Workshop Calendar: Spring 2025
Want to make your sentences clearer and more concise? Unsure of where to start with articulating a research problem? Wondering how to organize your essays or what to include in your statement of purpose for graduate school? This semester, the Expository Writing Program at NYU is offering a set of online and in person workshops. See below for details!
Full workshop descriptions (with links and locations) after the calendar!
(You need to be logged into your NYU account to access the registration forms and zoom links.)
| Undergraduate / MA Writing Workshops
Spring 25 @ a glance |
Feb | Mar | Apr |
| How to Write Better than a Chatbot: Developing your own voice and style. |
Noelle Molé Liston
Fri. 2/7 12:30 – 145 PM
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| Thinking Through the Clutter: Writing a Grant Proposal (open to all grants) |
David Ellis
Tue. 2/11 4 – 5:15 PM
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| Mapping Meaning: Essay Structure and Organization | Mark Braley
Thu. 2/13 2 – 3:15 PM In person
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| I Have to Do … What? Breaking Down the Parts of an Academic Paper |
Tania Friedel
Fri. 2/14 2 – 3:15 PM In person
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| Grammar and Flow: Improving Sentence Clarity | Joshua Weber
Wed. 2/19 5:30 – 6:45 PM In person
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David Foley
Tue. 3/11 5 – 6:15 PM on Zoom
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| What Counts as Cheating? Using AI ethically | Xander Landfair
Thu. 2/20 1 – 2:15 PM In person
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| Writing as Exploration: Approaches to the Multi-Step Draft | Ben Gassman
Mon. 2/24 5:30 – 6:45 PM In person
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| Close Reading: Making Sense of Complex Texts | Brian Schwartz
Wed. 2/26 1:30 – 2:45 PM on Zoom
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| Information Overload: How to Research Strategically | Conor Creaney
Mon. 3/10 5 – 6:45 PM on Zoom |
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| Putting Sources in Conversation: Writing the Literature Review |
El Glasberg
Thu. 3/13 6 PM – 7:15 In person
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Joe Califf
Tue. 4/8 2 – 3:15 PM In person
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| Help! I’m Applying to Grad School! Writing a Statement of Academic Purpose for Doctoral Programs |
Joe Califf
Tue. 3/18 2 – 3:15 PM In person
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| Thinking Through the Clutter: Writing a Grant Proposal for DURF |
David Ellis
Wed. 3/19 6:45 – 8 PM In person
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| Avoiding Plagiarism: Easy and Effective Citation | David Foley
Thu. 3/20 5 – 6:15 PM In person
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| URC Poster Presentation | David Ellis
Mon. Apr 21 6:45 – 7:45 PM In person
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| URC Panel Presentation | David Ellis
Wed. Apr 23 6:45 – 7:45 PM In person
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Please note that it is our policy as a program to not distribute recordings or slides after the event; our workshops are designed to be interactive and tailored for students in the moment, not for asynchronous learning.
Workshop Descriptions
How to Write Better than a Chatbot: Developing your own voice and style (for undergraduates and graduate students)
The workshop will examine academic writing in two interconnected scales: the macro level, the tone, ethos, and voice of writing as a whole, and the micro level, the construction of complex sentences, diction, and word choice. Challenging received notions about academic writing, we will focus on strategies on how to make our scholarly prose lucid, compelling–even beautiful–and learn how to more eloquently express your authorial ethos.
With Professor Noelle Mole´ Liston
Fri, Feb. 7 at 12:30 – 1:45 PM, on Zoom
Thinking Through the Clutter: Writing a Grant Proposal (open to ALL GRANTS)
How can you articulate the complexity of your research project in just a handful of pages? How do you write for both an inside and outside reader, revealing the pointed intervention you are making within the discipline while also arguing for the broader significance of your research? This workshop will introduce fundamental principles of writing proposals that travel across disciplines by uncovering the formal and rhetorical structures that make up the genre. We will read professional models and explore practical strategies for mapping out your research problem in context of your discipline, as well as introduce helpful free-writing strategies to get you started.
With Professor David Ellis
Tue, Feb. 11; 4 PM – 5:15 PM, on Zoom
I Have to Do … What? Breaking Down the Parts of an Academic Paper (for undergraduate or graduate students)
In this workshop, you will learn about what readers expect from academic writing in the humanities. We will break down the different parts of an academic paper, like the literature review, the problem, the methods, etc. Using examples from both professional and student writers, we’ll show you different ways your writing can be structured, and we’ll share specific words and phrases to help your readers follow your logic
With Professor Tania Friedel
Wed, Feb. 12; 12:30 – 1:45 PM, in person
Mapping Meaning: Essay Structure and Organization (for undergraduates only)
Are you often unsure how to organize your various thoughts on the page? Are you worried about overwhelming your readers with too many ideas that don’t flow in a clear, logical order? In this workshop, we will discuss the difference between a simple essay structure, which risks redundancy, and a complex essay structure, where each idea purposefully leads to the next. We will then introduce several tools that writers use to structure their essays in a way that guides readers through the logical arc of their prose. At the end of the workshop, we will offer a chance to practice applying those tools to your own writing. You are invited to bring a recent essay draft.
With Professor Mark Braley
Thu, Feb. 13; 1 – 2:25 PM, in person
Grammar & Flow: Improving Sentence Clarity (for undergraduates only)
Curious about improving the flow of your writing? Want to revise awkward, passive sentences into clear, active ones? Join one of our small group Sentence Clarity Workshops, led by an EWP professor, where you will learn key strategies for improving the style of your writing, and apply what you’ve learned to your own draft.
With Profesor Joshua Weber
Wed, Feb. 19; 5:30 – 6:45 PM, in person
With Professor David Foley
Tue, March 11; 5 – 6:15 PM, on Zoom
What Counts as Cheating? Using AI Ethically (for undergraduates only)
“Am I allowed to use AI in this class?” Since ChatGPT’s arrival, it may feel harder to know what counts as cheating. And it may be still harder to distinguish between ways of using AI that will promote or undermine your learning. In this workshop, we’ll help you to untangle the AI policies in your classes, and help you to create boundaries and strategies for maintaining academic integrity and promoting learning. Students should bring copies of AI policies of their courses, if available
With Professor Xander Landfair
Thu, Feb. 20; 1 – 2:25 PM, in person
Writing as Exploration: Approaches to the Multi-Step Draft (for undergraduates only)
Rather than relying on an innate talent, academics approach writing as a practice that can be developed and honed with attention and time. In this workshop, we will discuss writing as a way of thinking. We will discuss habits of mind and practical tools that help academics both generate new ideas and complicate or extend their initial ideas in a continuous way. To do so, we will turn to Writing Studies research that illuminates how experienced writers (academics, journalists, and editors) differ from inexperienced writers in their daily practice. In light of this research, we will discuss writing as a multi-step process: one that allows writers to explore, push, and complicate their thinking about a problem while taking intellectual risks and often surprising themselves. The tools and metacognitive practices we will discuss in this workshop are designed to serve writers in academic projects as well as beyond academia, in the world today.
With Professor Ben Gassman
Mon, Feb. 24; 5:30 – 6:45 PM, in person
Close Reading: Making Sense of Complex Texts (for undergraduates only)
Have you ever been assigned a reading that’s rich with ideas and information, but it’s hard to get a handle on it? Ever had a hard time untangling or pinning down certain sections of a dense essay or article? This workshop will introduce reading strategies that help you break down and master the main ideas and claims in complicated texts so that they are easier to grasp, and you can use them confidently in your own writing!
With Professor Brian Schwartz
Wed, Feb. 26; 1:30 – 2:45 PM, on Zoom
Information Overload: How to Research Strategically (for undergraduates or graduate students)
It’s easy to get lost in your research, overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of writing about your chosen subject and losing your focus along the way. This workshop will introduce strategies for arriving at meaningful and manageable research questions. We will also discuss how to narrow your search to discover relevant source material. Finally, we will apply these strategies to your individual assignments to help you gain a better understanding of your research goals.
With Professor Conor Creaney
Mon, March 10; 5 – 6:15 PM, on Zoom
Putting Sources in Conversation: Writing the Literature Review (for undergraduates and graduate students)
An in-depth look at arguably the most important (and daunting!) section of an academic paper: the literature review. In this workshop, we will look at model literature reviews from a variety of disciplines to better understand the structure, goals, and purpose. We will then consider different rhetorical strategies for putting texts in conversation as well as explore how you can create a space within this conversation to assert your own argument or position. Finally, we will introduce a schema for categorizing sources by their rhetorical function to gain more insight into the kinds of sources we need to orchestrate a substantive conversation and compose a thoughtful literature review.
With Professor El Glasberg
Thu, March 13; 6 – 7:15 PM, in person
With Professor Joe Cailiff
Tue, April 8; 2 – 3:15 PM, in person
Help! I’m Applying to Grad School! Writing a Statement of Academic Purpose for Doctoral Programs
Nearly all grad programs require a statement of academic purpose as part of the application. This workshop is focused on advice for doctoral students, though the advice generally holds true for Masters programs. In it, you will identify what parts of your experience you should focus on, clarify the expectations of your audience/selection committee, discuss commonly held misconceptions about narrative hooks and generalizations, offer advice on securing letters of recommendation and review the drafting process. You’ll leave with a clearly defined list of writing tasks and research priorities.
With Professor Joe Califf
Tue, March 18; 2 -3:15 PM, in person
Thinking Through the Clutter: Writing a Grant Proposal (for DURF only)
How can you articulate the complexity of your research project in just a handful of pages? How do you write for both an inside and outside reader, revealing the pointed intervention you are making within the discipline while also arguing for the broader significance of your research? This workshop will introduce fundamental principles of writing proposals that travel across disciplines by uncovering the formal and rhetorical structures that make up the genre. We will read professional models and explore practical strategies for mapping out your research problem in context of your discipline, as well as introduce helpful free-writing strategies to get you started. Please Note: This workshop will apply generally to all grants.
With Professor David Ellis
Wed, March 19; 6:45 – 8 PM, in person
Avoiding Plagiarism: Easy and Effective Citation (for undergraduates only)
Avoiding plagiarism is a crucial responsibility in university and professional work. But did you know that most plagiarism among students occurs accidentally, often bringing unexpected issues and challenges? In this workshop, a professor from NYU’s writing program will guide you through step-by-step strategies you can use to clearly represent and correctly cite source material so plagiarism can be avoided.
With Professor David Foley
Thurs, March 20; 5 – 6:15 PM, in person
URC Poster Presentation
In order to help participants prepare for the Undergraduate Research Conference, this poster presentation workshop will provide an overview of the main principles of poster design. We will focus both on the theoretical and practical aspects of communicating research and help participants jumpstart planning their posters. Students attending the sessions are strongly encouraged to bring current drafts of the talking points and other materials from their research project to receive critique and guidance from fellow students and workshop facilitator
With Professor David Ellis
Mon, Apr 21; 6:45 – 7:45 PM, in person
25 West 4th Street, Room 602
URC Panel Presentation
This panel presentation workshop will help participants prepare for presenting their research projects at the Undergraduate Research Conference. We will address the main principles of clear and effective presentations and offer tips on how to distill your proposed research to a broader audience, comprised of thoughtful, curious, but non-expert listeners. Participants will practice how to “nutshell” research so that others can quickly grasp its significance. Students attending the sessions are strongly encouraged to bring current drafts of the talking points and other materials from their research project to receive critique and guidance from fellow students and workshop facilitators.
With Professor David Ellis
Wed, Apr 23; 6:45 – 7:45 PM, in person
25 West 4th St. Room 602