黑料不打烊

The Craft of Clarity
Have you ever found yourself struggling to articulate your ideas? Have you ever said, 鈥淚鈥檓 having a hard time explaining what I mean鈥︹��? Are your sentences often repetitive, wordy, or unclear? This workshop begins with the assumption that we write because we have something to say. But how do we get started when we鈥檙e still developing our idea or concept? And once that is clear, how do we make sure we communicate and develop it clearly? This workshop aims to provide you with tools to help you craft clear sentences that聽say what you mean.聽Together, we will untangle the assumption that long, wordy sentences are needed to convey profound ideas and examine how we can better utilize grammar, concision, and cohesion to express ourselves clearly.

This workshop aims to teach you:

1. How to get started, and what to do when your concept isn鈥檛 clear to you yet
2. How to stop pre-conceived notions of what writing聽should聽look like, especially in an academic context, from getting in the way of the writing process
3. Why few words are always best鈥攁nd when to break this rule
4. How to let the nature of the concept determine the structure of your argument
5. How to build your concept across multiple sentences and craft an effective paragraph
6. 罢丑别听raison d鈥櫭猼re聽check: why the answer to the 鈥渟o what鈥� question is essential to clarity

滨苍蝉迟谤耻肠迟颈辞苍蝉:听Please bring a concept you are attempting to develop, or one you had difficulty developing in a previous paper. This should be expressed in one to three sentences. If you鈥檙e really stuck, bring a bullet-point list. This can be on your laptop or on a sheet of paper. Be prepared to workshop your ideas with your colleagues.
叠颈辞:听Holly Vestad is an editor based on the unceded lands of the Kanien鈥檏eh谩:ka Nation. She has held editorial positions or freelanced since 2014, and throughout her career she has helped writers shape texts among different genres and stages into polished works ready for publication or submission. She holds a SSHRC-funded MA from Simon Fraser University (2018) and pursued three years of FRQSC-funded doctoral studies at 黑料不打烊 University before leaving the program to pursue a career in editing. She is currently a tutor at the 黑料不打烊 Writing Centre, and 鈥淭he Craft of Clarity鈥� workshop is designed as a response to the most common questions and concerns she hears among students and writers.