First Year
In the First-year Writing Seminars, Rice students start developing the skills they need to communicate effectively throughout their time at the university. In addition, students can attend workshops through the Center for Academic and Professional Communication or make an appointment for one-on-one consultations to review an assignment.
Undergrad
Check out our workshops on topics like procrastination, oral presentations, and slide design, as well as our COMM 300 and COMM 415 course! We also maintain a list of online resources to assist undergraduate students in completing essays, presentations, and posters, and students can book one-on-one consultations to discuss an assignment.
Graduate Students
The PWC provides graduate students with workshops tailored to their academic goals and a curated list of online communication resources. Graduate students can also schedule one-on-one consultations in the Center for Academic and Professional Communication to help them succeed in written, oral, and visual assignments.
International Students
We provide resources to assist students whose first language is not English with communication assignments and courses. Students can make appointments for one-on-one consultations in the Center for Academic and Professional Communication or attend communication workshops and credit-bearing courses.
Faculty
We partner with instructors and departments to create communication instruction for their students, from classroom presentations to individual and group coaching. We also assist faculty in creating rigorous communication assignments and assessment tools tailored to their discipline.
Upcoming Workshops & Events
Writing an Abstract (for HUMA & SoSci) February 2020
This workshop is designed for graduate students who want help with writing an abstract for conference presentations/papers as well as journal articles. We will look at samples of successful abstracts, discuss the anatomy of a scholarly abstract, and learn how to use specific and targeted language. Participants also will have the opportunity to write and get feedback on their own abstract. Limited to 12 participants.
Saying It and Slaying It: Stylish Academic Prose - March 2020
Is your prose sluggish? Abstract? Vague? Just plain boring? Are you looking to engage your readers without sacrificing accuracy or clarity? Do you want to build confidence in your writing? Then this is the workshop for you. This workshop focuses on style — the subjective choices in form, tone, rhythm, and voicing that fundamentally affect the authority, poise, and effectiveness of a written work. Limited to 15 participants.
Undergraduate Writing Clinic - March 2020
How do you get started on a tough assignment? How do you move from a general topic to a specific argument? How do you contextualize that argument in a way that makes it matter to your readers? How do you organize claims and sequence your paragraphs? How do you conclude an argument without sounding redundant? How do you make it all flow? How do you revise things to make it even better? This writing clinic is designed to increase your ability to make a compelling argument in the most effective way. Join us for any or all of the topics to learn useful strategies for navigating the conventions of academic writing.
Center for Academic & Professional Communication 
The CAPC is the home for student and faculty communication support at Rice.
First-Year Writing Intensive Seminar 
FWIS courses will give you the communication foundation you need for success at Rice and beyond.
English as a Second Language 
The PWC provides a host of services for Rice students whose first language isn't English.
Communication in the Disciplines 
The PWC helps students learn to communicate in ways appropriate for their majors and intended careers.