English Writing and Communications Workshops

A brief outline of some of the two-hour workshops focusing on written communications can be found below and are offered at different times throughout the academic year. Additional information on workshop times, dates, and locations can be found through the Academic-Zone Learning Services Workshop webpage. Faculty can schedule workshops for their students or request customized workshops in specific areas by visiting Academic-Zone Learning Services.

Basic Grammar & Writing for Students with English as a Second Language (ESL)

Academic-Zone Learning Services, which is part of the Student Development Centre, offers a variety of grammar and punctuation workshops to assist students whose primary language is not English to prepare them for academic study in English. A current list of workshop dates and times can be found on the Academic-Zone Learning Services Workshop webpage.

• The Grammar and Punctuation workshop teaches how to identify and correct articles, prepositions, pronouns, verb agreement, and punctuation.
• The Academic Writing workshop will provide you with tips and tricks on ways to properly write an academic paper for a North American audience including how to summarize information, paraphrase, and develop a thesis statement.
• The Revising and Editing workshop teaches how to revise and edit your academic paper including how do develop discussion points, improve the flow of ideas, and avoid sentence fragments, comma splices, and run-on sentences.

Brock University Professor Ron Thomson launched a website targeted to non-native English speakers to help them with accent reduction. The website, English Accent Coach, offers a free interactive game based environment to help students practice the English pronunciation of vowels and consonants.

Basic Grammar & Writing for Students in Post-Secondary Education

The Student Development Centre has workshops designed to help you polish your grammar skills:

• The Punctuation workshop covers how to avoid using run-on sentences, comma splices, and apostrophe errors to create clear and concise sentences by using proper punctuation.
• The Grammar 101 workshop teaches how to find and fix the most common grammatical errors including subject-verb agreement, pronoun use, and proper word usage.

Additional workshop information can be found through the Academic-Zone Learning Services Workshop webpage.

Writing workshops for Students in Business Programs

Goodman offers courses specifically designed for students studying in business programs to develop the written and oral communications skills necessary for today’s business environment.

• The Business Communications & Writing workshop focuses on proper etiquette, effectiveness, and efficiency in business communications including professional presentation and speaking skills in addition to various types of business communication.
• The Writing for Business workshop is for students that are registered in Academic-Zone Learning Services as part of their courses and provides a review of the online resources in Essay-Zone Business Grammar and Business formats.

Additional workshop information can be found by visiting the Academic-Zone Learning Services Workshop webpage.

Recommended Business Writing Exercise:

Read a business article from one of the journals listed in Section 3 above. Think about the main learning points. Write two executive summaries of the same article: one of 200 words and another of 400 words. Identify what you learned about keeping it brief while simultaneously reflecting substance of thought.

Check your results with Academic-Zone Learning Services at learning@brocku.ca.

Comprehensive Writing Workshops for Students in Post-Secondary Education

Students wanting more comprehensive writing program will find the following three-part workshop series very helpful. Be sure to register for all three components to get the maximum benefits!

• The University Writing: Total Experience (a) workshop focuses on the essay writing process including how to narrow your topics, collect information, develop an appropriate thesis statement, and essay outline.
• The University Writing: Total Experience (b) workshop focuses on revising thesis statement and essay outlines, how to integrate research into essays by using proper formats for quotations and paraphrasing, and how to write a first draft of a paper.
• The University Writing: Total Experience (c) workshop focuses on evaluating and developing points, improving paragraph structure, and finding and correcting common grammar mistakes.

Full list of Academic-Zone Learning Services Workshops

Drop-In Services at the Student Development Centre

Students can get help with developing effective essay writing, problem solving, and other general study skills at the Drop-in Learning Centre. Drop-in Centre staff meet with students to review essays and assignments to show students how to identify and correct problem areas such as integrating research, organizing ideas, correct sentence and grammar errors, and effective editing techniques.

Students are invited to take advantage of the Drop-in Learning Centre, located in the Hildebrand Learning Centre of the Learning Commons (ST 231), which is operated by Academic-Zone Learning Services.

Essay-Zone: Online/Self-Study Resource Tool

Academic-Zone Learning Services not only delivers traditional writing skills workshops, but more recently developed an Essay-Zone interactive online resource to help students improve their writing. The videos on the Essay-Zone link include self-administered quizzes as part of the learning experience. Contact learning@brocku.ca for more information.

Essay-Zone Demo

Keys to Success

The Student Development Centre has built an excellent resource for students and faculty called Keys for Success filled with useful information on how to boost your grades, steps to improve your essay writing, helpful tips on grammar, punctuation, and the proper way to cite sources in your work.