How supervisors can partner with the WCC for research communication excellence
WCC services for graduate students complement a productive supervisory relationship.
Graduate students need different kinds of support navigating the challenges of research communication. As research projects become more complex, communicating ideas becomes more challenging. Developing advanced skills to effectively communicate graduate-level research to different audiences is an iterative process that takes time.
The WCC cannot replace the unique insights that supervisors have into a specialized field’s expectations, conventions, or discourse community, but we can be an impactful component of a graduate student’s support system.
Participation in support networks across campus, including at the WCC, can reduce graduate student attrition and help students’ wellbeing through the challenging process of graduate research writing and publication:
Graduate students require a range of academic, community and personal supports to succeed with research and writing.
Who's on our team?
WCC graduate advisors are experts in teaching communication across disciplines, including digital, technical, and scientific writing and communication. Â
What we offer
Individual appointments, grad-specific workshops, intensive programs to support thesis writing and research presentations, and writing groups for habit-building and accountability.
When should a student see us?
Right from the start. We recommend students start refining and practicing research communication skills from the very beginning of their programs, if possible. If starting this early isn't possible, connecting to us at the start of their thesis project means we can proactively address challenges together that might delay students down the road.
What skills do graduate students develop with the WCC?
Graduate students face multiple concurrent academic challenges:
- Developing an identity as a scholar
- Developing or deepening subject-matter expertise
- Learning to communicate in new genres and situations
- Managing the scope and scale of large research projects
- Navigating the research publication process
Our services extend and reinforce supervisors’ support of grad student development to help students prepare for these challenges early on. We support students with developing a range of skills:
- Brainstorming, planning and managing the drafting process
- Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of their own work in progress
- Strengthening their revision and editing skills
- Making informed rhetorical choices about their work
- Making consistent progress on communication projects
- Navigating the relationship between writing and identity in an academic context
- Becoming more confident communicators
- Designing and delivering effective presentations
- Understanding and navigating the research publication process
What the WCC doesn't do
- We don’t copyedit. At the WCC, appointments are an interactive learning opportunity. We don’t revise students’ work for them, but we do work with them to meet their goals based on their questions and priorities
- We don’t dictate what revisions students should make. We offer options and advice to empower students to make the rhetorical choices that best suit their goals, but students always retain autonomy over their work.
- We don’t replace supervisors. Our staff are familiar with academic genres, best practices in communication, and the similarities and differences in communication across general disciplinary areas, but we are not subject-matter experts in each graduate student’s unique sub-field.