Category Archives: writing in graduate school

Writing a Book Review (Or: What the Book Review Genre *Is* and–More Importantly–What it is *Not*)

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Melissa Ridley Elmes

For many early-stage career scholars, especially graduate students, book reviews are among the earliest publication opportunities presented–and if we are being honest, as with teaching Freshman Composition and other introductory-level courses, this practice is probably deeply backwards because in both … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, New Faculty Experiences, Research and Scholarship, Uncategorized, writing in graduate school | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Things To Consider Before Taking an “Incomplete” in Graduate School

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Melissa Ridley Elmes

I belong to an online forum that comprises a variety of educators at every step of the game, from veteran tenured professors to new graduate teaching assistants. Recently, the discussion turned to the question of taking incompletes in graduate classes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coursework, General Graduate Student Advice, Research and Scholarship, Time Management, writing in graduate school | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Participating in NaNoWriMo: A Stepping-Stone to Success in Graduate School?

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Melissa Ridley Elmes

If you are thinking about (or have already embarked upon) a graduate degree, then you know that at the end of the degree you must produce a rather lengthy document (on average, between 40-80 pages for an MA thesis and … Continue reading →

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Negotiating a Writing Rut: Some Runner’s Wisdom, Repurposed

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Melissa Ridley Elmes

I am a runner. I ran track in high school, and caught the bug. I’m not the fastest, or the best, runner on the roads and trails, but I have faithfully logged my 10-30 miles per week for most of my adult life, and run and even won a number of 5Ks and 10ks; my half-marathon PR so far is 2:07.

Why bother telling you that? Well, because I first realized the power of the rut to silently derail me from attaining my goals not as a writer, but as a runner. Continue reading →

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