Northwestern has a strong dedication to writing in its various departments and programs. Below you’ll find links to several spots around the University where various forms of writing resources and assistance can be found. If you know of other on-campus resources you’d like us to link to, send them to us at writingplace@northwestern.edu.
Writing Place Affiliates
The Writing Program
The Writing Program’s mission is to provide students with the opportunities and assistance they require to write clearly, thoughtfully, and effectively. To help achieve this mission, the Writing Program offers introductory, intermediate, and advanced composition courses. Writing Program faculty also work closely with undergraduates as advisors and first-year seminar instructors, and teach writing courses in several other departments and programs throughout the university.
NUWrite
NUWrite is Northwestern’s home for online writing resources contributed by faculty from around the university. In addition to finding writing advice about genres specific to your discipline/field, NUWrite contains helpful information about various stages in the writing process, from brainstorming topics to revising and proofreading. The site also provides helpful resources pertaining to effective communication in visual and oral presentations.
Additional Northwestern Resources
Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in Biosciences (CLIMB) Program
The CLIMB Program provides professional development services to a diverse group of PhD Candidates at Northwestern. Though their resources are geared especially to students in biosciences, many of the materials from their workshops on excelling in graduate school, oral communication, and written communication, prove useful to graduate students in other fields, especially other STEM disciplines.
The Department of Linguistics’ Programs for English Language Learners
The Department of Linguistics hosts both courses and individual tutorials for international graduate students to practice both speaking and writing in English. In addition, the program provides free access to English-language speech training software for all students and university employees.
Institutional Review Board Office
For students conducting research on human subjects, Northwestern’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) Office is the place to go to be sure that your work is compliant with all university and federal regulations.
The Office of Fellowships
The team of specialists at the Office of Fellowships matches students with awards and serves as coaches and mentors throughout the application process. We can help you find fellowships in a wide variety of areas, from teaching English abroad to working in government at home. To see a full list of our services, visit our services page. We cannot emphasize enough that there is no one right path to winning a fellowship. Each winner’s story is different. If you are interested in learning more, make an appointment or come to our drop-in hours. To see what our students and alumni are doing on their fellowships, visit our news page, and read our winners’ stories.
The Office of Undergraduate Research
The Office of Undergraduate Research helps students to better learn about and understand the types of research opportunities available to them as undergraduate students. Their website provides useful guidance on crafting a research proposal and sample grant proposals from a variety of fields. Though these resources are specifically designed for undergraduates writing proposals to conduct research funded by Northwestern, much of the advice would be equally applicable to graduate students and post-docs and/or to writing external grant applications.
The Ready, Set, Go Program
Northwestern’s Ready, Set, Go Program provides PhD students and post-docs in scientific and quantitative fields with instruction and resources to improve the confidence and clarity with which they communicate their research. Students complete the program by creating 7-minute presentations or 4-minute videos showcasing their work. Information about how to apply to participate in Ready, Set, Go, as well as some resources about scientific communication, can be found on the Program’s website.
University Career Services
In addition to connecting students with job and internship opportunities, career services provides online resources to help you perfect your resumes, cover letters, and application materials. They also have great resources for students working on graduate and law school applications, as well as information especially tailored for international students applying for jobs in the United States.
The University Library
Northwestern’s Library is more than just a place to study. Reference librarians and subject specialists in the library can help you with research for all sorts of papers, whether by online chat or an in-person research consultation. The Library also offers a series of workshops on how to organize your research materials using software like EndNote or Zotero.