When I first started my undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo, one of the biggest challenges I faced was learning how to bridge the gap between the writing skills that I brought with me from high school and the writing skills that were expected of me in university.
During the summer after my first year, I decided to try out a WCC online workshop called Writing at the University level. The Writing at the University Level workshop was created to familiarize users with the differences between university and high school. It highlights common expectations that instructors have of university students. It also goes through different genres and types of writing. The workshop talked about some common challenges that first year students face in terms of writing. Being able to relate to almost all these challenges made me realize that I wasn’t alone in my writing journey. I found the workshop to be easy to use, visually appealing and engaging. After completing this workshop, I knew I wanted more. And so, I decided to complete the rest of the Academic Foundations workshop series.
From research essays to lab reports, the Academic workshops series gave me a comprehensive understanding of various aspects of the writing process. They even supported me in my attempt to conquer reading academic journals and scholarly texts. The best part of this workshop series is that it is asynchronous. This meant that I could strengthen my writing skills at 3 am while rewatching Gilmore Girls for the third time. I found the periodic check-ins to be especially useful because they allowed me to test my understanding of the content.
I was deterred from starting workshops earlier because I was worried that they would be time consuming and have a heavy workload. I realize now that this is not the case. Most workshops have an estimated period of how long they will take to complete so you can schedule your time accordingly. Since there are no time constraints, you can pick and drop the work as you go. You can even select which modules and workshops would be most beneficial for you to do! I also find that the workshops have just the right amount of content. There is enough information to help you understand and practice the skills you need, but there is not so much that you are spending hours trying to complete it. If I had known this information beforehand, I would have registered for the workshops much earlier! Regardless of when you register for the WCC online workshops, there will always be something for everyone!
Working with the WCC has taught me that writing is never a linear process, which is why it is especially useful that I can go back and review workshops and modules that I have done in the past.
My advice to anyone who wishes to level up their writing skills in a casual setting would be to try out the WCC’s online workshops on LEARN. You can follow the link to our online workshops webpage to learn more about what we have to offer and how to register.