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
National Indigenous Peoples Day
National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day to celebrate the diverse history, heritage, cultures, and contributions of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of Turtle Island.
This day intentionally coincides with the summer solstice-the longest day of the year, on which many Indigenous Peoples celebrate Mother Earth’s gifts.
To learn more about National Indigenous Peoples Day visit the link below.
https://uwaterloo.ca/indigenous/national-indigenous-history-month
Spotlight on WCC's research
The WCC was well represented at the annual Canadian Writing Centres Association conference which was held virtually from May 25-27, 2022. Members of our team presented on a multitude of topics including Creating an Online Space for Learning Science Communication, English Conversation Circles as a Mediator between the Demands of Course Instructors and Students as Writers, and How and Why Writing Centre Tutors Can Set Healthy Boundaries During the Pandemic and Beyond.
IBPOC WCC Workshops: Writing Prompts
The IBPOC Writing and Communication Workshops are spaces where graduate students identifying as Indigenous, Black, and people of color can come together to form a supportive community of writers. This is an intentional IBPOC-only virtual space. Join us on June 23 from 5:30-6:30 pm for our first IBPOC Writing and Communication Workshop, Writing Prompts. You can join the IBPOC writing groups channel through WCC’s Teams.
https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-communication-centre/current-graduate-students/waterloowrites
English Conversation Circles Online
The ECC program offers a place to share resources, tell stories, and practice everyday communication. Make new friends and join the conversation at our English Conversation Circles on Fridays from 9:30-10:30 am and Wednesdays from 3:00-4:00 pm.
https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-communication-centre/services-0/english-conversation-circles
IBPOC Writing Café
Join us for biweekly sessions of the IBPOC Writing Café starting Thursday June 16 from 5:00-7:00 pm. The IBPOC Writing Café is a space where graduate students identifying as Indigenous, Black, and people of colour can come together to form a supportive community of writers. This is an intentional IBPOC-only space. You can join the IBPOC writing groups channel through WCC’s Teams.
https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-communication-centre/current-graduate-students/waterloowrites
Blog
10 ways to recycle your old books
Books are hard to get rid of because like a vacation or lecture, at some point they either took us on a journey or taught us something. As a result many people end up with a collection of books that they haven’t touched in years. If you do decide to renew your library here are a couple of ideas on how to transform your books into new things or how to pass them on to someone else.
To quote or not to quote
Adding quotations to your writing is a great way to incorporate ideas from others to the conversation. The following post discusses the common problem of not knowing when to use quotations.
FYI: quote is a verb and quotation is a noun. Although, the word quote is now commonly used as a noun since language evolves and grows.
How to keep your reader intrigued
Within the first seven seconds of meeting someone, the average person will already have formed a first impression. Now, this could be due to a variety of reasons such as body language, tone or appearance. On the other hand, when it comes to writing, first impressions are formed differently. The first couple of pages give the reader a fairly good idea of whether they would like to continue or not. Here are a couple of tricks to keep the writer engaged.