Mountain State University online workshop helps writers refine skills

A six-week online writing workshop at Mountain State University will boost the confidence and sharpen the skills of participants in producing well-crafted research papers, critical reviews, proposals, projects, theses and dissertations.

“Writing Excellence: Mastering writing skills for graduate-level work” is being offered from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays beginning July 17. Cost is $150.

The workshop, presented by MSU’s School of Graduate Studies, continues through Aug. 24. Contact Londa Justus at ljustus@mountainstate.edu or call (304) 461-3493.

Workshop participants will:

• Enhance basic writing capabilities to write in a polished and scholarly fashion;
• Learn to organize academic writing appropriately based on purpose and academic field;
• Sharpen skills for style, tone, fluency, vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar to write for a wide range of audiences;
• Engage in group activities, as well as one-on-one instruction, to foster writing and proofreading ability; and,
• Develop strategies for reading and thinking critically.
  

The workshop includes an overview of APA style, used within most of MSU’s graduate programs. APA format is the official style of the American Psychological Association and is commonly used to cite sources in psychology, education and the social sciences.

Workshop instructor Shanna Isner received her bachelor’s degree in English and professional writing from West Virginia State University in 2001, and her master’s degree in humanities and literary studies from Marshall University Graduate College in 2005. She has taught a wide array of English classes at Mountain State University, West Virginia State University, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, and Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College.

Before joining the staff at Mountain State University, Isner was the technical writer for Molina Medicaid Solutions in Charleston. She also wrote grants for the state of West Virginia and various not-for-profit organizations.