Before you can write a successful paper, literature review, thesis, or any other academic work, you have to learn how to perfect the paragraph. Adopting the strategies for creating cohesive ideas, impactful statements, and a logical flow is crucial to any academic writing career.
Applicable to graduate-level writers of all backgrounds, the Perfecting the Paragraph workshop aims to provide participants with an understanding of the most common mistakes that lead to unconvincing, unclear writing. Taking the paragraph as an “idea” unit, the workshop looks at the formulation and purpose of the topic sentence. It then focuses on paragraph structure, development of the main idea, transition to the next paragraph, punctuation, style, and vocabulary.
This workshop is particularly useful for non-native English speakers. Please note that this workshop focuses on basic elements and tips important for academic paragraph writing.
This workshop is divided in three segments. The first segment will present the basic elements of an academic paragraph. The second segment will overview useful tips and resources to keep in mind while writing. In the third segment, participants will review a writing sample as part of a peer-reviewing exercise. In a supportive environment, the instructor and participants will provide feedback on randomly assigned, anonymous writing samples based on the information presented in the previous two segments. Since writing samples are anonymous, participants are highly encouraged to submit their own writing samples to be peer-reviewed during this segment.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Articulate the elements of the academic paragraph.
- Review tips and resources for paragraph composition.
- Evaluate example paragraphs for their composition.
Busayo is an accomplished educator with over a decade of experience in academia. She spent 10 years as a lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, Nigeria, where she established herself as a dynamic and strategic member of the faculty. During her tenure, she took on multiple roles that demonstrated her commitment to both academic excellence and student success. As a student advisor and secretary of the student project committee, she played a pivotal role in shaping the academic and extracurricular landscape of the department. Her active involvement in curriculum development and leadership in fostering both soft and academic skills among students underscore her passion for holistic education.
Currently pursuing a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Concordia University, Busayo continues to expand her academic expertise while simultaneously serving as the lead academic and career consultant at EverythingAcademics. In this role, she helps students and young professionals achieve excellence through academic skills training, personal development, and the cultivation of core competencies essential for success. Her dedication to nurturing talent and promoting academic and personal growth makes her a valuable asset to both the academic community and beyond.
"It was a very helpful for me to know what to look for and include (and not include) in my paragraphs and paper. Being someone who has the tendency to ramble on, I feel like having the power point slide and questions as I go through it will help me to edit and cut out things and make my paper better than before I took the workshop. Thank you!"
-Masters (Arts and Science)