Writing
The Graduate Writing Center assists graduate students in the development of academic skills necessary to successfully complete their graduate programs and prepare for future faculty and professional positions. This unit offers workshops on topics such as academic writing, grant writing, dissertation writing, editing, and preparing articles for publication, in addition to writing groups and individual consultations on these topics for graduate students.
The following quick guides are also available to assist graduate students in developing their writing skills:
Quick Guide to Writing Resources
Quick Guide to Scientific and Technical Writing
Quick Guide to Dissertation Writing
Quick Guide to Scholarly Publishing
Quick Guide to Style Manuals
To learn more, contact Sabrina Soracco, Director, Graduate Writing Center, at (510) 643-9392 or via email.
All workshops are open to UC Berkeley graduate students and postdocs in all disciplines. Preregistration is required. Wheelchair accessible. For disability-related accommodations, please call (510) 643-9392, ten days in advance of the scheduled workshop.
Schedule an Appointment with a Graduate Writing Consultant
Apply for Funding for the NCFDD WriteNow Access – Fall Session Beta Program
(Deadline: 5 p.m. on August 5, 2020)
The Graduate Division will be providing funding for 150 graduate students to participate in the WriteNow Access – Fall Session Beta program offered by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). This online program will take place from August 24-November 15, 2020. It is a structured writing opportunity for the fall semester.
If the demand exceeds capacity, we will prioritize applications from graduate students whose projects focus on advancing racial equity. Second priority will be given to students planning to complete their dissertations this year, third to students working on a program milestone (qualifying paper, dissertation chapter, etc.), and finally students focused on completing an R&R or article draft.
To participate in this program, you must be a UC Berkeley graduate student with an active registration with the NCFDD (all graduate students are automatically part of Berkeley’s institutional membership but must activate their accounts). If you would like to take advantage of this program, please complete this online application form by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5, 2020.
If you are successful in receiving this funding, you will be notified by the Graduate Division in mid-August and we will then complete the WriteNow Access – Fall Session Beta program registration process for you.
This is an excellent program that will help you organize your time and be a more productive writer this fall. I hope you take advantage of this opportunity.
Lisa García Bedolla
Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate Division
University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Writing Center Workshops Fall 2020
Graduate Writing Center workshops for Fall 2020 will be posted on this page in late August.
Credit Courses Offered by the Graduate Writing Center
The Graduate Division offers several credit-bearing courses for graduate students to develop professional-level skills in teaching, mentoring, and writing, as part of its Graduate Student Professional Development Program (GSPDP). The Graduate Writing Center offers the following course every spring semester:
GSPDP 320: Academic Writing for Graduate Students
Units and Grade Options: 2-unit course, graded S/U
Course Title: Graduate Student Professional Development Program (GSPDP) 320: Academic Writing for Graduate Students
Course Format: Seminar
Instructor: Sabrina Soracco, Director, Graduate Division Graduate Writing Center
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to provide graduate students with formal instruction in the genres and mechanics of academic writing at the graduate and professorial level. Through presentations, readings, discussion, and weekly peer editing, graduate students will develop writing and editing skills necessary for their success as graduate students and future faculty.
Course Goals
- to familiarize graduate students with the different genres of academic writing (e.g., seminar papers, journal articles, books, grant proposals, dissertation prospecti, etc.) and how these genres vary from discipline to discipline;
- to help graduate students become better writers by analyzing writing on both the micro (sentence) and macro (organizational) levels;
- to teach graduate students basic skills of professional editing so that they can become better editors of their own work and that of peers;
- to enable graduate students to apply these skills to a piece of their own writing and to the writing of peers.
For more information about this course, please contact the Graduate Division Graduate Writing Center, 307A Sproul Hall, (510) 643-9392.