General Events

Start your summer the "write" way! The goal of the retreat is to lay the foundation for a more positive and productive relationship to writing. During the week-long retreat, you’ll benefit by establishing a regular and sustainable writing habit, becoming more aware of your own writing processes, setting and reflecting on writing goals, and refining your revision strategies. 

Each day, you will have time to work independently on your writing as well as to participate in optional afternoon workshops about common concerns that arise during long-term writing projects, such as reconnecting with your writing, writing literature reviews, and polishing your academic prose. The morning writing time offers structure and community and is ideal for graduate students seeking to make progress, meet deadlines on long-term projects, and build a positive peer network around writing. 

The retreat does not provide feedback on writing--if you're looking to learn more and improve your writing, check out our events or make an appointment to get individualized feedback. Find more information and our Writing Group FAQs here, and learn more about our consultations and policies. The Writers Workshop will open for summer consultations on June 15. 

This event is open to current University of Illinois affiliates (students, faculty, and staff). Please register with your University of Illinois email account in advance. An online option will be available for morning writing; however, we will not offer a hybrid option for afternoon presentations. We will make presentation materials available to all registrants. One goal of this retreat is to experience a writing community, and, toward that end, we encourage participants to attend in-person if possible.

Writing and Workshop Schedule
Monday-Friday, 9am-12pm, Orange Room or online via Zoom, individual writing time
Monday-Wednesday, ~1-3pm, Topical Workshops, Main Library 106 or TBD

• Monday, 1-3:30, Reconnecting with your writing, in Writers Workshop (room 100b)
• Tuesday, 1-2:30, Reading for and writing literature reviews, in Main Library 106
• Wednesday, 1-2:30, Strategies for powerful academic prose, in Main Library 106