Fall 2025 marks a decade of CSU Writes supporting research writers across campus. We are deeply grateful to the thousands of writers who have participated in CSU Writes events, supported one another, and helped build a professional research writing community of excellence at CSU.
SPRING 2026
Brief overview of webinars by series.
Semester-Long Series & Special Events
FEB 2 – MAY 4 | DATA Cohort: Dissertation And Thesis Accountability | Mondays, 12:30-2:30pm (12 sessions)
FEB 2 – MAY 4 | show up & write. drop-in writing sessions | Daily (times vary), see schedule here
FEB 3 | What to Know for the Final Stretch: Submission Guidance (for theses, dissertations, and manuscripts)
FEB 3 – MAY 5 | sprint & write. drop-in timed writing sessions | Tuesdays, 10-11:30am (12 sessions)
Series 1: Power of Habit
JAN 26 | Where Will Your Writing Time Go This Semester?: Create a Realistic, Sustainable, and Satisfying Writing Plan
FEB 10 | From Pressure to Practice: Sustainable Writing Strategies
MAR 24 | Perfectionism & Procrastination: How to Work With (Not Against) Them
Series 2: Smarter, Faster, Better
MAR 5 | Writing Research with GenAI Ethically: 8 Practical (Mostly Easy) Approaches
APR 7 | Strategic Reading in an AI-Mediated Research Environment
APR 15 | Write for Speed: Drafting, Editing, and Sustainability in an AI Era
Series 3: Super Communicators
FEB 16 | Writing for Publication: Understanding the Scholarly Ecosystem
FEB 24 | The Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback: Advisors, Committees, and Reviewers
APR 22 | Develop Distinctiveness in Writing: Style, Convention, and Choice
Series 4: Manuscripts
MAR 2 | Reverse Outlines, Titles, and Abstracts: Small but Powerful
MAR 23 | ORCHID, Open Access, Copyright
APR 6 | Literature Reviews: Types and Tips
APR 20 | Openings, Conclusions, and “Sticking the Landing”: Make the Most of Your Manuscript’s “Prime Real Estate”
MAY 4 | Submitting, Responding to Readers, & Post-Publication Promotion
Spring 2026
Event Descriptions and Recordings
Learn more about the information, strategies, and advice to be covered in a webinar or seminar in the descriptions below.
Events are listed in chronological order.
Webinar recordings will be updated after the event.
Series #1: Power of Habit
Where Will Your Writing Time Go This Semester? How to Create a Realistic, Sustainable, and Satisfying Writing Plan
JAN 26 | 12-12:50pm | Zoom
This webinar helps grad students and postdocs take stock of where writing time actually goes and how to plan intentionally for the semester you want to create and thrive in. Participants will leave with methods and worksheets for setting priorities, estimating effort, and creating a semester plan that supports writing well and writing successes.
Semester-Long Series
show up & write.
Daily, Times Vary (FEB 2 - MAY 4)
Pencil in regular writing times to your schedule this semester to maintain momentum on your writing projects!
show up & write. drop-in writing sessions provide research, scholarly, and creative writers with daily writing sessions.
Semester-Long Series
DATA Cohort: Dissertation And Thesis Accountability
Mondays 12:30-2:30pm (FEB 2 - MAY 4)
Available to all Master’s and Doctoral students at CSU, DATA is an interdisciplinary cohort designed to help build community and maintain progress on thesis and dissertation writing by facilitating space, time, and accountability support.
Each Monday, writers kick off the week by engaging with a supportive writing community to set writing goals, log progress, and share accomplishments to move their projects forward.
- 12:30 – 12:45pm – weekly goal setting, accomplishments reporting, and timely project discussions
- 12:45 – 2:30pm – optional writing session
Semester-Long Series
sprint & write.
Tuesdays 10-11:30AM (FEB 3 - MAY 5)
Pencil in regular writing times to your schedule this semester to maintain momentum on your writing projects!
sprint & write. drop-in writing sessions provide research, scholarly, and creative writers with timed sessions (3 x 25-minute sprints) for focused and meaningful writing.
Special Event
What to Know for the Final Stretch: Submission Guidance
FEB 3 | 12-12:45PM | TEAMS
This webinar provides graduate students with information about what they need to know in preparing their manuscripts for submission. A panel of experts from the Libraries and CSU Writes will discuss thesis and dissertation submission, formatting guides, copyright, and Mountain Scholar.
If you are actively writing your thesis, dissertation, grant proposals, or articles for submission and want to learn more about what to do in the final stretch before submitting, this session is for you! We are here to support you along your research and scholarly writing journey at CSU.
Semester-Long Series
W2P: Write to Publish Seminar – NEW & IMPROVED
Mondays 3-3:50pm (FEB 9 - MAY 4)
The Write to Publish (W2P) non-credit seminar is a 12-week series of webinars and writing labs designed to guide postdocs and graduate students through the process of crafting and polishing a manuscript for publication.
This series is best for participants who have already conducted research and have a conference presentation or course paper they wish to revise for publication.
The course is open to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and CSU researchers.
Series #1: Power of Habit
From Pressure to Practice: Sustainable Writing Strategies
FEB 10 | 12-12:50pm | Zoom
This webinar examines common sources of writing pressure in academic work. We will cover research-informed strategies for building sustainable practices over time that can help us address or reduce writing pressures. At the start of 2026 with all its unique “pressures,” we will pause and identify habits, structures, and expectations that support productivity without burnout this year.
Series #3: Super Communicators
Writing for Publication: Understanding the Scholarly Ecosystem
FEB 16 | 3-3:50pm | Zoom
This session demystifies the scholarly publishing ecosystem by examining how journals, reviewers, editors, and authors interact throughout the publication process. We will consider realistic timelines, making informed choices, and strategies for navigating revision productively.
Note: This webinar is cross-listed with the W2P 12-week, non-credit certificate seminar.
Series #3: Super Communicators
The Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback: Advisors, Committees, and Reviewers
FEB 24 | 12-12:50pm | Zoom
This webinar focuses on the feedback exchange as a core component of academic writing and mentoring relationships. We explore strategies for interpreting, providing, and responding to feedback across advising, committee work, and peer review.
Series #4: Manuscripts
Reverse Outlines, Titles, and Abstracts: Small but Powerful
MAR 2 | 3-3:50PM | Zoom
This session focuses on high-leverage tools that help writers assess structure, sharpen focus, and communicate their research/scholarly contribution clearly. We will explore how reverse outlines can help us better understand both the nature of our manuscript writing and how to improve the quality of our work. We will also consider how titles, and abstracts work together to strengthen our manuscripts and enhance reader uptake. This is a webinar packed with often overlooked elements of writing that make a big difference in the quality and impact of your work.
Note: This webinar is cross-listed with the W2P 12-week, non-credit certificate seminar.
Series #2: Smarter, Faster, Better
Writing Research with GenAI Ethically: 8 Practical (Mostly Easy) Approaches
MAR 5 | 12-12:50pm | Zoom
This webinar provides a structured framework for using GenAI programs ethically and transparently in research and scholarly writing. We will identify ethical pitfalls and strategic remedies. We will develop an AI-use compass to support decisions, disclosures, and skills development in alignment with disciplinary norms and institutional expectations.
Series #4: Manuscripts
ORCHID, Open Access, Copyright with Khaleedah Thomas
MAR 23 | 3-3:50PM | Zoom
Learn about developing an ORCHD ID portfolio, publishing open access, and navigating the fine print of Copyright with CSU Libraries expert Khaleedah Thomas.
Note: This webinar is cross-listed with the W2P 12-week, non-credit certificate seminar.
Series #1: Power of Habit
Perfectionism & Procrastination: How to Work With (Not Against) Them
MAR 24 | 12-12:50pm | Zoom
Rather than treating perfectionism and procrastination as obstacles to overcome, this webinar reframes them as common features of scholarly work that can be managed productively. We will consider strategies for maintaining momentum and writing “good” and “enough” while preserving, and in some cases enhancing, rigor and quality.
Series #2: Smarter, Faster, Better
Strategic Reading in an AI-Mediated Research Environment
APR 7 | 12-12:50PM | Zoom
This webinar explores how reading practices are changing in an AI-mediated research landscape. We will consider strategies for purposeful reading, synthesis, and evaluation that support rigorous scholarship and responsible AI use.
Note: while we will cover elements of reading for literature reviews, the focus will be on reading to build and maintain expertise.
Series #2: Smarter, Faster, Better
Write for Speed: Drafting, Editing, and Sustainability in an AI Era
APR 15 | 12-12:50pm | Zoom
This webinar invites research and scholarly writers to perceive speed as a function of process rather than pressure (or urgency). Participants will consider how intentional drafting and revision practices support efficiency, quality, and long-term writing sustainability. “Write for Speed” has been one of CSU Writes’ most popular workshops over the past decade. This new and improved webinar includes additional practices to address when and how to include GenAI programs and to support building momentum on multiple writing projects.
Series #3: Super Communicators
Develop Distinctiveness in Writing: Style, Convention, and Choice
APR 22 | 12-12:50pm | Zoom
This session invites research and scholarly writers to reflect on how articles and proposals balance individual voice(s) with disciplinary conventions. We will examine how choices about style, structure, and stance shape clarity, credibility, and distinctiveness and why those same choices can spark tension with collaborators or reviewers.
Series #4: Manuscripts
Literature Reviews: Types and Tips (additional information on Mountain Scholar from Helen Baer)
APR 6 | 3-3:50PM | Zoom
This session examines common types of literature reviews and the rhetorical purposes they serve within manuscripts. We will discuss practical approaches for selecting, organizing, and synthesizing sources to strengthen argument and coherence.
Note: This webinar is cross-listed with the W2P 12-week, non-credit certificate seminar.
Series #4: Manuscripts
Openings, Conclusions, and “Sticking The Landing”: How To Make the Most of Your Manuscript’s “Prime Real Estate”
APR 20 | 3-3:50PM | Zoom
This session examines how introductions and conclusions establish purpose, frame contribution, and clarify a manuscript’s key points. We will explore strategies for guiding readers through central claims and ensuring those claims land clearly and convincingly in published research and scholarly writing.
Note: This webinar is cross-listed with the W2P 12-week, non-credit certificate seminar.
Series #4: Manuscripts
Submitting, Responding to Readers, & Post-Publication Promotion
MAY 4 | 3-3:50PM | Zoom
This session demystifies what happens after a manuscript is submitted, from editorial decisions to responding to reviewer feedback. We also talk about post-publication practices that support visibility, engagement, and ongoing impact.
Note: This webinar is cross-listed with the W2P 12-week, non-credit certificate seminar.
Prior Webinars/Seminars & Series
FALL 2025
- The Power of Habit Series
- How to Get Started and Stay Inspired (when writing a thesis or dissertation)
- Make Writing a Habit
- What Strong Writers Do
- Smarter, Faster, Better Series
- Sprint and Review Techniques: Draft Quickly / Edit Slowly
- Design Your AI Professional Development Plan
- Reading for the Literature Review
- AI Resources for the Literature Review
- Reverse Outlining: Your Writing Superpower
- Super Communicators Series
- Writing for Publication: The Big Picture
- Quotable: How to Review and Edit Your Work for Impact
- Pitching Research with Meaning: 3MT, Job Market, and Beyond
SPRING 2025
- The Power of Habit Series
- Project Planning
- Writing with Ease
- Smarter, Faster, Better Series
- Write at Speed
- Reading, Notetaking, & Synthesizing for Lit Reviews
- Responsible AI for Research
- Super Communicators Series
- Tell a Captivating Research Story
- Mastering the Art of Citing with Ease (Zotero)
- Your Writing Style
- Punctuation workshop
FALL 2024
SPRING 2024
FALL 2023
SPRING 2023
FALL 2022
SPRING 2022
- Fresh Start: Scheduling Tools
- Literature Review
- Writing for Publication
- Abstracts
- Write for Speed I and II
- Reverse Outlining
- Getting and Using Feedback
- Summary/Paraphrase
- Punctuation
- Overcome Writing Stalls
- Engaging Audiences
- Passive/Active Voice
FALL 2021
- Schedule to Prioritize Writing
- Deal with Inner Writing Critics
- Summarize & Paraphrase & Avoid Plagiarizing
- Literature Review
- Abstracts
- Productivity & Well-Being
- How to Prepare to Write
- Edit for Clarity: Top 3 Sentence Issues
- EDT Info Session (with Graduate School and Library experts)
- Write for Speed
SPRING 2021
- Schedule to Prioritize Writing
- Writing for Publication
- Summarize & Paraphrase & Avoid Plagiarizing
- Literature Review
- Write Concisely with the Writer’s Diet
- Citation Management Software
- How to Prepare to Write
- Edit for Clarity: Top 3 Sentence Issues
- EDT Info Session (with Graduate School and Library experts)
- Write for Speed
- Writing Your Teaching Philosophy
FALL 2020
- Schedule to Prioritize Writing
- Summarize & Paraphrase & Avoid Plagiarizing
- Literature Review
- Productivity & Well-Being
- How to Punctuate (with Stephanie G’Schwind)
- Edit for Clarity
- Edit for Flow
- EDT Info Session (with Graduate School and Library experts)
- Write for Speed
SPRING 2020
- The Magic Writing Workshop
- Habits that Build & Sustain Writing Momentum
- Writing for Publication
- Productivity & Well-Being
- ETD (Electronic Thesis & Dissertation) Information Session
- Create Your “Shelter in Place” Research Writing Action Plan
HOW TO SERIES:
- Edit for Flow (organization & development)
- Edit for Wordiness (sentence-level editing for clarity & concision)
- The Literature Review: How to Prepare & Organize
- How to Punctuate
- Passive Voice: When & When Not to Use
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Construction Management/School of Education Workshop Series: The NUTS & BOLTS OF WRITING IN GRADUATE SCHOOL
- Writing as Construction
- Frame & Connect
- Engineering Sentences
- Clarity & ReVision
