Writing Seminars

Janis Bell has been presenting lively seminars in Improved Writing Skills since 1975. Her clients include hundreds of diverse organizations, public and private. Her approach is unusual in that she tailors each seminar to the writing skills of the group at hand and doesn't deliver it all in one day. This design ensures that participants learn precisely what they need to know, rather than trying to find personal answers within generalized information; it also allows them time to absorb new material, apply it to the writing they do, and get very useful feedback from an expert in the field and veteran teacher.

In order to meet the distinctive learning needs of those who attend, Janis gathers writing samples from participants and then creates a worksheet that illustrates the group's areas of concern. Always these include various aspects of grammar, word usage, and punctuation. The class progresses through this worksheet, session by session, as Janis explains every issue in a way that readily makes sense. Each student receives a copy of her book -- Clean, Well-lighted Sentences -- which supports her in-class explanations and provides opportunities for self-assessment.

Ideally, each Improved Writing Seminar is delivered twice a week, in three-hour sessions, over a period of three weeks -- a total of 18 hours. Days and times depend on the host organization's preference.

Janis invites all participants to contact her whenever they have a writing-related question, during the weeks of the seminar and into the future. She provides this ongoing service free of charge and with great pleasure, as she's delighted to be useful to people who care about writing well.

To learn more about her seminars or to schedule one for your group, click here to visit the Contact page, where you can e-mail Janis.