The Productive Graduate Student Writer

This book is for graduate students--and others--who want to become more productive writers. It's especially written for those who want to:• increase their motivation, focus, and persistence to move a project to completion• overcome procrastination and perfectionistic tendencies• reduce (or write in spite of) their anxiety and fear of writing• manage their time, work, energy (and advisor) for greater productivityThe process or craft of sustained writing is not a matter that’s taught to undergraduate or graduate students as part of their studies, leaving most at sea about how to start a practice that is central to a career in academe and vital in many other professional occupations.This book grew out of conversations Jan Allen has held with her graduate students for over 30 years and reflects the fruit of the writing workshops and boot camps she has conducted at three universities, her own and numerous colleagues’ experiences with writing and advising, as well as the feedback she receives from her popular Productive Writer listserv.While Jan Allen recognizes that writing is not an innate talent for most of us, she demonstrates that it is a process based on skills which we can identify, learn, practice and refine. She focuses both on the process and habits of writing as well as on helping you uncover what kind of writer are you, and reflect on your challenges and successes. With a light touch and an engaging sense of humor, she proposes strategies to overcome procrastination and distractions, and build a writing practice to enable you to become a more productive and prolific writer.Jan Allen proposes that you read one of her succinct chapters – each devoted to a specific strategy or writing challenge – each day, or once a week. When you find one that increases your concentration, motivation or endurance, make it a habit. Try it for two weeks, charting the resulting increased productivity. It will become part of your repertoire of writing and productivity tools to which you can progressively add.

This book is for graduate students--and others--who want to become more productive writers. It's especially written for those who want to:• increase their motivation, focus, and persistence to move a project to completion• overcome procrastination and perfectionistic tendencies• reduce (or write in spite of) their anxiety and fear of writing• manage their time, work, energy (and advisor) for greater productivityThe process or craft of sustained writing is not a matter that's taught to undergraduate or graduate students as part of their studies, leaving most at sea about how to start a practice that is central to a career in academe and vital in many other professional occupations.This book grew out of conversations Jan Allen has held with her graduate students for over 30 years and reflects the fruit of the writing workshops and boot camps she has conducted at three universities, her own and numerous colleagues' experiences with writing and advising, as well as the feedback she receives from her popular Productive Writer listserv.While Jan Allen recognizes that writing is not an innate talent for most of us, she demonstrates that it is a process based on skills which we can identify, learn, practice and refine. She focuses both on the process and habits of writing as well as on helping you uncover what kind of writer are you, and reflect on your challenges and successes. With a light touch and an engaging sense of humor, she proposes strategies to overcome procrastination and distractions, and build a writing practice to enable you to become a more productive and prolific writer.Jan Allen proposes that you read one of her succinct chapters - each devoted to a specific strategy or writing challenge - each day, or once a week. When you find one that increases your concentration, motivation or endurance, make it a habit. Try it for two weeks, charting the resulting increased productivity. It will become part of your repertoire of writing and productivity tools to which you can progressively add.

"When is it the best time to publish?""What are drafting and freewriting and why are they important?""Do you need to be very knowledgeable to publish?""Why are some students more successful in publishing than others?""Why am I afraid to write?"These are some questions that you will find answers to in "The Graduate Student As Writer: Encouragement for the Budding Scholar." As graduate students, you may feel the pressure to write and publish. You may compare yourselves to peers who have already published. Or you want to improve your chances of finding an academic position after graduation. However, the process of writing and publishing is not straightforward and seldom discussed amongst students, leaving many to stumble along and figure things out alone.If you are looking for some heart-to-heart talk from one graduate student to another on the mindset, skills, and process that are needed for effective and efficient writing and publishing, this book is for you.This book simplifies the writing process into four stages: Drafting, Feedback, Rewriting and Editing. It maintains that a graduate student is not merely training to be an academic, but is also a writer and artist. It also addresses misconceptions about writing that can hinder your progress, such as thinking that you must have it all together before you can begin.This book is written with the graduate student from a Social Science field in mind, but students of all fields will find its contents applicable.If you feel discouraged that you're not making progress in your writing, this book with chapters in bite-sized readings will encourage you and give you insights into your fears and inspiration to uplift you.Chapters of the book include: "Writing as a Tool", "Begin Writing at Every Stage of your Graduate Studies", "Start Small Wherever You Are", "Fear of Feedback", and "Value and Enjoy the Process, Not Just the Outcome."

Learning from the Lived Experiences of Graduate Student Writers is a timely resource for understanding and resolving some of the issues graduate students face, particularly as higher education begins to pay more critical attention to graduate student success. Offering diverse approaches for assisting this demographic, the book bridges the gap between theory and practice through structured examination of graduate students’ narratives about their development as writers, as well as researched approaches for enabling these students to cultivate their craft. The first half of the book showcases the voices of graduate student writers themselves, who describe their experiences with graduate school literacy through various social issues like mentorship, access, writing in communities, and belonging in academic programs. Their narratives illuminate how systemic issues significantly affect graduate students from historically oppressed groups. The second half accompanies these stories with proposed solutions informed by empirical findings that provide evidence for new practices and programming for graduate student writers. Learning from the Lived Experiences of Graduate Student Writers values student experience as an integral part of designing approaches that promote epistemic justice. This text provides a fresh, comprehensive, and essential perspective on graduate writing and communication support that will be useful to administrators and faculty across a range of disciplines and institutional contexts. Contributors: Noro Andriamanalina, LaKela Atkinson, Daniel V. Bommarito, Elizabeth Brown, Rachael Cayley, Amanda E. Cuellar, Kirsten T. Edwards, Wonderful Faison, Amy Fenstermaker, Jennifer Friend, Beth Godbee, Hope Jackson, Karen Keaton Jackson, Haadi Jafarian, Alexandria Lockett, Shannon Madden, Kendra L. Mitchell, Michelle M. Paquette, Shelley Rodrigo, Julia Romberger, Lisa Russell-Pinson, Jennifer Salvo-Eaton, Richard Sévère, Cecilia D. Shelton, Pamela Strong Simmons, Jasmine Kar Tang, Anna K. Willow Treviño, Maurice Wilson, Anne Zanzucchi

Despite continued growth in enrollments, graduate program attrition rates are of great concern to academic program coordinators. It is estimated that only 40 to 50 percent of students who begin Ph.D. programs complete their degrees. This book describes programs, initiatives, and interventions that lead to overall student retention and success.Written for graduate school administrators, student affairs professionals, and faculty, this book offers ways to better support today’s graduate student population, addresses the needs of today’s changing student demography and considers the challenges today’s graduate students face inside and outside of the classroom. The opening section highlights the shifting demographics and contextual factors shaping graduate education over the past 20 years, while the second describes institutional practices to develop the requisite academic and professional development necessary to succeed in master’s and doctoral programs. In conclusion, the editors curate a conversation about different ways institutions can support graduate students beyond the classroom.

The Teaching Writing series publishes user-friendly writing guides penned by authors with publishing records in their subject matter. Blair’s practical book gives graduate students the tools they need to successfully plan, write, and defend their thesis or dissertation. Each chapter addresses a rite of passage common to most graduate programs: selecting a methodology, conducting a literature search, carrying out research, analyzing data, and preparing for a thesis defense. Combining years of supervisory experience with up-to-date research, Blair addresses issues important to graduate students that are often left out of these guides, including how to navigate the ethics review process and avoid problems related to academic integrity, such as plagiarism, how to select and prepare for a productive meeting with a supervisor, and how to establish an academic track record by presenting research at conferences and publishing in academic journals. Writing a Graduate Thesis or Dissertation offers much more than its title suggests. It is a thorough and succinct guide to succeeding in graduate school, appropriate for thesis and research methods courses, and a must-read for graduate students across the disciplines. “Like a series of productive meetings with a trusted advisor, each chapter of this text provides practical information and sound insight, thoughtfully organized and generously shared.” – Christine Marmé Thompson, Professor of Art Education, School of Visual Arts, Pennsylvania State University “This will become a ‘must-have’ volume for every graduate student’s book shelf, with advice for every step of the thesis journey.” – Anne Lavack, Professor of Marketing, School of Business and Economics, Thompson Rivers University “More than simply comprehensive, this work includes information and considerations that are rarely addressed in other guides, including information related to selecting supervisors and alternative forms of research methodologies and format styles.” – Adrienne Boulton-Funke, Assistant Professor, Art and Design, Missouri State University Lorrie Blair is a Professor of Art Education at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. With over 25 years post-secondary teaching experience, she has held positions at universities in the United States and Canada. She is active as a supervisor of MA and Ph.D. thesis students and was a recent recipient of the Faculty of Fine Arts Distinguished Teaching Award.

With its friendly, step-by-step format, the Third Edition of Becoming an Academic Writer helps readers improve their writing by engaging in deep, deliberate, and daily practice. Author Patricia Goodson designed this book for anyone in an academic setting who must write to survive, from new graduate students to senior faculty. Featuring 50 exercises, this practical and flexible self-paced guide is organized so readers can either work through the exercises in order, or focus on the specific areas where they need additional practice. The Third Edition features an expanded unit on how to manage the reading required for any writing project – a strategy to help writers avoid getting bogged down in this crucial step. Updated material, alongside testimonials from students and readers, new appendices on topics such as processing reviewer feedback, and new "Research Shows" boxes help readers address important hurdles to developing a lower-stress, sustainable writing habit.

Using qualitative data collected from more than twenty universities across the US, Writing Support for International Graduate Students describes and theorizes agency- and advocacy-driven practices, programs, and policies that are most effective in helping international students learn graduate-level writing and communication skills. It uses compelling narratives and cases to illustrate a variety of program models and support practices that fostered the students’ process of academic transition and success. Employing an ecological framework, the book seeks to advance academic conversation about how writing scholars/instructors and program administrators, as well as other academic service professionals working with this student body, can formulate policies, develop programs, and implement practices that best help these students grow as writers and scholars in their disciplines.