Free academic writing and speaking courses through SGS

The Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC) offers free, non-credit courses that provide graduate students with advanced training in academic writing and speaking.

Registration for February 2025 courses will open at 10 a.m., February 11.

To learn more about what each course offers, click any title below:

Academic Conversation Skills
Oral Presentation Skills
Graduate Writing 1: Establishing Your Foundation
Graduate Writing 2: Revising for Clarity
Prewriting Strategies for Developing and Organizing Your Ideas (All Divisions)
Winter 2025 Schedule (downloadable PDF)

Upcoming workshops

Feb 6: Creating Movement (online 4-5:30 p.m.)
Feb 7: Cultivating the Skills of Constructive Disagreement (in-person 1-2:30 p.m.)
Feb 10: AI and the Modern Scholar: Generative AI and Academic Writing (online 4-5:30 p.m.)
Feb 12: Identifying and Contacting Potential Cross-disciplinary Collaborators (online 4-5:30 p.m.)
Feb 13: Building a Revision Process (online 4-5:30 p.m.)

View the full list of winter 2025 workshops.
Chronological workshop calendar

We offer prerecorded workshops available on demand all year round.

Hybrid Dissertation Boot Camp: February 18-20

The GCAC is hosting a three-day hybrid Boot Camp from February 18-20 for doctoral students who are ready to write their dissertation in a structured, distraction-free environment.

Students can choose to attend in-person, with refreshments available, or join in live online.

Completing a dissertation is a priority for doctoral students, although finding focused writing time can often be a challenge. Despite its importance, the dissertation is frequently neglected amid all the obligations and distractions of everyday life. A Hybrid Dissertation Boot Camp is a chance to step away from that routine and focus exclusively on dissertation-writing for three days in either an in-person or online setting.

Click here for details and to register.

Writing Centre consultations

Writing Centre appointments are available for graduate students who seek individualized guidance on their writing. In these 40-minute sessions, trained instructors work with you to improve your capacity to plan, write, and revise your academic assignments.

During synchronous online appointments, you will meet with the writing consultant online at the booked time. The consultant will work with you using audio/video, chat, and a document-sharing whiteboard area. For in-person appointments, please visit our Writing Centre (Room MR108, 1st Floor, McMurrich Building, 12 Queen’s Park Crescent West) on the scheduled appointment date and time.

Please note, instructors do not edit for you; they teach you to revise and edit your own work. Full instructions on booking and participating in appointments can be found here.