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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About the WCC
News
University research and writing essentials: The workshop series
Introducing the WCC and the Libraries' new workshop series designed for first year undergraduate students! Learn how expectations at university differ from those in high school and find out about the many resources available to you.
Registration for Rock Your Thesis 2: Starting to Write is now full!
Heads-up #grad students! Registration for Rock Your Thesis 2: Starting to write is now full. All new registrants will be added to our waitlist, and we'll let people know in order of their signup if a spot opens up. #UWaterloo #waterloowrites
Dissertation Boot Camp - Winter 2023!
Heads up grads, the Writing and Communication Centre’s fantastic Dissertation Boot Camp program is coming back for the upcoming winter 2023 term!
Events
Scholarship Research Proposal Drop-Ins
Scholarship Research Proposal Feedback Drop-Ins
Got a draft of your research proposal? Don't know where to start? Regardless of what stage you're at, drop by to get drop-in style feedback on your proposal from our experienced advisors or graduate peer tutors. We'll have WCC staff standing by to offer feedback and answer questions about your research proposal document as you work!
The Write Spot Drop-Ins
When: Thursday, September 17 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Where: The Write Spot (2nd floor of SCH)
Multilingual Writers' Studio: Revision Strategies
Through structured activities, peer dialogue, and reflective writing, participants will build strategies to negotiate academic expectations while sustaining their own voices and identities as writers.
This 5-week workshop series integrates practical revision tools with antiracist and decolonial perspectives on writing. Drawing on Felicia Rose Chavez’s The Antiracist Writing Workshop, the program treats academic writing as a cultural practice shaped by power, rhetorical traditions, and linguistic diversity.
These 5 sessions take place every Thursday between October 1 and November 5 (no session during Reading Week).
Register for session 1 and then add the other dates to your calendar.
Publishing in Academic Journals: A workshop for graduate students
Whether you need to publish your manuscript to meet a degree milestone, are interested in building your publication record to pursue an academic career, or just want to share your research with the world, this workshop is for you! This interactive workshop will share strategies for meeting your publishing goals. You’ll learn about factors to consider in selecting a target journal, working with co-authors and making progress on your article draft, decoding editors’ decision letters, and responding to reviewers’ feedback and revising your article. You’ll also practice applying some of these strategies to your own project.
By the end of this workshop you will:
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Understand the publication process
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Identify strategies for planning, collaboration, drafting, and revising
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Practice responding to reviewer feedback
When: Tuesday, October 13 from 11:00am to 1:00pm
Where: MS Teams
Register on Portal
Blog
AI & the Writing Community
As a student within the humanities studying Professional and Creative Writing, the future can be uncertain and frightening. The basis of this uncertainty stems from a suspect that has become a staple in conversations throughout academia and the larger world itself: Artificial Intelligence.
For the past two months, I have been working at The Writing and Communication Centre here at UW and I have been reminded of one of the main pillars of writing: community! Sharing written works, from lab reports to poetry, promotes discussion, evokes feelings, and leads to inspiration to write more. Even at an individual level— almost all visitors have told me they do write for themselves in private— writing acts as an introspective, personal experience that helps one realize their own voice. This is especially true for free writing. This act, one which I partake in, helps build the confidence to go forth and join that greater writing community. Building confidence in your own work will, in turn, help you develop resilience to criticism when sharing it with others and receiving feedback.
Talking and Doing Social Justice: Broadening my Horizons at the IWCA Conference
Last month, my fellow Arts First peer tutors and I travelled to Baltimore to host a roundtable discussion at the annual conference for the International Writing Centre Association. Our presentation was on “Embodied Multiversalism in WC Staff: Fear vs Fundamental Duty to Social Justice”. We discussed our experiences navigating the often exclusionary world of academia, and considered how tutors can best support the students who come for writing assistance.
Challenging the Writing Centre at the IWCA Conference
In October, I attended the International Writing Centers Association conference in Baltimore, as a peer tutor working for the University of Waterloo’s Writing and Communication Centre. It was the culmination of many months of work, ending with my fellow tutors and I presenting a roundtable discussion on “Embodied Multiversalism in WC Staff: Fear vs Fundamental Duty to Social Justice.”