purpose, knowledge gap, competence claim, structure, style, and more. The workshop includes […]

“Study A showed that …” “Study B showed that…” Have you ever wondered how verbs like show function in describing and summarizing previous studies when writing your literature review, and what alternative verbs are available for you to tell your research story? By focusing on the use of reporting verbs in published research articles, the facilitator will discuss citation strategies in […]

How does one give a successful academic talk? “Make eye contact,” “be confident,” “dress professionally”… The advice that we often receive tends to focus on the performance aspect of “presenting”, rather than viewing it as an opportunity to communicate and further our research. This workshop aims to help participants develop a better understanding of how to […]

One of the major challenges that academic writers encounter is making connections within the text, for example, making comparisons and drawing conclusions. Rather than counting on readers to figure out the meaning of a difficult text, academic writing requires writers to make clear connections between ideas. In this workshop, we introduce a variety of academic […]

This workshop is designed for graduate students applying for the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (CGS-D) and the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Drawing on evidence-based research about successful grant proposals, the facilitator reviews the contextual, stylistic, and structural elements of this particular type of academic writing in English. The workshop includes examples of successful UBC […]

This in-person workshop is designed for graduate students applying for the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (CGS-D). Drawing on evidence-based research about successful grant proposals, the facilitator reviews the contextual, stylistic, and structural elements of this particular type of academic writing in English. The workshop includes examples of successful UBC CGS-D proposals (CIHR, NSERC, and […]