Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide
Welcome to the CAEX Courses and Workshops!
In the Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars our goal is to promote students’ scholarly skill development primarily using course-based instruction in support of their academic degree program. Course topics range from academic writing and critical thinking to academic integrity. Our courses vary in length from four weeks to eight weeks and are available for graduate students on both the quarter and semester schedules.
If you are not sure what CAEX course might be best for you, you can take either our self-assessment quiz (best for students who understand their own writing issues) or our diagnostic quiz (best for students who would like assistance in identifying their writing issues). Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
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- Self-assessment quiz
- NOTE: This quiz is not validated. This quiz also relies on you knowing your own writing strengths and weaknesses.
- Diagnostic quiz
- NOTE: This quiz is not validated. We cannot guarantee that the identified topics are points of weakness, or that a course will result in improvement. This quiz is simply a tool for you in identifying potential areas of writing focus and your options for support. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
We also offer workshops for doctoral students in the proposal stage of their program. Our six-week long, online workshops offer students an opportunity to get feedback on their proposal from our faculty who specialize in writing. Through these workshops, students learn how to revise and edit their proposals. We have four workshops available: the proposal, the introduction, the literature review, and the methods section. Please see our online course schedule for more information on availability. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
• CAEX 3100 – Skills for Academic Integrity
CAEX 3100 – Skills for Academic Integrity(1.5 cr.) In this 4-week course, students study Walden’s policy on academic integrity and apply strategies to ensure academic integrity in their work. The course is designed to help graduate students recognize and avoid violations of academic integrity. In a supportive environment, students practice the techniques needed to ensure academic integrity, including paraphrasing, quoting, avoiding misuse of previously written material, managing time, and using plagiarism-detection software to screen for originality. Note: Students are assigned to separate sections based on their degree level; i.e., undergraduate students are assigned to some sections; graduate students are assigned to other sections. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide. |
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• CAEX 3101 – Skills for Academic Integrity
CAEX 3101 – Skills for Academic Integrity(1 sem. cr.) In this 4-week course, students study Walden’s policy on academic integrity and apply strategies to ensure academic integrity in their work. The course is designed to help graduate students recognize and avoid violations of academic integrity. In a supportive environment, students practice the techniques needed to ensure academic integrity, including paraphrasing, quoting, avoiding misuse of previously written material, managing time, and using plagiarism-detection software to screen for originality. Note: This course is for semester-based graduate (including master’s-level and doctoral level) students. (This course was previously listed as SBSF 5101.) |
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• CAEX 3200 – A Practical Course in APA Style
CAEX 3200 – A Practical Course in APA Style(1.5 cr.) This 4-week course focuses on the most relevant aspects of scholarly writing as presented in the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Instruction and practice is provided in references and citations, reducing bias in language, headings, lists, statistical and mathematical copy, italics and capitalization, numbers style, and table and figure formatting. The course is designed to help prepare students for successful writing experiences in their coursework and major writing projects. This course focuses on grammar only in regard to APA style nuances. Weekly assignments are based on the required text, Mastering APA Style: Student’s Workbook and Training Guide. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
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• CAEX 3201 – A Practical Course in APA Style
CAEX 3201 – A Practical Course in APA Style(1 sem. cr.) This 4-week course focuses on the most relevant aspects of scholarly writing as presented in the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Instruction and practice are provided in references and citations, reducing bias in language, headings, lists, statistical and mathematical copy, italics and capitalization, numbers style, and table and figure formatting. The course is designed to help prepare students for successful writing experiences in coursework, KAMs, and capstone projects. The focus of this course is on grammar only in regard to APA style nuances. Similarly, while statistics and presentation of research findings are covered in the APA Manual, instruction in the presentation of advanced research is not offered nor is it a course in research methods. Weekly assignments are based on the required text, Mastering APA Style: Student’s Workbook and Training Guide. Note:This course is for semester-based graduate (including master’s-level and doctoral level) students. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide. |
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• CAEX 6000 – Graduate Writing: Evaluative and Persuasive Composition Skills
CAEX 6000 – Graduate Writing: Evaluative and Persuasive Composition Skills(3 cr.) This course is designed for students to enhance their ability to succeed in Walden’s writing-intensive courses and is recommended for those whose course instructors have encouraged them to enroll in a writing skills course. For graduate-level composition, students must be able to paraphrase, summarize, and evaluate peer-reviewed research while using graduate-level mechanics. This class provides a solid skills refresher to help students with clear and concise graduate-level composition tasks. Through prewriting, drafting, and revising, students will practice the written communication skills necessary to successfully compose course assignments, create discussion board posts, and write in a scholarly voice. Navigating peer-reviewed material, describing and evaluating primary research, and composing strong scholastic arguments take practice. Analyzing, synthesizing, interpreting, and evaluating primary research are the skills necessary to complete the capstone project, thesis, or dissertation. This course will provide students with the written communication tools necessary to complete longer writing projects that necessitate a persuasive academic voice. Note: This course is for quarter-based graduate (including master’s-level and doctoral level) students. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide. |
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• CAEX 6010 – Graduate Writing I: Evaluative Composition Skills
CAEX 6010 – Graduate Writing I: Evaluative Composition Skills(1 sem. cr.) This course is designed for students to enhance their ability to succeed in Walden’s writing-intensive courses and is recommended for those whose course instructors have encouraged them to enroll in a writing skills course. For graduate-level composition, students must be able to paraphrase, summarize, and evaluate peer-reviewed research while using proper grammar and punctuation. This class is a solid skills refresher to help students with clear and concise graduate-level composition tasks. Through prewriting, drafting, and revising, students will practice the written communication skills necessary to successfully compose course assignments, create discussion board posts, and work to develop an academic voice. Note: This course is for semester-based graduate-level students. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide. |
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• CAEX 6011 – Graduate Writing II: Persuasive Composition Skills
CAEX 6011 – Graduate Writing II: Persuasive Composition Skills(1 sem. cr.) This course is designed for students to enhance their ability to succeed in Walden’s writing-intensive courses and taking the Graduate Writing I: Evaluative Composition Skills course, which is recommended but is not a prerequisite for this course. Navigating peer-reviewed material, describing and evaluating primary research, and composing strong scholastic arguments take practice. Analyzing, synthesizing, interpreting, and evaluating primary research are the skills necessary to complete the capstone project, thesis, or dissertation. Students in this course are provided with the written communication tools necessary to complete longer writing projects that necessitate a persuasive academic voice. Note: This course is for semester-based graduate-level students. |
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• CAEX 6050 – Graduate Writing I: Basic Composition Skills
CAEX 6050 – Graduate Writing I: Basic Composition Skills(1.5 cr.) In this 8-week course, students study effective writing processes to advance their scholarly writing skills. The course is designed to help prepare master’s and doctoral students for successful writing experiences at Walden, including writing-intensive coursework. In a supportive environment, students practice the core concepts of critical reading, prewriting, drafting, and revising and practice applying those concepts through discussions and a variety of assignments, including a final 1-page summary of a selected journal article. Students also complete an assessment of their skills and a personal plan for continued development of their scholarly writing. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide. Note: This course is for quarter-based graduate-level students. |
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| • CAEX 6051 – Graduate Writing I: Basic Composition Skills | |
| • CAEX 6060 – Graduate Writing II: Intermediate Composition Skills | |
| • CAEX 6061 – Graduate Writing II: Intermediate Composition Skills | |
| • CAEX 6100 – Critical Thinking and Logic | |
| • CAEX 6101 – Critical Thinking and Logic | |
| • CAEX 6110 – Communications and Teamwork in a Global Society | |
| • CAEX 6110 – Communications and Teamwork in a Global Society | |
| • CAEX 6111 – Communications and Teamwork in a Global Society | |
| • CAEX 6150 – Graduate Writing for Non-Native English Speakers | |
| • CAEX 6151 – Graduate Writing for Non-Native English Speakers | |
| • CAEX 6200 – Basic APA Style: Citations and References | |
| • CAEX 6201 – Basic APA Style: Citations and References | |
| • CAEX 6300 – Reading Techniques for Graduate Studies | |
| • CAEX 6301 – Advanced Reading Strategies
Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide |
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| • CAEX 6400 – Succeeding on Academic and Professional Exams | |
| • CAEX 6401 – Succeeding on Academic and Professional Exams | |
| • CAEX 6500 – Effective Assignment Strategies | |
| • CAEX 6501 – Effective Assignment Strategies | |
| • CAEX 6600 – Effective Essay Strategies | |
| • CAEX 6601 – Effective Essay Strategies |
• CAEX 8010 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Proposal
CAEX 8010 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Proposal(0 cr.) This small-group workshop is for doctoral students who have a working draft of their dissertation, project, or doctoral study proposal but find themselves needing writing guidance and support. |
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| • CAEX 8015 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Proposal | |
| • CAEX 8020 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Introduction | |
| • CAEX 8025 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Introduction | |
| • CAEX 8030 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Literature Review | |
| • CAEX 8035 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Literature Review | |
| • CAEX 8040 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Methods Section | |
| • CAEX 8045 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Methods Section | |
| • CAEX 8050 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Postproposal Sections | |
| • CAEX 8055 – Doctoral Writing Workshop: Revising and Editing the Postproposal Sections | |
| • CAEX 8100 – Preproposal Writing Workshop Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide | |
| • CAEX 8105 – Writing Workshop: Preproposal | |
| • CAEX 8350 – Writing a Literature Review | |
| • CAEX 8351 – Writing a Literature Review | |
| • CAEX 8900 – Statistics and SPSS Skills Seminar for Doctoral Students | |
• CAEX 8901 – Statistics and SPSS Skills Seminar for Doctoral Students
CAEX 8901 – Statistics and SPSS Skills Seminar for Doctoral Students(0 cr.) The purpose of this small-group seminar is to help doctoral students learn to navigate SPSS software and develop basic statistical skills. The seminar is designed to minimize statistics anxiety and help students feel more comfortable using statistics tools. During the 6-week session, students learn how to upload or create an SPSS dataset, how to manage and manipulate variables, and how to run common statistical tests and graphs. Upon completion, students should have the basic SPSS and statistical knowledge to conduct a quantitative research study. This seminar is appropriate for students who have completed graduate-level statistics courses and are developing their doctoral capstone proposals. Note: For semester-based students. |
What is the tuition cost of a CAEX course, seminar, or workshop, and can I use financial aid?
The tuition cost of any CAEX course, seminar, or workshop is $195, regardless of the length or associated credits. Financial aid cannot be used for CAEX offerings. You may be able to use superfluous funds, but you’ll need to talk with the Student Support Team about the financials. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
How do I register?
To register for any CAEX course, seminar, or workshop, contact your academic advisor.
How are CAEX courses, seminars, and workshops graded?
CAEX courses, seminars, and workshops are graded on the S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory) system. Grades in CAEX courses do appear on your transcript, but the grades do not impact your Grade Point Average (GPA).
Does my performance in a CAEX course, seminar, or workshop affect my Grade Point Average (GPA)?
No. However, poor performance may have other ramifications such as a required retake or—in the case of two U grades in the same course—dismissal from the university. Grades in CAEX courses do appear on your transcript.
How much time can I expect to spend on a CAEX course?
Most CAEX courses are 1.5 quarter credits and 1 semester credit. Therefore, according to Walden’s Credit Hour Guidelines, you should expect to spend 42 total hours on CAEX coursework. This translates to 10.5 hours per week for 4-week courses, 7 hours per week for 6-week courses, and 5.25 hours per week for 8-week courses. Note that these numbers are only an estimate, as the actual time spent depends largely on the student.
Which CAEX course, seminar, or workshop should I take?
An appropriate fit depends on a number of factors, including degree level, topic, and your goals for improvement. Spend some time considering feedback you have received from your instructors as well as any problem areas you experience in your core courses. You can get a quick snapshot of our offerings by viewing the At-a-Glance Document for Quartersor At-a-Glance Document for Semesters. You can also take two quizzes to help determine what course, seminar, or workshop might be best for you: Self-Assessment Quiz and Diagnostic Quiz. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
I am working on the literature review section of my capstone proposal. Should I take the Writing a Literature Review course (CAEX 8350/8351) or the workshop on Revising and Editing the Literature Review (CAEX 8030/8035)?
It depends where you are in the development of your literature review. If you are just starting the proposal process, the Writing a Literature Review course (CAEX 8350/8351) is a good fit. The focus is generating original material for the literature review, so it’s best to take this course when you are at the beginning stages of searching the literature and writing. The Revising and Editing the Literature Review Workshop (CAEX 8030/8035), on the other hand, is focused on revising existing material. That means you need to have a rough draft of your literature review prior to taking the workshop. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
Are there any required texts for CAEX courses, seminars, or workshops?
Most of our courses, seminars, and workshops require the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (i.e., APA manual). This is the only text we require; other learning resources are built into the classroom.
I would like to postpone taking my required writing course (Graduate Writing I or II). How can I do that?
You will be enrolled in your first required writing course on its next start date following completion of DRWA 8000G/8001G. Required writing courses cannot be dropped. Instead, you have a one-time only option to petition to delay one writing course by one term. If you are required to complete two writing courses, you may petition to delay only one of them for one term. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
Petitions to delay a required writing course must be submitted before or during Week 1 of the writing course you wish to delay. Petitions requesting delay submitted after Week 1 will not be reviewed. Please read the doctoral writing assessment petitions FAQ for details.
Students who do not satisfactorily complete all required writing courses within a year of receiving their assessment essay score will be academically dismissed from the university. If you have questions about the doctoral writing assessment petitions process, please contact the Assessment Team at WritingAssessment@mail.waldenu.edu.
How will a required writing course help me?
Graduate Writing I and II help you build scholarly writing skills early in your program, so that you are prepared for writing your doctoral capstone. The skills you learn in these courses (such as critical reading, paraphrasing, and paragraph organization) are directly applicable to your other coursework and to your capstone. Even if you feel your writing skills are already strong, the courses will expose you to Writing Center resources, an expert writing instructor, and a peer writing community for support. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
Are there any prerequisites for taking a doctoral writing workshop?
Yes. The proposal and postproposal workshops are focused on revising and editing, rather than creating new content. Therefore, you need to show that you have a rough draft prior to the workshop. When registering, submit a 2–3 page excerpt of your draft of the appropriate document (e.g., for the methods workshop, you submit 2–3 pages of your methods section). You must include the 2–3 page excerpt in the e-mail registration request to your academic advisor. Note: The preproposal workshop does not include this prerequisite.
How are the doctoral writing workshops structured?
- The workshops are 6 weeks long. In Week 1, you write a short self-reflection on your perceptions of your strengths and weaknesses in writing.
- In each of Weeks 2–5, you submit a 3–5 page segment of your proposal or postproposal draft. If you are in a workshop that focuses on a specific section (e.g., introduction, literature review), you must submit segments from that section for review. If you take Revising and Editing the Proposal, you can submit segments from any area of the proposal. Your faculty provides feedback on writing concepts and clarity (such as APA, organization, grammar, scholarly voice). Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.
- In Week 6, you create a plan for moving forward based on the feedback you received in Weeks 2–5.
- Building community is an important part of the workshops. To that end, you also have weekly discussions with other students about common writing challenges.
Note: The preproposal workshop is an exception to this structure.
Can I take more than one workshop at once?
We strongly advise not doing so. If you want to work on multiple parts of your proposal, you would be best served by taking CAEX 8010/8015: Revising and Editing the Proposal. For that workshop, you may submit excerpts from any section of the proposal document.
I need help determining the research questions and methodology for my study. Will I get support in that area from a doctoral writing workshop?
Our workshops are taught by writing experts, rather than research experts. Therefore, we can only give feedback on writing (e.g., grammar, organization, scholarly voice, APA style). We do not provide input on methodology, content, research study alignment, appropriateness of topic, etc. Please reach out to your program faculty and the Center for Research Quality for assistance in these areas.
I am working on my prospectus. What help is there for me?
The Academic Skills Center has a 6-week Preproposal Workshop (CAEX 8100/8105). This workshop is focused on planning and generating new content for the prospectus or premise. It helps students with essential skills like time management, library searching, and scholarly writing. Note that the Writing Center also offers free preproposal reviewsfor students. Contact the Writing Center (writingsupport@mail.waldenu.edu) for more information on this option. Walden Center for Academic Excellence (CAEX) courses, workshops, and seminars essay writing guide.