Shuyi Chua

The Graduate Student as Writer Shuyi Chua

When is it the best time to publish?
What are drafting and freewriting and why are they important?
What is the relationship between thinking and writing?
How can I write clearly or with clarity?
How do I conquer my fear of writing?

These are some questions that you will find answers to in "The Graduate Student As Writer: Encouragement for the Budding Scholar." As Undergraduate, Masters or PhD students, you feel the pressure and competition to write and publish. And you want to improve your chances of finding an academic position after graduation. However, the process of academic writing and publishing is not straightforward and seldom discussed amongst college students, leaving many to stumble along and figure things out alone.

Whether you're writing your first book review, editorial, grant or research proposal, journal article, dissertation, thesis, conference presentation or proceeding or assignment, 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 university student from the Social Sciences (Education) in mind, but students of all fields, including the Humanities, the Arts, Law, Engineering and Medicine, will find its contents applicable.

This book is suitable for any type of research methods or methodologies that you may use, including Qualitative, Quantitative or Mixed-Methods.

If you feel discouraged that you're not making progress in your writing and want to excel in graduate school, this book with chapters in bite-sized readings will teach you how to become a productive writer, produce more publications and inspire you to write better.

Chapters of the book include: Use Writing as a Tool, Write at Every Stage of Your Graduate Journey, Start Small Where You Are, Copyediting, Use Books as Resources and for Encouragement and Valuing and Enjoying the Process, Not Just the Outcome.