FASE Graduate Writing Community Winter 2025

Welcome to the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering's Graduate Writing community! This site is part of the FASE Graduate Communication Initiative, a collaboration between Engineering Graduate Studies and the U of T's Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC) to bring engineering-specific communication training to graduate students.

This site is maintained by Prof. Fiona Coll, Assistant Professor of Graduate Communication in Engineering at ISTEP and at the GCAC. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have a suggestion for a writing-related topic you'd like to see covered in the program: fiona.coll@utoronto.ca.

Winter 2025 Courses, Workshops, and Writing Groups @ FASE

FASE programming includes the following (click or scroll for more details):

Mondays We Write! Guided Writing Group (virtual; join any time)
Dissertation Writing Feedback Group (in person; six-week session starts January 9 or February 26)
Writing a Strong OGS Plan of Study (in person; two-part workshop begins January 15 or February 27)
Engineering Your Writing (in person; four-week non-credit course begins January 23 or March 6)
Thesis Writing in the Physical and Life Sciences (virtual; starts January 17)

Graduate students are also welcome to take workshops and courses through the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC).

Mondays We Write! Guided Writing Group (virtual)

Start your week on an excellent note by sitting down and writing in the (virtual) company of your peers. This guided writing group will combine structured writing time with short discussions of technical writing tips, strategies for overcoming writing challenges, and questions that emerge as you write.

Mondays from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, January 13 - April 14 (no meeting on February 17)

MWW! is a drop-in program, which means you can join a session at any time during our weekly three-hour block, and you're welcome to stay for as little or as long as you'd like. Discover the benefits of developing your writing practice in an intentional, informed, and consistent way.

Dissertation Writing Feedback Groups (in person)

These Dissertation Writing Feedback Groups (DWFGs) are open to doctoral candidates who have completed coursework and qualifying exams and who are actively drafting or revising a dissertation chapter or manuscript draft. DWFGs will meet once per week for six weeks to share structured feedback on draft writing, discuss process-related aspects of writing a dissertation, and improve your ability to set and meet writing goals.

Thursdays, January 9 - February 13, from 10:10 am - 12:00 pm
Wednesdays, February 26 - April 2, from 3:10 - 5:00 pm

Each group is limited to 8 students. Apply via the W25 Dissertation Writing Feedback Group Application Form Links to an external site..

Writing a Strong Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) Plan of Study (in person)

Writing a strong OGS Plan of Study can be a challenge, not least because of the limited amount of space the application gives you to explain your proposed research project or planned studies during the award period. This two-part workshop will guide you through best practices for making the most of this limited space and drafting an effective, compelling Plan of Study. The workshop will be offered twice this semester to align with different departmental application timelines; choose the offering that best fits your schedule. Students from any FASE department who are planning to apply for a master’s or doctoral OGS are welcome.

Workshop A: Wednesdays, January 15 & 22, from 3:10 - 5:00 pm
Workshop B: Thursdays, February 27 & March 6, from 10:10 am - 12:00 pm

Engineering Your Writing (in person)

This four-week, in-person course will offer an overview of foundational strategies for writing clearly and concisely at the graduate level about engineering topics. You'll complete weekly exercises and receive feedback on your work.

Note: This course assumes that you're comfortable writing in English; it will not cover English grammar basics.

Engineering Your Writing will be offered twice in Winter 2025; we'll cover the same material in both sections, so choose the section that best fits your schedule. Course enrolment will be limited to 10 students per section.

Section A: Thursdays, January 23 - February 13, from 2:10 - 4:00 pm
Section B: Thursdays, March 6 - March 27, from 2:10 - 4:00 pm

Thesis Writing in the Physical and Life Sciences (virtual)

Offered through the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication.

The academic thesis is a powerful genre that offers you an opportunity to explain how your research contributes to a fuller understanding of our world. The thesis is also unique in scale and in scope, and you probably haven’t written anything quite like it before. To ease your way into the thesis-writing process, this course will introduce you to disciplinary expectations around the thesis and guide you through the rhetorical and structural decisions you’ll make to effectively organize and communicate the contexts, justifications, and outcomes that comprise your research project. Over five weeks, you will engage with examples and exercises designed to hone the creative, iterative, and motivational skills that will serve you well throughout your thesis experience. All graduate students who are currently writing their theses in the physical and life sciences are welcome to register in the course.

Fridays, January 17 - February 14, from 10:10 am - 12:00 am