Workshops and Events
From Observation to Claim: Seminar Discussion as a Form of Collaborative Composition
Friday, September 11, 2026—12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
The Writing Center—Thompson Library, room 170
In seminar-style courses, discussion is a collaborative form of thinking in which students notice patterns, test interpretations, invite disagreement, and revise ideas in response to others. A strong contribution does not have to begin as a fully formed argument. It can begin as an observation, a question, a tension, or a moment of uncertainty that gives others something to think with.
In this workshop, students will practice moving from observation to claim in class discussion. We will develop strategies for entering a conversation, grounding contributions in textual evidence or shared course material, formulating tentative claims, inviting counterargument, responding generously to disagreement, and connecting ideas to what others have said. Students will leave with practical language for speaking in a seminar, not as isolated responders, but as collaborators in a shared act of interpretation.
Timed Writing: The Blue Book Exam as Composition
Friday, October 9, 2026—12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
The Writing Center—Thompson Library, room 170
In-class blue book exams can feel like tests of memory, speed, and endurance. But they are also acts of writing. A successful exam response does more than recall information; it interprets a prompt, makes a claim, organizes evidence, and guides a reader through a line of reasoning under real-time constraints.
In this workshop, students will practice approaching blue book exams as rhetorical situations. We will discuss strategies for reading prompts carefully, planning before writing, developing a clear argumentative structure, pacing responses across a limited time, and using evidence selectively and purposefully. Students will leave with practical methods for turning what they know into focused, legible, and persuasive exam writing.
Read Like a Writer // Write Like a Reader: The BEAM Taxonomy
Friday, November 6, 2026—12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
The Writing Center—Thompson Library, room 170
Dr. Joseph Bizup, designer of the B.E.A.M. taxonomy, argues, “If we want students to adopt a rhetorical perspective toward research-based writing, then we should use language that focuses their attention not on what their sources and other materials are (either by virtue of their genres or relative to some extratextual point of reference) but on what they as writers might do with them. We should adopt terms that allow us to name, describe, and analyze the different ways writers use their materials on the page or, equivalently, the various postures. Toward their materials that writers adopt.” Joseph Bizup, “BEAM: A Rhetorical Vocabulary for Teaching Research-Based Writing,” Rhetoric Review 27.1 (2008): 72–86.
In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the BEAM taxonomy and discuss the rhetorical occasions for incorporating source materials into their writing, including why, when, and how to contextualize, summarize, paraphrase, quote, and synthesize the work of others.
For any questions regarding Writing Center Workshops and Events, please contact Matthew Schultz, Director of First-Year Writing & the Writing Center.