About the workshop

After you have defended, the final step for graduation eligibility is submitting your thesis, project, or extended essay(s) to the Library. This workshop will walk you through the thesis submission process.

You will learn:

1. How to log into the Thesis Registration System (TRS)
2. What documents are required to upload to the TRS
3. What “if applicable” documents you need to upload to the TRS
4. What happens after you have submitted

Note: A good time to take this workshop is sometime during the semester that you’ll be defending or sometime after you know when your defence date is.

 About Thesis Writing Group

Join Thesis Writing Group to make some serious progress on your thesis (or other academic writing projects) and to develop a sustainable writing practice. Thesis Writing Group runs for ten weeks each term and is modelled after other successful online writing groups that use scheduled time to work on writing with the (quiet) presence and support of other writers. Thesis Writing Group also makes many aspects of our in-person Thesis Writing Retreats available online throughout each term. 

What you can expect

Thesis Writing Group is held via Zoom. It is facilitated by members of the Graduate Writing Services team and the Research Commons Librarian, who are available for writing and research support during the weekly sessions. An Assistant for Theses will also be available for some of the sessions for any questions about using the thesis Word template, formatting, and the thesis submission process. Optional mini workshops on topics such as library research techniques, copyright, and academic publishing may be offered some weeks. For Summer 2025, sessions will be held on Fridays, 9:30 am - 12:30pm for 10 weeks, starting Friday, May 30 and concluding Friday, August 1.

The online writing group format

Some of you may already be familiar with or have participated in online writing groups. For both those with and without experience, we encourage you to join us for this unique experience! The group will begin each session by briefly checking in and setting goals before turning to dedicated writing time. Participants can request support from our team through the chat feature, and consultations/discussions will take place in breakout rooms. The 3-hour sessions conclude with the group coming together and discussing any reflections or areas of interest/concern.

Writers will be asked to keep their microphones muted while writing, and the use of webcams is welcome but entirely optional for each participant. 

 Registration is for ten weeks

Registration is available for all 10 weeks of sessions combined. We ask that registered participants commit to attending each session to the extent that their schedules allow.

Please register by Thursday, May 29, 2025 before 6:00am in order to receive the Zoom link to join.

If you have any questions about Thesis Writing Group, please contact Julie Jones, Research Commons Librarian, at jsj7@sfu.ca. 

About the workshop

The SFU Library thesis template is a Microsoft Word file designed to assist students in preparing theses, projects, and extended essay(s) in accordance with formatting standards and requirements for submission to the Library.

There are 3 parts to this workshop:

1. SFU Library's research data specialists will give instruction on how to store, preserve (archive) and, if appropriate, share research data for future uses. (15 to 20 minutes)

2. SFU Copyright Office will briefly explain copyright law as it relates to reproducing copyright protected material in your thesis and other published works, and explain how to request permission from copyright holders when required. (20 to 30 minutes)

3. For the remainder of the time, the Theses Office will walk through the overall structure of your thesis and demonstrate the functionality of the thesis template. You will learn how to:

• download the thesis template (a Microsoft Word file) and set up some defaults
• format your text using styles (ie. block quotes, lists, references, etc.)
• update the Table of Contents, List of Tables and List of Figures
• bring in text from other documents

If we have time, we will show you how to:

• insert figures/images and tables and generate auto-numbered captions
• update the List of Figures and Tables
• other tips and tricks