Why It Matters: Success Skills Workshop

Why worry about time management and critical thinking in college?Two women in cap and gown celebrating their graduation.

What is the Working Document?

One key element in all of the writing labs for this course is “The Working Document.” This is where you’ll be taking notes, brainstorming, outlining, and performing other prewriting tasks. The working document is like a written record of your thinking and planning process. Some instructors will ask you to turn in your working document; others will have you keep it to yourself. Whether you turn it in or not, the working document is a crucial part of the learning process in this course.

Students enter college with all sorts of ideas about their abilities based on previous educational experiences. But many of these ideas are based on myths. You can learn to be a better student and more successful at math or writing or whatever you think you are not-so-great at. And your ability to learn and grow can help you not just in school, but beyond.

In this module, we’ll take a closer look at strategies that will set you up for success—managing your time effectively, taking the right approach to writing assignments, and thinking critically.

Writing Workshop & The Working Document

Every component of the working document will be introduced throughout this module in a blue box such as this one.

Open The Working Document for this module as a Google Document.

Choose “file” then “make a copy” to make your own version of the document. If you prefer to download it as a word or other file, you may.Screenshot of the file, make a copy, button inside of google docs

Rename it as “YOUR NAME: Working Doc – Writing Essentials” and move it to a folder where you can easily find it.screenshot of copy document and renaming settings inside of google docsNext, go to Share.

Share button in Google Documents

Under access, be sure that both “Anyone with the link” and “can comment” are selected.

This will enable your instructor to make comments on the document.Screenshot of GoogleDocs sharing settings set to "Anyone with the link can comment"