Hour 1: 12 Tips for Outstanding Public-Facing Writing (2pm-3pm)

In the first hour of Writing for the Public, six experienced professionals will offer 12 tips for effective public facing writing. These tips will range from how to select a topic, to how to approach the writing process itself, to how to get one’s work in print. Following their presentation, audience members will have an opportunity to pose questions to the panel.

Hour 2: Breakout Sessions (3pm-4pm)

Following the Hour 1 roundtable, participants will attend one of three breakout sessions. Each session will be targeted at a unique constituency.

1. The first breakout session (“An Alternative to Academia”) – hosted by Gainesville freelancer Darlena Cunha and Slate history editor Rebecca Onion – will be targeted at participants who are interested in public-facing writing as an alternative or supplement to traditional academic employment. It will be especially useful to graduate students and contingent faculty interested in alt- or post-ac careers.
2. The second breakout session (“Establishing Your Expertise”) – hosted by event-organizer Sean Trainor and writer, historian, and activist Cynthia Greenlee – will teach participants how to use public-facing writing to establish their expertise before a broad audience of readers. It will be most useful to senior graduate students and early-career faculty who plan to pursue traditional (or semi-traditional) careers within academia.
3. The third breakout session (“Informing Public Discourse”) – hosted by UF Strategic Communications Director Donna Winchester and UF Professor of Mathematics Kevin Knudson – will offer strategies to participants interested in using their expertise to inform public discourse. This session will be particularly useful to mid-career and senior scholars.

Participants should take the diagnostic to determine which breakout session they should attend.

Hour 3: Moderated Discussion and Writing Workshop (4pm-5pm)

During Writing for the Public‘s final hour, participants will choose between one of two activities: a moderated group conversation with the workshop’s six presenters; and a peer review and discussion session, for those participants who have brought a piece of writing they would like to workshop.

The peer-review and discussion session will give participants an opportunity to implement what they’ve learned in the workshops in their own writing. Working in pairs and small groups, participants will offer feedback and suggestions on one another’s writing, and discuss concrete plans for getting their work in print.

*  Following the final session, refreshments will be available for participants. *