The "Education" Thread

[Zephyrus]

I've been having a similar experience when writing articles this past year or so. I'd send drafts to my professor and he'd pick apart every other sentence, but as unknown said, it really helped me become a much stronger writer. It takes tough love.

 

[Einherjar86]

I feel like graduate level writing just means you have enough time and other eyes for people to review your work.

This isn't true, particularly the first part. During the first year of grad study, which is typically an MA year (in many doctoral programs, anyway), you take a full load of graduate seminars; and in most likely all of those seminars you will have to produce a final 20-25 page paper that meets the standard of graduate, if not professional, quality. If anything, you have far less time during the first year of grad study to really spend extra time tweaking your writing.

Learning how to write at the grad level is a process. No one can give you a template for how to do it, especially argumentative/analytical styles of writing. It's a matter of being told your writing is poor, how to improve it, and acting on those suggestions. One of the best ways to improve your writing is to submit papers to journals and get revise/resubmit requests (or even just rejections that include tips for improving).

As far as the second part goes - "more eyes" - it is probably the case that graduate programs have more infrastructure in place for peer review and/or participation. But undergrads have access to such infrastructure too, they just typically don't take advantage of it.

 

[rms]

I meant more time in reviewing, not time to practice.

I have an internal discussion that using the writing center (as its called here) to have a graduate/MA student review your work is not helpful in teaching you how to write better but yet will help you attain a better grade. I think more professors (in smaller courses of course) should rely on critiquing a paper and the student responds in either improvement on future papers/revising the first one.

I can't imagine i'd have less time as a grad state, I imagine my senior seminar is quite similar to what would be expected as a graduate student (reading a book weekly, discussing it in a 2.5hr class and then finishing the semester with a 10pg research paper).

 

[Einherjar86]

Reading a book weekly, probably.

For four separate seminars - so four books weekly. In addition, you'll be reading supplementary materials, scholarship, and doing your own research on top of that. You'll be preparing presentations for your seminars (as most of them require), along with probably some form of weekly or semi-weekly responses. Finally, you'll be turning in a seminar paper - not 10 pages, but 20-25.

A lot of people don't realize this, but to do well in a grad program you actually have to spend a LOT of your time working, and not just on writing. The majority of work done in a grad program (probably +80%) happens outside the seminar itself.

 

[rms]

Isnt full time for graduate school considered only 2 courses?

 

[Dak]

9 hours, however that breaks down to classes.

 

[Einherjar86]

Isnt full time for graduate school considered only 2 courses?

At BU, for your first year, it's four courses each semester. After that, two courses each semester plus a teaching assignment.

 

[Zephyrus]

Yeah you lucky fuckers get tuition waivers while you do most of your coursework. Not here at UI.

 

[unknown]

Neither did I. Worked full time while taking two to three courses (8-12 hours) a semester

 

[Einherjar86]

My decision was contingent on funding. I wasn't going to six-plus years of grad study if they weren't going to pay for my tuition and give me a fellowship.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

This is why I am at Northern Illinois University and not a real university.

 

[Zephyrus]

After substantial revisions I submitted the article that got rejected to another journal, a Canadian journal based out of UToronto. Had to write an abstract in French. That was fun. I'm certainly more confident in its chances now, but then again, I've got more realistic expectations.

In any case, the process of revising and resubmitting rejected articles has contributed immensely to my development as an academic writer. Repeatedly striving to make it past the peer review process is its own reward in many respects. But then again, if it's not published, it doesn't exist, and nor do you.

 

[Einherjar86]

I passed my fucking comprehensive exam. Dissertation, here I come.

But first, whiskey.

 

[Dak]

I passed my fucking comprehensive exam. Dissertation, here I come.

But first, whiskey.

 

[Zephyrus]

CONGRATS PAT!

 

[unknown]

I passed my fucking comprehensive exam. Dissertation, here I come.

But first, whiskey.

FUKK YEA

 

[Einherjar86]

Thanks guys. It is a huge relief, as I've been stressed about this exam for the past couple months. I'm looking forward to beginning the initial steps toward the dissertation.

Not to mention reading stuff that wasn't on my damn list.

 

[Einherjar86]

Well, in the aftermath of completing my examination, a mixed blessing: I've been offered a duty-free semester for the spring, 2016, which means I would be paid without having to teach any courses for the university. Most fellows are offered such a deal at least once after they complete their exams, but I wasn't expecting it so soon. It really is a great opportunity to focus solely on your own work and make strides toward completing the dissertation in a timely manner.

On the other hand, I was hoping to have a bit more time after completing my exam to choose my two readers and work on my prospectus (the first step in writing the dissertation). As it stands, I have to have the prospectus approved by my readers and under review by the graduate committee by January 15. This should be plenty of time, but it's cause for some stress since I don't have my two readers pinned down quite yet (this often happens post-exam). Ideally, they'll need to see a version of the prospectus before winter break so they can review it and suggest revisions; then I'll need to incorporate those suggestions, submit it once more, hopefully get it approved, and then it will go to the grad committee for review. It's going to make the next couple months quite hectic.

So, excited but tired.

 

[rms]

Wandered by a poster on campus today advertising a literature class focusing on gothic and horror. Pretty excited about that, haven't delved into Poe or Lovecraft yet but i've seen a bunch of film adaptations for both.

 

[Matt]

I'm falling totally behind in my MBA classes. I don't even care at all. We've got this group project thing going on and I haven't' responded to any emails yet.