Writing Atelier 2027

Program Description

The CADOS Writing Atelier is a hands-on, experiential training designed to help participants develop a structured yet flexible approach to writing while experimenting with different techniques and strategies. During six weeks, participants will engage with their writing through interactive exercises, guided exploration, and collaborative activities, discovering how to shape their narratives, integrate their readers into their structure, use mapping techniques to navigate their ideas, and wipe the dust off their sentences and paragraphs. They will also explore reading as a tool for writing, refining their ability to scan, skim, and close-read texts while curating meaningful sources. With a strong emphasis on process and awareness, the Atelier introduces practical strategies for drafting, using emotions as creative fuel, and structuring writing sessions for maximum impact.

This training also opens space for participants to refine their revision skills, edit with purpose and clarity, and give and receive stylistic feedback—essential for academic and professional writing. It also serves as a space to recognize and overcome personal habits that hinder writing. As co-creators of a learning community, participants will exchange insights, challenges, and strategies while experimenting with new approaches and exploring how AI, including GPT, can support their creative and analytical processes.

Whether working on an academic paper, a research proposal, or a personal narrative, this atelier offers tools, insights, and support to write with confidence, clarity, pleasure, and purpose.


Target Public Duration Schedule Certification Language Method

PhD Students

6x 3hours January 14, 21, 28 and February 4, 11 and 18, 2027 (2:00-5:00pm) 1 ECTS English  Online

Prerequisites

Participants must have had prior training in scientific writing (the Interdisciplinary Writing Training or any equivalent) and an ongoing scientific writing project to participate in this training.

Methodology

This training is experimental, experiential and hands-on. Participants will get familiarized with specific techniques and tools concerning each program’s topics, followed by moments of practice, individually, in pairs, or groups. This is a space mostly for experimenting and experiencing these resources to get aware of and shift habits that prevent writing from flowing and enhance writing skills beyond the intellectual and critical terrain.


Program

Week Topics
Week 1 | Who needs structure?
  • What story do I really want/ need to tell you?
  • Where do I fit my reader in my structure?
  • Creating maps for navigation: can GPT really help me?
Week 2 | Can GPT really help me?
  • Where do I start from? Which LLMs to use? How to use it?
  • Authenticity and creativity in scientific writing
  • Ny AI detector: academic ethics and plagiarism
Week 3 | Drafting me as I write my project
  • Top of the hill question
  • Hook as a gearing strategy
  • Writing in blocks
  • The map of sourcing writing
Week 4 | Emotions and what to do with them
  • Using emotions as (re)sources for creativity, empowerment and engagement in writing
  • Brainstorming with emotions
  • Emotions & hooks: what a great couple!
Week 5 | Revising & editing
  • What can you revise and edit for?
  • Revising as a survival strategy
  • Color coding, reverse outline, revising for macro  
Week 6 | Feedback: the win or lose it in (almost) everything you’ll do in academia
  • Macro & micro for feedback making
  • “Blur words” and how they roadblock your feedback effectiveness
  • Preparing (an actual!) useful stylistic feedback
  • Delivering feedback: what works, what doesn’t work + possibilities

Evaluation
Regular and punctual attendance, active participation in class discussions, and thorough preparation for each session.

Methods Weight (%)
Attendance 35%
Participation and group discussions/ practices 35%
Abstract, introduction or a revised section of a paper/ article 30%
Total 100%

Learning outcomes

Develop a structured yet flexible approach to writing through hands-on experimentation using a few resources, distinctions, maps, and tools of scientific writing
Get support with ongoing writing projects, including a) dissertation chapters & prospectus; b) conference papers; d) journal articles; and e) abstracts
Identify and address personal habits that prevent writing from happening
Get support in maintaining productivity and accountability, as well as provide them with ongoing input on writing from the early stages of planning and drafting to the later work of revision and editing.
Be part of the creation of a peer-supported learning space and a micro-community of writing practice.


Bibliography

Bailey, Stephen. Academic Writing: a Practical Guide for Students. London: Routledge, 2003. Print. Booth, Wayne C., et al. The Craft of Research. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2017. Print.

Cirillo, Francesco. The Pomodoro Technique: The Acclaimed Time-Management System That Has Transformed How We Work. 2018. Print.

Gardiner, Maria. Turbocharge Your Writing: How to Become a Prolific Academic Writer. South Plymption: ThinkWell, 2010. Print.

Germano, William. Getting it Published. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 2001. Print.

Goodson, Patricia. Becoming an Academic Writer: 50 Exercises for Paced, Productive, and Powerful Writing. Sage, 2012. Print.

Gray, Tara. Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar. New Mexico: NM State University Teaching Academy, 2015. Print.

Hayot, Eric. The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities. Columbia UP, 2014. Print.

Kelsky, Karen. The Professor is in: The Essential Guide to Turning your PH.D into a Job. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2015. Print.

Rankin, Elizabeth. The Work of Writing: Insights and Strategies for Academics and Professionals. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001. Print.

Silvia, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. American Psychology Association, 2007. Print.

---. Write It Up: Practical Strategies for Writing and Publishing Journal Articles. American Psychology Association, 2015. Print.

Swales, John and Christine Feak. Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Skills and Tasks. Michigan University Press, 2012. Print.

 

APPLY HERE

Contacts

Católica Doctoral School

Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Palma de Cima
1649-023, Lisboa

 

E-mail: cados@ucp.pt

Funding bodies