In March of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic closed campus facilities, the Graduate Writing Fellows (GWFs) at U.C. Davis transitioned writing consultations from in-person sessions to synchronous digital sessions over Zoom. In the Winter of 2020, I interviewed three GWFs about the transition and inquired about the tools they found most helpful in these digital…
Read MoreThe qualifying exam is a hallmark of the doctoral student experience in nearly every discipline. In STEM disciplines, part of the evaluation is based on a written proposal of the research the student plans to execute over the next two or three years. Even though every student needs to write and present a QE proposal…
Read MoreThe annual Thesis/Dissertation Day event was held on Saturday, November 7th. Eight sessions were offered on topics focused on assisting graduate students to get started on, and/or complete, their Master or Doctorate projects. The plenary address, “Getting Started~Getting Done: Establishing Priorities and Setting Goals for your Thesis or Dissertation,” was given by Dr. Kathie Gossett,…
Read MoreAs scholars, writing is part and parcel of our day to day practice, even if it is not always explicitly taught. The intense academic environment riddled with expectations, competition, and risk, among other pressures, can lead to anxieties about writing that range from “I don’t want to continue because I got poor feedback” to “Writing…
Read MoreWorking with an academic mentor can be a challenge. The inherent power dynamics of the mentor/mentee relationship, often enhanced by generational differences and the high-stakes nature of career development, are virtually guaranteed to create conflict at some time within the relationship. Communication in all forms is key to preventing and overcoming those conflicts. And now…
Read More**I want to share that I drafted this piece prior to the stay at home orders related to COVID-19. I believe that these tips and techniques can still apply or be adapted to be useful at this time. However, I want to encourage you to be kind to yourself and not to put too much…
Read MoreDo you think of yourself as a bad writer? Or just not a writer? Is writing a task that you’d rather avoid in your academic career? Take a minute to consider whether this resonates with you. Many of us are surprised by how important writing is as graduate students in STEM, and it can be…
Read MoreAs graduate students a large part of our jobs is to write things down: notes, measurements, analysis, thoughts, ideas, and reflections. It is crucial to think about the goals, the purpose and the audience of our writing, particularly with texts that will have consequences for our careers, but these concepts can often seem nebulous and…
Read MoreCongratulations on deciding to form a graduate peer review group! Sharing in-process work with peers while in graduate school is important for many reasons, including: Peer review can help us to figure out what in our writing is and is not making sense to our readers and to develop specific questions to ask our advisors…
Read MoreWelcome to the new blog site for all things graduate writing @ UC Davis! We hope to make this your go-to site for answers to your questions about writing at the graduate level, as well as information about the writing resources available on all UC Davis campuses for graduate students. Pardon our dust as we…
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