Alumni In Class

June 7, 2017 at 11:53 am

Linguistics Alum: ELIP Course Helped Her ‘Talk the Talk’

Lydia Deakin ’12, ’15M became better equipped for the level of academic writing expected in her graduate program through an ELIP course. She poses here in front of a mirror.

Lydia Deakin ’12, ’15M became better equipped for the level of academic writing expected in her graduate program through an ELIP course.

Despite excelling in her undergraduate photojournalism studies, Lydia Deakin ’12, ’15M felt unprepared for the level of academic writing expected of her as she began a Master of Applied Linguistics.

In order to become better equipped to tackle her responsibilities, she decided to take ELIP 5140: Academic Writing in Graduate Studies.

“I don’t think I would have been nearly as successful with my writing and research without that class,” says Deakin, who earned her M.S. from the College of Arts & Sciences. In addition to her graduate studies, she worked as a writing tutor in the English Language Improvement Program Graduate Writing Lab.

“It was really useful, both in my studies and also as a writing tutor,” Deakin says. “I learned a lot about document structure, citation, and the kinds of expectations that professors have for graduate students’ writing.”

As a writing tutor in the ELIP Graduate Writing Lab, Deakin worked with graduate students who want to become more effective writers.

“I’ve worked with the same students for the past two years, since my first semester as a tutor,” she says. “It’s really cool to get to see them continue their work and get to know them as they grow as writers.”

“I’d definitely recommend the ELIP classes and the writing lab to any graduate student. Even if you think you are a great writer or speaker, there’s still something more that you can learn,” she says. “I know there was for me.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*