SM

Smart sentencing: Academic Writing with Style F24

Date/Time/Location

This workshop will be offered online via Zoom on Friday, November 15 2024, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.

You will receive the Zoom link in a confirmation email once you register..

Description


This workshop aims to help graduate students with grammatical and stylistic features of English sentences that are often challenging for academic writers. You will reflect on your own academic sentences and review English sentence types and clauses. You will also learn and practice “Smart Sentence” strategies, adapted from the work of Helen Sword and others, to improve the structure and style of sentences in your papers. Using these strategies, you will be better able to transform unclear and convoluted sentences into ones that are not only grammatical, but precise, vigorous, and enjoyable to read.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  • Learn the “topic and stress” approach to sentence structure and style
  • Apply the “Flabby or Fit?” Test to their academic sentences
  • Learn Smart Sentencing strategies
  • Practice revising their work using the strategies discussed
  • Understand the “house” metaphor for sentence logic and clause combinations

Instructions

Have on hand either a draft proposal or a 1/2 to 1-page outline of a research project for which you will be (or might be) applying for a fellowship application.

Facilitator

Renée Lallier teaches academic writing to graduate and undergraduate students at the SM Writing Centre. Renée is a former CEGEP literature professor and has been an instructor with the MWC since 2014. Her current academic interests focus on helping emerging scholars write academic papers that are a pleasure rather than a chore to read.

Registration

The registration will take two (2) minutes to fill out.

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