Mentor texts: How to learn from the best

Learning from others is a useful skill for an author, especially if they write in a foreign language.

 

Open resources and databases offer plenty of examples of published articles, but how to find those that can become your mentor texts? 

At the AWC workshop this week, Leslie Dupont, a writing professional from the University of Arizona, spoke about strategies of selecting and analyzing “mentor texts” that can become models for your own article. Participants received checklists and guidelines for analyzing texts both in terms of structure, organization, and meeting journal requirements and in terms of language features. 

The main takeaway: it’s worth learning to learn from the best! 

• “It was a thorough well-structured session applicable both for early-career and advanced researchers. At the end of the workshop, we did some practical things. I found the list of questions very useful.”
• “The speaker’s manner was friendly and encouraging. Besides, she is a great expert in the theme of the workshop.”
• “Examples of breaking articles and abstracts into pieces were useful, and we had a chance to practice it on the spot.”

This semester, you have opportunities to attend two more workshops with Leslie, so don’t hesitate to register and come to learn with us!