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Man typing on his laptop.
Friday, May 31, 2019

Tips and tricks on how-to write a professional email

Ever email your professor or employer and click the send button, only to realize seconds later it was littered with typos and grammar mistakes?

The art of professional email writing can be challenging if you’re not too sure where to start. Learning the dos and don’ts of what to include will not only steer you in the right direction but help you develop your professional persona. Having a professional voice in writing and in speech is important because it establishes how you want to be perceived. There are so many ways you can let your professional side shine, and emails are one of them.

How to get yourself in a creative mindset
Monday, April 15, 2019

The poetics of originality: how to be creative

Why is creativity so elusive? We see artists and poets and marvel agape at their powers of creation, but in truth creativity is a learned thing – a practice of insight and introspection. You too have the potential to produce art almost as good as the greats, if only you look in the right places. It doesn’t matter that no one’s listening.

Quilt pattern square design, reading "writing and communication centre" in the middle (against a yellow backdrop).
Monday, March 19, 2018

5 Great reasons to write

Since September 2017, the Writing and Communication Centre has been providing the space and materials for a quilt composed of student voices. Quilting is a metaphor for the community that we have here, as well as the writing process itself since both involve parts coming together to form a whole.

Some of the thought-provoking prompts suggested by staff include “What are your opinions/frustrations/joys about writing?” “How do you feel about writing today?” and “I like writing because…”

bullet journal with pens
Monday, February 12, 2018

Bullet journalling: Creative vs practical approach

At the start of the first year in university, I was determined to be productive and organized. I bought an agenda, but I realized that there would be weeks where I used it constantly and weeks where I didn’t use it at all. I didn’t think this was the best resource for me, so I decided to try bullet journaling for my next year.

Ancient inscription captioned "It doesn't mean a thing, but boy, will it drive them crazy a thousand years from now?"
Friday, November 25, 2016

Revisiting Google Ngram: What we can learn from Corpora

So I’ve been thinking about Google’s Ngram Viewer and how it applies as a teaching tool. Although it doesn’t directly translate, Ngram reminded me of a really handy tool that we use regularly at the Writing Centre. I’ve also realized that many people may not have encountered it before. So, I present to you: the Now Corpus.

Matrix meme captioned "What if I told you not all transition words don't mean the same thing"
Friday, November 18, 2016

Choosing Effective Transition Words: A DIY Guide

Seeing as I tend to write a lot of blogs focused on process/approaches to sustainable writing practices, it may be a good time to write something more applied (and plug some of the resources from the website). This post is inspired by a common experience throughout the semester; quite often, I find myself directing students to the Transition Phrase bank in our Resources section.

Dr. Strangelove meme captioned "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room"
Friday, November 4, 2016

An experiment with Google Ngram Viewer or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb

At the Writing Centre, we’re always looking out for new teaching strategies and tools. So when one of my colleagues mentioned Google Ngram Viewer (I was shamelessly trolling for blog posts ideas, to be honest), I was intrigued. What is it? What does it do? And more importantly, how does Google keep creating these things?

Thursday, September 1, 2016

An introduction to university writing

An introduction to university writing

You have graduated from high school and been accepted to The University of Waterloo. Congratulations! As you begin your university studies you will encounter many kinds of writing assignments. To help get you started, here’s a brief guide to expectations for university-level writing.

Writing at university follows specific conventions