Tuesday, April 11, 1200–1250
Zoom

Is it time to begin your thesis? Not sure how to start? This workshop will cover academic research and writing in general, as well as the specifics of the NPS thesis process. Learn how to navigate the process and launch your thesis with confidence.

Tuesday, April 11, 1500–1630
DKL 151/Zoom

Are you more comfortable solving equations than drafting sentences? Come focus on the precise skills you need to write clear technical reports and theses. In this workshop, we will dissect a well-written report, decide what makes it effective, identify steps you can use to emulate its features, and review editing and proofreading strategies appropriate for technical writing.

Wednesday, April 12, 1000–1100
DKL 151/Zoom

The quality of your executive summaries influences how others perceive you and your research. Executive summaries publicize your work, provide busy decision makers with actionable information, and generate readers for your research. Learn how to prioritize and organize essential information, avoid jargon, write more powerfully and persuasively, and navigate this specific form’s rules. By examining excerpts, we will identify best practices and apply those lessons to summarizing research in different fields.

Wednesday, April 12, 1200–1250
Zoom

Develop your research skills and learn how to use the library search, library databases, research guides, Google Scholar, and more!

Thursday, April 13, 1100–1230
DKL Design Space

Constructing a clear, workable research question is the most important task for any paper. An overly broad question becomes mission impossible, while an excessively narrow question won’t fill the pages. Learn strategies for crafting answerable, interesting questions to keep you motivated and your reader engaged. You will be better prepared to analyze assignments and write questions to get what you need from subordinates.

Thursday, April 13, 1600–1730
DKL 151/Zoom

So much reading, so little time! Learn Dr. Zach Shore’s method of reading for argument at the graduate level, tailored to STEM fields. Dr. Shore’s “search and destroy” technique allows you to synthesize an author’s arguments efficiently. This workshop teaches the “search” half—how to quickly extract an author's thesis and structure from an academic article. This method takes time to perfect, but the payoff is high in terms of comprehension and time saved. Also, be sure to check out Strategic Reading Level II, which offers techniques for analyzing sources’ arguments.

Friday, April 14, 1000–1150
Zoom

Learn how to use Zotero, a free tool that you can use to centrally collect, manage, and format your references in APA, Chicago, IEEE, and other citation styles. We will also show you how to use Zotero’s Word plug-in to cite while you write your papers or thesis. This workshop is “handson,” so bring your own laptop! Workshop size is limited; registration at least 24 hours in advance is required. After registering, you will receive an email with installation and setup instructions, which you will need to complete prior to the class.

Friday, April 14, 1600–1700
Zoom

Does your professor want you to use LaTeX to write your thesis or dissertation? Are you passionate about beautifully formatted equations? Do you want to leave the formatting woes of Microsoft Word behind for a brighter tomorrow with LaTeX? If you answered yes to these questions or are just curious about LaTeX, please join us for a LaTeX crash course that will introduce you to using LaTeX to write your thesis or dissertation. In one hour we will introduce you to the fundamentals of LaTeX so that you are equipped with the skills needed to start using LaTeX immediately.

Saturday, April 15, 1000–1130
Zoom

Small symbols with great power, punctuation marks can do it all—connect ideas, convey tone, clarify meaning. Used incorrectly, however, they can undermine your writing, confuse readers, and diminish confidence in your work. In this workshop, we cover the most common punctuation marks in graduate writing. Examples, quizzes, and explanations ensure that you leave with a solid grasp of everything from em dashes to Oxford commas— including that most mysterious mark of all, the semicolon.

Saturday, April 15, 1230–1400
Zoom

You’ve all heard what you shouldn’t be doing: don’t violate the Honor Code, don’t plagiarize, don’t forget the rules of academic integrity. This workshop focuses on what to do to avoid these serious problems. We give you the skills to confidently incorporate others’ words, ideas, analyses, models, and images into your own writing. You will gain experience summarizing, paraphrasing, and incorporating quotations from source material.