Category: Announcements

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PPLS Computer Programming Courses

Happy New Year!

If one of your resolutions is to improve your computer skills, you should check out the 2-hour courses on offer from Alisdair Tullo and Chris Gillespie.

Knowing how to program is an important tool to have in your belt. Even if you aren’t currently engaged in a project that requires programming, I’d still recommend having a look. Once you know how to get a computer to help you solve problems, you’ll start finding many ways to use that power. You might even stumble upon ideas for research that wouldn’t have occurred to you otherwise.

Most of these courses are already full, but you should make sure to join the waiting list of any event that you’re interested in. These waiting lists let event organisers know when there’s enough interest to warrant repeating a course.

Intermediate Programming with Python
(Jan 15, 11:10-13:00)

Online Experiments
(Jan 15, 14:10-16:00)

Basics of Coding in Java — Creating Stimuli Using Processing
(Jan 18, 10:10-12:00)

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Writing retreat for Psychology Honours students

Want a quiet, motivating environment for getting some work done? The Psychology Teaching Coordinators have organised a writing retreat for Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 10:00 to 17:00.   The contact for this is Kasia Banas, and spots can be reserved here.

Eligibility is limited to Honours students in Psychology.

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Workshop: Using the library with Anne Donnelly

library books
Photo by Paul Dodds

Do you really know how to use the library?  Or do you only seem to use a fraction of the resources that are available?  Anne Donnelly, the Academic Support Librarian for PPLS, will help you develop better research strategies.  This workshop is available to students taking PPLS courses at all levels — while many of the techniques covered are suited to larger research projects, it is best to learn about them as early in your career as possible.

You will find out how to…

The following topics will also be covered: the Centre for Research Collections, the Society of College, National and University Libraries, & Digital Skills and Training.

If you are interested, please book now to reserve a seat on November 26th at 14:10 (location tba) and fill out the pre-session questionnaire to let us know which topics are most interesting for you.

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LEL Workshop: Writing Linguistics Funding Applications

This afternoon, there will be a workshop on how to write funding applications in linguistics.  It has been organised by a group of PhD students in LEL with mentoring from teaching staff, and will run from 14:00 to 16:00 in Seminar Room 6 in the Chrystal MacMillan Building.  Reservations are not necessary — simply show up if you are interested.

The PPLS Writing Centre isn’t directly involved with this workshop, but we can redirect your questions to the right people.

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Pre-honours workshops now available

Here’s another announcement I’m happy to make:  our pre-honours workshops have been finalised and we are now accepting bookings.  These workshops will involve large groups but we’ll keep things interactive through the use of live electronic polling.  You’ll look closely at excerpts from real student essays to see which approaches work and which do not.

Visit our workshop page now to see what’s on offer.  Don’t wait to book.

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Two appointments per month

The PPLS Writing Centre is happy to announce that students are now allotted two appointments per calendar month, effective immediately.

Previously, we allowed two appointments per semester.  This has been changed so that students don’t feel the need to save up their hours.

There will be an announcement concerning workshops within the next day or two.   These are due to be held on the week of October 22nd.

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Extra proofreading for non-native MSc students

At the PPLS Writing Centre, we concentrate on improving your ability to write clearly and put forward coherent arguments.   We try to avoid getting into proofreading or giving advice on your essay’s content.   After all, we don’t want to duplicate the help that is available from elsewhere within the University of Edinburgh.   I have already written a blog post about some of the options that are available (eligibility varies).

It was a nice surprise today to see an announcement that EUSA’s peer proofreading service, which normally closes over the summer, has been made available until August 10th.  Eligibility is limited to current MSc students who are non-native speakers of English.   You are welcome to access this help in addition to any appointments you book with us.

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Summer workshops for MSc students

[Paul Dodds]
Summer is on us, but MSc students are still in the thick of it with their dissertations.  That’s why we’re offering a July workshop series with a particular focus on quantitative research.

See “Workshops” for details of what will be held when. Please make sure to book immediately, as there are only so many places available.  Register yourself even if places run out, as you will be added to a waiting list.

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Drop-in quantitative research help

students around a computerWe will be offering drop-in sessions on experiment design and statistics to MSc students in PPLS over the summer. These are intended to help you get over problems so you can finish your dissertations.

The main topics we can help you with are experimental design, data analysis/interpretation, model fitting and software (e.g., R). Writing-related questions are welcome, but they are probably better dealt with in a separate hour-long appointment so we can give your dissertation the time it deserves (see “Appointments” on this site).

While you should always consult your supervisor first about questions of what to do, our tutors can help you figure out how to do what you want to do. In other words, we’re troubleshooters.

At least two PhD tutors will be present at every session and no booking is required.   For our schedule, see “Drop-in” on this site.

Make sure to arrive early and bring your laptop (both for the session itself and so that you can work while you wait for a tutor).

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Writing retreat: April 24th 9:00-17:00

Need a quiet place to work? Our writing retreat provides space for writing without distractions. That’s right: no talkative roommates who finished last week and no piped music blaring out of speakers in a café. Instead, you’ll be working beside a handful of your peers in silence. We’ll order tea and coffee for groups of 12 or more. You’ll need to bring your own laptop and lunch.

NOTE: This particular retreat begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.. You can sign up for the morning, the afternoon or the entire day, but when you sign up, you’re making a commitment to be there on time and leave at the break or at the end.

https://www.events.ed.ac.uk/index.cfm?event=book&scheduleID=29223

If you find that there are no spaces available, please sign up anyways. You’ll be put on a waiting list that we’ll use to arrange additional retreats.

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