Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/12/2025 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Audience:
NARTI Training & Development
Thesis Writing Workshop
With Professor Rowena Murray
Tuesday 2nd December 2025 (10.00-16.00 UK time)
Online via Zoom
Summary:
This is a practical workshop, involving various writing activities and discussions that can be useful at different stages in writing a thesis. Topics we will cover in this course include writing to prompts for drafts and chapters, criteria for assessing a thesis, analysing academic writing, strategies for generating text, outlining, revising, social writing, making time to write, constructing a ‘contribution’ argument for your thesis, writing a 750-word thesis summary and building a repertoire or ‘tool kit’ of productive strategies for thesis writing and for other ways of writing about research for other audiences and purposes. We will likely discuss using AI in these processes.
This course involves short writing activities, all designed to help you develop your thesis and to get into the writing habit. By signing up to this course you agree to do the writing tasks and to talk about your writing in small-group discussions, to give and receive feedback on writing and to discuss your writing plans and goals.
Key reference:
Murray, R. (2025) How to Write a Thesis, 5th edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press-McGraw-Hill.
About the facilitator:
Find out more about Professor Murray and the courses/retreats that she facilitates: Professor Rowena Murray – Writing Retreats and Courses for Academic Professionals and Researchers Practitioners and Creative Writers
Programme:
10-11 Welcome and introduction – key principles
Define ‘writing’, Audience & Purpose, Assessment Criteria
Writing ‘warm up’, Goals for thesis writing, Originality and Contribution
Writing Activity – purposes of your thesis/chapter(s)/section(s) verbs (10 mins) + discussion – adapt writing task to suit your stage in PhD
11-11.30 Break
11.30-12.30 Strategies for generating text
Writing to prompts
Freewriting
Generative Writing
‘Quality’ writing
12.30-1.15 Lunch break
1.15-1.45 Writing a ‘page 98 paper’
1.45-2.15 Writing a thesis/chapter summary – adapt/choose task to suit
2.15-2.30 Mini-break
2.30-3.30 Outlining – thesis/chapters
Writing conclusions for thesis/chapters/sections
3.30-4 Writer’s groups, writing retreats & virtual writing retreats
Creating a writing schedule to completion & submission date
Conclusions + for more details see How To Write a Thesis 5
If you are interested in participating in this workshop, and can commit to attending, please register via this link: https://forms.office.com/e/JtLfYzWDAp