emwords: Training and Mentoring
Training may be something you undertake on your own by private study, or in a group with a tutor.
emma runs training courses, workshops and individual coaching on topics that are part of workplace writing and text editing. Here is some information about one of our most popular workshops – it has been presented all over Australia and in Europe and South Africa, in various formats – one-day, two-day, with or without individual consultations for participants – even as a component of a full week’s program. The workshop is currently presented by Zoom with plenty of variety of presentation and plenty of breaks, as in-person presentation is not advisable while Covid-19 concerns remain. This has the advantage that nobody has to travel, all material is delivered to you by email, and you work on the workbook on-line – no need to print it out unless you want to.
Grammar in a nutshell(© emma, 2021)
One or two presenters, depending on format required
Did you miss out on learning the whys and wherefores of English grammar at school? Or have you forgotten? Or is English not your native language? Do you find it difficult to explain to clients or colleagues why you recommend grammatical alterations to their text? Or does your own writing need the same edits time and again because they are not explained to you? Many of us didn’t need a thorough understanding of grammar in our early careers, and find that we need it now. We can help you if this is you.
This one-day workshop, designed by Elizabeth Manning Murphy DE, and presented by her alone or with one of her Associates, Dr Jon Rosalky or Ted Briggs AE, will alert you to some of the more common grammatical problems we meet in our writing and text editing. It will explain the grammar behind the conventions that make text acceptable, and it will provide an opportunity to consolidate points of grammar, try writing a well-organised paragraph, practise editing and explaining your edits – with feedback straight away and in post-workshop consultations.
Grammar in a nutshell is for all writers, editors, and indexers, and, as a bonus, anyone considering taking the Australian Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) accreditation examination will find that activities can be included that will provide some practice in working through material similar to what is in the exam – with instant feedback.
The workshop has been updated to relate closely to Elizabeth’s book Effective writing: plain English at work – 2nd edition, 2014, Lacuna Publishing, Sydney. See Books for an outline of this book. There is no required reading for the workshop, but this book is recommended complementary reading and is referred to throughout the workshop.
In addition, the workshop has been mapped to the relevant sections of the Australian standards for editing practice (ASEP), 2nd edition, 2013, IPEd.
Optional extra activities are provided for those keen to continue improving the effectiveness of their writing, and a free consultation by email is included.
Topics include:
- English as a living, changing language
- the structure of a sentence
- the parts of speech (word classes)
- from words to phrases to clauses to sentences to paragraphs
- some problem areas: apostrophes; parallel structure; bullets; dashes
- an introduction to plain English, including guidance on writing for government, academic, fiction and other purposes
- writing and editing activities along the way to consolidate the points made.
Expanded workshop
An expanded version of this workshop includes Parts 1 and 2 of the workshop on, say, Monday and Friday, with individual private consultations on the days in between for all participants on any aspects of writing, English grammar, workplace communication – anything that’s bothering them. The discussions between participants and consultant presenters remain strictly confidential – this assurance allows participants to feel free to discuss anything that’s on their mind concerning whatever writing they do.
Contact us for further information and a free quote for the format of workshop you need.
Mentoring is different from training. Mentoring is when one person, the mentor, with wisdom and particular skills, shares their wisdom and skills with another person, the mentee. A mentorship can be quite short – maybe a few sessions together to talk about one particular topic. Or it can develop into a lifetime friendship – and anything in between. It’s possible to be mentored in anything to do with writing, editing, setting up a business and lots of other topics, and there are members of the emma team who are ready and willing to mentor you. Here are some general areas in which mentoring works very successfully:
- English grammar
- plain English
- drafting a book
- copy-editing
- setting up a freelance business
- becoming familiar with new technology that might help your writing or editing
- professional and personal development
- preparing for accreditation as an editor by exam.
How could mentoring work for you? Contact us to ask for more details.