How To Get Your Work Published As A Graduate Student

27 January 2011.  TalentEgg Incubator.

As a graduate student, you are encouraged to do other activities other than those associated with your course work.

This can include extra-curricular activities, volunteering, or working part-time.  However, it is also suggested that you work on expanding your curriculum vitae.

“It is valuable for graduate students to publish as early and often as they can. Not only does it assist in the pursuit of scholarships, it will also help with future job prospects.”
—Chris Andersen, associate professor, University of Alberta

Other than presenting at an academic conference, you can also submit papers for publication in academic journals to enhance your CV .

This is especially important if you are contemplating applying for a PhD, since the competition for spots in a PhD program is even more intense than at the masters level.

Additionally, if you plan on pursuing the path of academia as a profession, you will need proof of your scholarly abilities when you are applying for post-docs, which is assessed in part by what is found on your CV.

I spoke with  Chris Andersen, an associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, who is also the editor of the Aboriginal Policy Studies journal, to get his opinions  on graduate students getting their work published and how to do so.

Q. Why should graduate students submit papers to academic journals?
A. While the “ publish or perish” cliché has probably been overdrawn, it is nonetheless valuable for graduate students to publish as early and often as they can. Not only does it assist in the pursuit of scholarships, it will also help with future job prospects.

Less instrumentally, its also a valuable exercise to engage in because it requires graduate students to come to firm conclusions about the literature they read and to position themselves and their arguments in light of such literature. Finally, it provides an entry into one of the primary duties of an academic – publishing – and begins a training process that they will engage in for the rest of their professional lives.

Q. What does a great submission consist of?
A. No one thing makes a great submission. However, we ask our referees to examine the extent to which the article makes a substantive contribution to scholarship, theoretical understanding or specific debates of interest to the readers of the journal. Likewise, given the audience we’re pitching the journal to, the writing should be relatively non-technical and be of interest to practitioners.

Manuscripts that are interdisciplinary and address emerging issues or areas are looked upon favourably, especially if the author demonstrates a clear command of their field of interest and positions their arguments within a literature (or literatures).

Q. What is the peer-review process, and why is it done?
A. We employ a “double blind” peer review process, such that our authors never know the reviewers, nor vice versa. Peer review is important because it assures rigorous but fair examination of the article that rests primarily on the validity and strength of the argument – as gauged by other knowledgeable individuals within the field – rather than the personalities of its author (or reviewer).

Given how invested scholars are in their particular fields, differences of opinion will emerge regardless and it is up to the editor to make a final decision – however, it all begins with the peer review process.

Q. Who can students ask for help in submitting a paper to the journal?
A. I’m not sure all editors would be willing to help, although personally I have no problem helping students.

Usually, the student should talk to his or her supervisor, a favourite professor (other than the supervisor) who seems approachable, and even other students who have already published.

Important: attend as many of the PRO seminars on professional development and grant writing (presented by many universities) as these give numerous tips and pointers that may prove valuable to getting their confidence up for a first submission.

Q. What should a graduate student do if their submission gets rejected?
A. “If at first you don’t succeed…” The main thing to keep in mind is that no matter how good you think your manuscript is, rejections can occur for any number of reasons. Two common ones include the editor deciding it’s not the proper fit for that particular journal (and may encourage you to submit elsewhere) and reviewers finding that the manuscript has potential but that the analysis is still a tad immature.

From the student’s perspective, the main thing to keep in mind is to use every review as a learning experience. Some reviews will feel unfair, others simply puzzling – but there’s something to be gained from calmly and dispassionately absorbing the critiques and positioning your argument in light of them (and don’t feel you need to change them simply because a reviewer disagrees with them – however, what you will need to do is position your arguments in light of those critiques).

Most importantly, if you feel strongly about your arguments and analyses, do not give up!

Q. Is there anything else you think graduate students should know about submitting papers to academic journals?
A. If you’re going to take your submission seriously and to increase your chances of success, speak to a senior professor within your department who “knows the ropes” and get him or her to read your paper and make comments on it (being sure to explain which journal you’re planning on submitting it to).

Likewise, if you write an essay for a class, make sure to talk to the instructor to ask him or her how you can make changes to the paper in pursuit of a peer-reviewed publication. They’re often the best positioned to give substantive feedback because they understand the broader context within which you positioned the paper.

If I could give one piece of advice to students: the decision to submit a manuscript is much more daunting than actually submitting it. That said, make sure you give yourself every chance to succeed by submitting as high-quality, journal mandate-relevant and as “clean” a copy as possible.

Danielle’s Grad School Update: Month 4

6 January 2011.  TalentEgg Incubator.

I think I was a little bit too cocky the last couple of months, because December pummeled the crap out of me.  It was like getting a kick to the (proverbial) balls.  If you recall:

I almost cried in their office.  I had never been told I was a poor writer, even during the first year of my undergrad. This made me concerned that there would be no possible way I could pursue a PhD.

• September was pretty easy.
• October was not as easy, but still relatively stress-free.
• November was  manageable.

So what happened?  Term papers.  Horrible, dreadful, soul-crushing term papers.

Now, you’d think that these papers were especially long, or on ridiculously obscure topics assigned by my professors.  Not true.  Both were less than 20 pages (so lengths I was used to completing during my bachelor’s degrees) and both were on topics I developed myself (and topics I was excited about, I may add).

After I left the relative safety of November, I developed a considerable amount of self-doubt, which caused a bad case of “the block”.  Consequently, it took me a long time to start the writing process. It was an intense battle, but I managed to power everything and hand in my papers on-time (but barely, I was down to the wire both times).

As soon as I finished writing, there was no rest for the wicked: it was on to marking my students’ term papers, and following that, their exams.  That was the second (and third) battles I had to conquer in as many weeks.  50 or so hours of marking later (and 10 hours before my flight left) I was free (for 13 days)!!

But for a lot of the time I was home, I was worried that what I handed in was dreadful.  And I had just cause to do so: I happened to run into one my professors a couple of days before I left, and they said although I had great ideas, my writing needed considerable work.

I almost cried in their office.  I had never been told I was a poor writer, even during the first year of my undergrad. So, needless to say, I was worried and anxious that I was going to end up with an awful grade.   This made me doubt my abilities even more, and made me concerned that there would be no possible way I could pursue a PhD.

However, just before New Year’s Eve, both of my grades were posted.   Although I did not do badly, I’m still not quite satisfied with my marks; I could have done better on my papers and, as a result, better in the courses overall (but remember, I’m a keener).

What is most important is what I can take away from all of this: I know now I need to start writing earlier in the term, and one can’t subsist on pizza and energy drinks alone (everyone needs sleep eventually).

Despite everything, I managed a major accomplishment: I’m one-quarter of the way through my masters and the upcoming term is looking good.

Danielle’s Grad School Update: Month 3

7 December 2010.  TalentEgg Incubator.

Three months in, and I’m starting to get a hang of thingshere.

But November was still a very difficult month to be a (relatively) new graduate student.

Sleep became negligible.  Insanity may have ensued.  On one of my students’ papers, I left a comment saying, ‘Good fork.’

For some of my peers, both in my program and others, November was an awful month: they questioned why they were in grad school, why they were in their programs, or if completing a masters was what they should even be doing in the first place.

November was the month when graduate advisers saw a lot of tears.

Thankfully I didn’t have those kinds of doubts about what I was doing, but other things came up regardless.

In addition to dealing with the stress of friends and classmates, there were threats of three unions on campus potentially going on strike, including the one I am part of as a teaching assistant.   There was also a debacle about student fees that was publicized in national media.

It was also Movember.   Facial hair is pretty distracting.

So although I had a good handle on my school work and continued doing well grade-wise, it was still a stressful month.  Being a TA proved to be a steep learning process.

My students handed in their first papers this month, and that was definitely an experience I was not prepared for.   Each paper was around four pages each and took me an average of 20 minutes to mark.  I had 49 papers to mark, which according to a conservative estimate took me slightly over 16 hours.  In actuality, I think it was closer to 20.

It really felt sometimes like there weren’t enough hours in the day to mark, eat and do my own work.  Sleep became negligible.  Insanity may have ensued.  On one of my students’ papers, one of the comments I left was, “Good fork.”  I found a new appreciation for the people who had to mark anything I ever submitted.

I expected that I would feel much different about marking papers than I did.  Not only was it  incredibly time-consuming, but there was no cathartic ending to the ordeal.  Although there was the power-trip element (mwahaha!), when my students earned low grades I felt terrible.

Luckily, one of the second-year masters students in my program gave me a great piece of advice: we’re graduate students because we were the keeners in our undergraduate classes.  What was considered an acceptable grade for us may have been an outstanding grade for others.

Despite this, I still felt bad giving marks I would not have been pleased to have received myself.  At the same time, it isn’t fair to give students an A for Effort.  Apparently I’m a bit of a hard ass. But I hope that creating a clear marking rubric and a detailed list of expectations will allow my students to do better on their next papers.

Speaking of papers, I’m starting to write my own.  My term papers, in fact: 20 pages of well-researched arguments that will hopefully change the world. Or if that isn’t feasible, at least get me a good grade.  My bedroom is a mine field of book towers among a few piles of unwashed clothes.  But who needs clean clothes?

Although I am a huge nerd who actually likes school, sometimes I think the best part of my program is the people who are in it.  I have made friends with the people in my program, and many of us are going through the exact same things (research frustration, fighting with our sleep patterns).  We hang out before and after classes as well as in our free time.   My personal cohort is especially amazing, but the second year masters students and the PhDs are pretty cool too.

Other programs on campus are jealous of our camaraderie.   And at this point, I’m happy to rub it in their faces a little bit.

Danielle’s Grad School Update: Month 2

17 November 2010.  TalentEgg Incubator.

You know that old adage, “Time flies when you’re having fun”?

Well, it flies when you’re in grad school too!

In October, I noticed my academic work started to kick up a bit.

Homework in the average week consisted of 100-150 pages of reading for each of my seminars, 5-10 pages of French translation, up to 75 pages of reading for the students I TA for, and planning lessons for my students.

In total, this takes me between two and three days to complete.

I was also given my first large assignment, which was the proposal for one of my term papers.  It needed to be between six and eight pages, and consisted of my research objectives, a review of literature, an explanation of the theoretical framework, a description of the methodology and methods, and a provisional outline of the paper.

Almost the entire time I was worried that I wouldn’t do very well, but when I got the proposal back, I did fine.

Except for the part where I spelled methodology wrong.  Oops.

As part of my degree program, students have to pass a language translation test in French or an indigenous language.  Since my knowledge of Ojibwe and Mohawk is rudimentary, I decided to enrol in a translation class to try to remember the French I learned in Grades 4 through 10.

Unfortunately my program only offers the test twice a year.  I decided to take the test anyway, because the worst thing that could happen was me failing, and I would be able to write it again in the spring.

For the test, you are responsible for reading a French academic article and writing an abstract in English.  You are given two hours and can use a dictionary.

I chose (we were allowed to pick one article out of three based on the topic they were about) “Éléments de Pensée Politique Autochtone Contemporaine” by Dalie Giroux.  For some reason I didn’t think the article was going to be as long as it was, and I definitely was not used to reading a text that was anywhere near this complex (we were reading much simpler stuff in my French class).  But I wrote my abstract, and submitted it for marking.

A couple of days later I found out I passed!  I then promptly dropped the French class that helped me pass.  I plan on keeping up with reading in French, but I can’t seem to get a copy of La Stratégie Ender (but I to do try to read French news online!).

Not everything that happened this month has been academically-based, though.  I attended meetings for the council and caucus I sit on, and helped plan two separate Halloween parties.

I was also fortunate enough to see The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, one of the commissioners for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, speak about the impact of residential schools on Indigenous people in Canada.

My partner came for a visit, so we decided to act like tourists.  We took a tour of the Parliament Buildings, went to the Royal Canadian Mint and lifted a bar of gold (they’re really heavy!), looked at the National War Memorial, the Valiants Memorial as well as the Champlain Statue, and went to Gatineau to go to see the Canadian Museum of Civilization.   It was all a lot of fun.

What’s up next?  November means (even) more work and marking papers for the first time.  And, knowing me, probably an adventure or two of some sort.

How To Deal With Moving Away To Grad School

3 November 2010.  TalentEgg Incubator.

Now that you’re starting your master’s degree, you have to get used to a new campus in a new city, make new friends, find your classrooms, and get used to your department.

It’s almost like you’re an undergrad all over again. (Of course, this doesn’t apply if you are doing your master’s at the same school you did your bachelor’s degree).

Once you’re settled into your new place (which can be in residence or off-campus), you should take the spare time you have to orient yourself to your new surroundings.

Check out campus

Most of your time over the next year or more will be spent within the confines of your school’s campus, and it is best to find out what is available to you before you need it.

For example, looking for an on-campus location that serves coffee at 1 a.m. is much easier a) if you know which places on campus sell coffee, and b) which of the said locations are actually open at 1 a.m.

Some graduate student associations may offer tours of the campus, but if they don’t, arm yourself with a map and start wandering around.

Go to orientation

The purpose of your orientation is to acquaint yourself  with the campus, the school and your program, but also to meet other graduate students.   You will have the opportunity to meet people who are in the same situation as you – this is your chance to meet new friends early in the year.

If your school offers a graduate orientation week, go to the events. They will help meet people, get used to the school and see the city.

Explore the city

Almost every university town has a bunch of different hot spots: awesome places to eat, pretty green spaces, interesting history and a variety of cafés to get your caffeine fix.  Check out tourism websites or the local tourism office, or ask locals and fellow students what you should see.   Hop on a bus, grab your bike or set out on foot and start investigating.  You never know what you will find in a new place!

Expect to be home sick

If you’re moving away from home for the first time, it is normal to feel homesick and to miss your family, friends, pets, and even the barista that makes your 2 p.m. Wednesday latte.

If you already lived away from home, you may experience homesickness again.  Alternatively, you can also miss the school and the campus you left behind.  In nearly all cases, these feelings will start to pass once you get to know your surroundings better.

What To Do When You Hear Back About Your Grad School Application

TalentEgg Incubator.  18 October 2010.

You applied to grad school.

You sussed out what programs you were interested in,you wrote a CV, you asked for reference letters, you ordered your transcripts, and you sent the whole package in the mail.

And you waited.

And waited.

And waited.

“Hopefully, you don’t have to deal with the rejection process, and you have an offer (or two) to access.”

And then…you get the results of your application(s).  It could be delivered via email, or through the mail.

Rejection

Sometimes, the results aren’t what you hoped for: you get a big, fat, NO.

Or, in more words:  “This year we received a large number of high calibre applicants.  Unfortunately, your application was not deemed acceptable.  Best of luck with your future endeavours.”

If you are lucky, you may be wait-listed to a program.  However, because the applications for grad school are so competitive, many schools do not have a wait-list.

You now have a couple of options.

The first is to wallow in your own crapulence.  Of course, being rejected and upset is normal, and even okay.  But you can’t dwell on these feelings, because it will not help you in the end.  What you need to do is learn from your application, see your faults, and move on.

This doesn’t mean graduate school is closed off to you forever.  Instead you should think long and hard about things, and re-evaluate should you decide to apply again the following year.

You should most definitely contact the graduate director and ask what the shortcomings of your application were, and how you could improve.   This feedback can be instrumental in helping subsequent applications.

Or, you could reject the rejection letter, but you can’t be certain that option will get you the results you want.

Acceptance

Hopefully, you don’t have to deal with the rejection process, and you have an offer (or two) to access.  If that’s the case, you want to find out how much information the program is willing to give to you.

Do they provide or offer you the contact information of current or recently-graduated students in your program that you can contact with questions?

How much will your tuition and student fees run you for the length of your program (be it 12, 18, or 24 months)?  What kind of financial assistance is offered to you  (are you offered a TA or RA position, or must you finance your schooling on your own)?

What are the costs of housing and living in the area, and how easy will it be for you to find a place?  Is there residence available on-campus for graduate students?

If you need to relocate to a new city, how much will that cost you?

Perhaps most importantly is what can this degree program give you?  Will you have access to a better job, or does it provide you more training to help you get a better job?  Are there co-op or internship components to your program?

If you have been accepted in a program, they (and this means anyone and everyone associated with the department) should be doing everything in their power to help answer your questions.   If they aren’t, it likely means that they won’t offer you the level of support you will need when you are in that program.

This decision isn’t an easy one to make, so take the time to assess all the possibilities that have been laid out for you.

When It Comes To Grad School, What’s The Difference Between A Resume And A CV?

TalentEgg Incubator.  14 October 2010.

A curriculum vitae (predominantly called a CV, although sometimes a vita) is a biographical account that outlines ones career and job training.

This obviously bears a striking resemblance to aresumé, which we use when applying for jobs.

But if the two seem to be similar, why do you need a CV for your graduate school applications rather than a regular resumé?

Although the two often overlap in a few ways, they are primarily dissimilar documents.

“Since graduate school is focused on research and presenting research, you want to highlight experiences in your undergraduate career that correlate with your ability to research, write, and present.”

What is a resumé?

A resume is a one or two page document that outlines your work and volunteer experience as related to a specific position you are applying to.  If you do not have a lot of work or volunteer experience, your resumé may be fairly general in nature.

A master resumé on the other hand is a much longer copy of your resumé that outlines all of your work and volunteer experience.   A master resumé is particularly useful document for students to maintain, and something that all students and new grads should have.

The reason:  when it comes time to write a new resumé for a job application, master copy will make it easy to cut and paste the most relevant experiences into your new resumé.

What is a CV?

A CV is very much like a master resumé because it outlines everything you’ve ever done. However, a CV includes much more than just the volunteer and work experience you’ve had in university.

So, what do you include in a CV? Since graduate school is focused on research and presenting research, you want to highlight experiences in your undergraduate career that correlate with your ability to research, write, and present.

This may include:

• Major presentations you’ve given, particularly those outside of the classroom
• Major research papers or thesis work
• Working as an undergraduate teaching assistant
• Any work you have had published; preferably in academic journals, but non-academic sources can also be useful
• Tutoring or being a peer mentor for younger students in your program
• Any scholarships or awards you have been granted
• Particularly for science and engineering students: any important laboratory findings or work you have completed

When writing your CV it is pivotal that you go through multiple edits and have more than one other person read it over to ensure you haven’t missed anything.   Submitting a CV with errors is a quick way to ruin your credibility with the committee who overlooks your application.

Where do I find a sample of a CV?

If you search CV or curriculum vitae on the Internet, you can get a bunch of examples from different websites. However, since CVs are sometimes considered the norm for job applications outside of Canada, you may not find a very good example.

To start, there are two places that you should check out related to your current program.  First, check out your campus career centre.  Oftentimes they have handouts or resources you can use to help you draft up a CV.

For me, the best example was speaking with faculty members of my department, and modelling my CV after theirs.  Although professional CVs will be longer than those of an undergrad, they are one of the best resources you can find!

But whatever you do, don’t make your CV look like this one! (Hot damn!  I wish I could win the “Puletsur Prize” and donate the winnings to charity too!)

Danielle’s Midterm Grad School Update

TalentEgg Incubator.  14 October 2010.

The weeks and days leading up to my move to Ottawa to start my program at Carleton I was really nervous.

Would I get along with my roommate?  Are there extra-curricular activities for me to get involved in?  Who were the people in my program?  What would the differences be between graduate school and an undergrad?   How difficult is it being a teaching assistant (TA)?

There were so many unknowns.

I am happy to report that so far everything is going well, aside from a couple of things.  I had a little bit of trouble finding my way around campus the first couple weeks, and I still haven’t figured out Carleton’s tunnel system.

“So far the most challenging thing about graduate school is being a TA.  There is nothing like having 30 students staring at you while you are try to facilitate a discussion that they’re not really interested in participating in.”

This fall has apparently been a very rainy one for Ottawa, so the sky has been primarily overcast or raining since I arrived.  Lastly, I still have not convinced one of the groundhogs close to my buildings to let me adopt it, but I’m working on it.

My roommate and I frequently have late night dance parties in our apartment, and get up to all sorts of other shenanigans.   I’ve also made some other friends in res I can procrastinate with/watch TV with/make large Sunday dinners with, which is great.

I have found some extra-curricular activities to keep me occupied on campus.  If I didn’t have these and I’d go a little nutty.

I am one of the Canadian Studies department representatives for the Graduate Students Association Council as well as the Political Action Committee associated with the GSA Council.  I am also the Treasurer for the Graduate Residence Caucus, so I’m responsible for operating a budget for our events and that sort of thing ( it’s accountancy that makes the world go round).

And of course, I’m still writing for TalentEgg.

A grumpy groundhog

The other 19 people in my cohort are pretty awesome.  All of us come from different academic backgrounds in the arts (English, International Relations, Women’s Studies, Law and yes, even Canadian Studies).   This makes the discussions we have in the core MA class really interesting.

In addition to those in my cohort, the second year MA students as well as the PhD students I have in my other class have been great people to learn from in addition to discuss issues and concepts with.

It seems that everything I’ve heard from people about graduate school sucking out your soul and making you cry is relatively untrue.

I think a lot of that has to do with being an undergrad English student: we were expected to read up to 300 pages a week per class.   If I was taking two English classes in a term and if you’d factor in the 50 pages I’d read on average for other classes, I would be reading close to 500 pages a week sometimes.

As a graduate student I’m reading between 100 and 150 pages a week per class, which works out to be around 300 pages total for a reading-intensive week.  Even when I factor in the undergraduate French class I’m taking, it seems like I’ve actually got less homework now than I did back then.   But I’m not complaining…

So far the most challenging thing about graduate school is being a TA.  There is nothing like having 30 students staring at you while you are try to facilitate a discussion that they’re not really interested in participating in.   It’s getting easier, but I still have a lot to learn and improve on.

Maybe all of this will change once my work load starts to pick up, and I have papers to mark.  But so far, so good!

Fellowships, scholarships and paying for grad school

TalentEgg Incubator. 7 September 2010.

The good thing about grad school: you take fewer courses and fewer years to complete your degree.

The bad (bad, bad) thing about grad school: your tuition per course is more than for undergrad classes, so grad school can still be just as expensive or even more so than a bachelor’s degree.

The good thing about it being more expensive (if anyone in their right mind would consider it a good thing!) is there are more ways for graduate students to pay for their education.

Scholarships, fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, as well as provincial and national awards can all help pay the bills.

Scholarships, fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, as well as provincial and national awards can all help pay the bills.

Scholarships

Graduate scholarships are similar to undergrad scholarships in that they are based primarily on academic merit and often awarded based on need. There is no one way to obtain scholarships: some require applications while others are awarded by the university or specific departments.

Research assistantships

Research assistantships are awarded to students based on academic merit and begin as soon as the student starts their studies at a school. A research assistant (RA) helps a supervising professor to complete their professional research. As a result, the money granted through an RA-ship is actually from their supervisor’s funding partner (body), and not the school itself.

Students completing an RA-ship work a certain number of hours per week, for which they are paid an hourly wage.

Teaching assistantships

All undergraduate students have encountered at least one TA during the course of their studies, and as a result have a fairly good idea of what a teaching assistantship may require. The majority of TAs lead labs or tutorials, mark student assignments, labs, tests and papers, maintain office hours and help get materials ready for classes.

There are also marking TAs who have no interaction with students and only mark the papers, assignments and tests of students. TAs are allotted a certain number of hours and get paid an hourly wage for the hours they work.

Fellowships

There are two kinds of fellowships, portable fellowships and institutional fellowships:

Portable fellowships can be used by students at any institution they choose, and are often called external fellowships, since funding normally comes from outside organizations.

Institutional fellowships, on the other hand, are granted by an academic institution for study at that school, and are sometimes restrictive to the program being studied, as well as the subject manner.

Provincial and national awards

Students thinking about applying to graduate school often don’t apply for provincial or national awards since they typically require in-depth applications that are incredibly competitive. Nevertheless, they can provide excellent sources of funding during the course of your graduate degree.

Some provinces that offer graduate programs at their university offer awards to students studying in that province, such as the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, or the Pacific Centry Graduate Scholarship.

National programs include NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR. Awards from these organizations can also granted to post-doctoral fellows and tenured faculty.

The bottom line

All of the funding options listed above are competitive in nature. Your grades, extra curricular activities, research statement, and prior work in academia may be considered when you apply for these positions and awards.

There is a good possibility that you won’t get any funding help, so if that happens, how do you plan on paying for grad school?