The University of Waterloo Writing and Communication Centre is a hub of communication and writing practice, support, and research on campus. Writing a paper? Designing a portfolio? Giving a presentation? From brainstorming to revision, understanding your assignment to presenting your work, we are here to support you in any discipline, at any stage of the communication process.
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News
The Write Spot Closed on December 11
The Writing and Communication Centre and The Write Spot will be closed on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
Last fall term in-person Grad Writing Café on December 4
The final in-person Writing Café for the fall 2024 term will be on December 4, 2024.
Hey Grad Students! We want your input!
The Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) wants to hear from you about your experience and needs as a graduate student!
Events
STEM Writers' Grad Studio: Peer Review
Ready to strengthen your STEM writing and learn the “why” and “how” behind effective STEM academic communication?
Register on Portal today!
Black, Indigenous, and Racialized Students' Writing Cafe
Write in community — not in isolation.
Learn more about our Writing Groups.
In-person Grad Writing Cafés
Grab a coffee and get writing.
Blog
Balancing Productivity and Self-Care in Grad School During COVID-19
The title of this post is misleading. It implies that productivity and self-care are separate and opposing things. But they aren’t. We can’t be productive without taking care of ourselves. This relationship between productivity and self-care is particularly important right now, during a stressful, frightening situation where expectations on all of us nonetheless remain high. While we navigate the coronavirus pandemic together, we can try three simple things to tackle our research and writing:
Revising your assignment ft. Google the rapper
Have you ever tried getting Google Translate to rap before? It’s probably one of the funniest things you can do with translate, outside of totally messing with Disney songs. When I’m not using translate as a means to laugh though, I’m using it to revise my essay by having Google read it out loud to me. Granted, that usually is also very funny, as the automated voice has a habit for tripping over lengthy sentences as well as butchering incorrect spelling of words. Use that last bit with caution though, Google Translate does have a habit for pronouncing everyday words like “get” very wrong.
Forgotten Punctuation and Shakespeare
When I was younger, the more pieces of punctuation I could add to a written work, the more I felt like some sort of literary genius. “Yeah, I’m ten and can use a comma, period, exclamation mark, and question mark within two sentences. I’m just that cool.”