Best Practices Workshops

Our Best Practices Workshops will help you tackle a broad range of communication tasks -- from researching a topic and designing a business card to proofreading a document and using plain language. These one-day workshops are held on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the New Westminster campus of Douglas College. The workshops are practical in emphasis, focus on outcomes, and provide a quick introduction to the basics. The registration fee (including GST) is $75 for each workshop. To ensure opportunities for participation and feedback, enrolment is limited to a maximum of 15 participants.

For fall 2008, we're offering five workshops: grammar, proofreading, plain language, personal marketing, and scanning and image formats.

WRIT 0102: Grammar Fundamentals

November 29, Room 1808
Fall offering now closed

What are the eight parts of speech? What's the difference between a phrase and a clause? How about an absolute phrase, a gerund phrase, and a participial phrase? At sea? Then this workshop is for you -- whether your aim is to fill gaps in your education, to better apply the rules of grammar, or to impress your clients and colleagues.

By the end of the day, you'll have an improved understanding of the grammatical terms and structures you need to know. Bring your pencils and prepare to parse. Recommended for new students in Print Futures who would like an early start on the winter term. Instructor: Frances Peck.

Download the workshop outline for WRIT 0102 Grammar Fundamentals.

WRIT 0103: Proofreading Best Practices

December 6, Room 1808
Registration closes on November 28

Typos, typos, typos. They're embarrassing and often avoidable. This workshop will introduce you to practical proofreading: what proofreading is, when to do it, and how do to it well. It's intended for those who proofread as part of their work but have no formal training as a proofreader.

By the end of the day, you'll be better equipped with techniques for practical proofreading. Instructor: Maureen Nicholson.

Download the workshop outline for WRIT 0103 Proofreading Best Practices.

WRIT 0104: Learn to Write Plain Language 

November 1, Room 1812
Fall offering now closed

About 48 percent of adult Canadians have difficulty reading the documents necessary for carrying on their daily lives. That's according to the International Adult Literacy Survey. For them, and for those of us with tight schedules, plain language is a must. This workshop will introduce you to plain language: what it is, when to use it, and why it is important.

By the end of the day, you'll know 10 techniques for making your writing clearer, more straightforward, and more effective. Instructor: Peter Moskos.

Download the workshop outline for WRIT 0104 Learn to Write Plain Language.

WRIT 0105: Promote Yourself!  Personal Marketing for Writers and Editors

November 8, Room 1808
Fall offering now closed

How can you establish your personal brand? This workshop explores the techniques and tools of personal marketing to help you keep in touch with business contacts, introduce yourself to new markets, and reinforce your professional reputation as a writer or editor.

By the end of the day, you'll have developed a simple one-year plan for your promotional activities. Instructor: Kelly Lee Parry.

Download the workshop outline for WRIT 0105 Promote Yourself! Personal Marketing for Writers and Editors.

WRIT 0106: An Introduction to Scanning and Image Formats

November 15, Room 5109
Fall offering now closed

TIFF or GIF, DPI and LPI, vector or raster? Computer imaging language can be perplexing and intimidating to the uninitiated. This workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of image scanning and will deal with different file formats and what they mean in practice.

By the end of the day, you'll have learned the language of image formats and basic scanning techniques. Recommended for new students in Print Futures who would like an early start on the winter term. Instructor: John Carter.

Download the workshop outline for WRIT 0106 An Introduction to Scanning and Image Formats.

4 Ways to Register

1. By mail: download and print your registration form
2. By fax: download and print your registration form
3. By telephone: call 604-527-5292
4. Online (under Continuing Education)

If you are	then go to http://registrar.douglas.bc.ca
a current or former Douglas College student, employee, or faculty member	Use your nine-digit college number and access the Register and Pay Area for Continuing Education Courses
new to Douglas College	Apply for Continuing Education Courses, obtain your nine-digit college number, and then access the Register and Pay Area for Continuing Education Courses

Confirmation and cancellation policies: Receipt of your registration will be promptly confirmed. If you don't receive a prompt confirmation of a mailed or faxed registration, your registration form may have gone astray. Please feel free to check in with Print Futures: 604-527-5292 or printfutures@douglas.bc.ca .

If a workshop must be cancelled because of low enrolment, you'll receive 48 hours' notice and a full refund.

Updated November 2008.