Academic Writing Workshop: How to Consult with Academics

From 11 to 13 May at ITMO University, with the support of the English Language Office at the United States Consulate, a workshop was held at ITMO University for Academic Writing. Eve Smith, a specialist in English Language Teaching and senior consultant at the “Samara Academic Consultancy Center” ran the workshop.

On the first day of the seminar, Ms. Smith explained to the staff and postgraduate students participating in the seminar how to write scientific texts in English according to international requirements. The next two days, the guest from the Samaran University, shared her experiences of holding effective consultations on academic writing to the teachers and professors from the Chair of Foreign Languages and tutors from the Foreign Language Training Center.

This seminar was an important event for the Academic Writing Lab at ITMO University, which was established in early 2015, headed by Inna Anokhina, senior lecturer for the Chair of Foreign Languages. The purpose of the Lab is to provide support to researchers and University students who are preparing journal articles and other documents in the English-language.

“Each participant of the seminar had the opportunity to practice holding academic writing consultations. The participants were each able to play the role of both the tutor and tutee, and were also able to observe their dialogue. This enabled the participants to become more conscious of their own strengths and weaknesses, and get more of an idea of the kinds of difficulties that may arise while reviewing a text with the author. As a tutor in the Academic Writing Lab, it is important to be able to establish a rapport with the author, since a positive attitude is the key to success” – explained Inna Anokhina at the end of the seminar.

Eve Smith created a friendly atmosphere which allowed for active participation and lively discussions during the workshop sessions. As a result, the participants not only left with new knowledge from the lecturer, but they also learned a lot from one another’s experiences.

Eve Smith is a specialist in English language teaching. In 2001 she graduated from Agnes Scott College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 2004, she received a Masters of Arts from the Georgia State University. In 2007, she trained at the Alliant International University, where she received a master’s degree in the field of international relations.