AWC Welcome day – 2025

On September 24, the new academic year started at the Academic Writing Center! And, as tradition goes, we began with the AWC Welcome Day. This year, our colleagues from HSE University covered a wide range of topics — from strategies for overcoming psychological barriers in writing to the art of creating presentations and other visual materials.

We have gathered the most memorable insights from the workshops — both from our team and from participants:

The Art of International Publication: Key Insights for Russian-Speaking Researchers (Marina Tsatryan)

We: Don’t be afraid of reviewers and their comments. Their role is to help bring your text up to the standards and requirements of the journal. And don’t get discouraged, even if your paper goes through three or four rounds of review.

You: “Extremely relevant and practical for non-native English speakers. The specific examples of common linguistic and structural pitfalls for Russian-speaking researchers were invaluable. The guidance on adapting research narratives for international journals and addressing cultural differences in academic communication was particularly insightful.”

Breaking Barriers: From a Blank Page to a Published Article (Valeria Koncha)

We: Free writing is a great way to overcome procrastination and fear of the blank page. Take just a couple of minutes to write down everything that comes to mind. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling mistakes — often this is how you extract the most original and successful ideas for your paper.

You: “The speaker shares personal experience (not only success but also failures) — it’s priceless.”

Presentation Slides as an Instrument for Managing Perception and Attention (Tatyana Ledneva)

We: Our recommendations for designing slides are supported by scientific research 🙂

You: “All the tips were based on cognitive load theory — that’s great. Comprehensive input, practice before each part, lots of examples. Extremely practical and visually engaging. The tips were immediately applicable.”

From Practitioner to Researcher: Preparing Your First International Research Publication (Ilya Denisenko)

We: Experience in business is certainly different from academic work. But the advice of a practitioner who has already made this transition can make your path into academia much smoother.

You: “Very practical and well-structured. The speaker explained complex concepts in a very accessible way. A good atmosphere for asking questions and discussion.

And this is just the beginning — more events are ahead. Hurry up and sign up for the course “Imitating Form and Analyzing Argument in Research Articles: An Intensive Rhetoric and Composition Course“, where we will analyze rhetorical techniques that you can later use in your papers.