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Grad School Book Club: General Reading

December 12, 2014
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By GradProSkills


Demystifying the Dissertation, by Peg Boyle Single: For anyone writing their dissertation or proposal document, this book provides a structured system that goes through the process of your graduate degree, from the initial stages all the way through completion. Boyle nicely addresses procrastination and perfectionism in writing. Single also writes a series of columns on Inside Higher Ed.

The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research, by Marian Petre: An accessible, down-to-earth, and insightful account of the whole PhD process, covering key topics including what a PhD is really about, how to do one well, how to decipher what your supervisor actually means by terms like 'good referencing' and 'clean research question', and how to design, report and defend your research. Their advice also addresses how to avoid some of the pitfalls en route to a successful submission.

Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning an M.A. or a Ph.D., by Robert L. Peters: This classic guide helps students answer vital questions and offers advice finish in less time, for less money, and with less trouble. Based on interviews with career counselors, graduate students, and professors, the book is packed with real-life experiences.

Graduate Study for the 21st Century, by Gren Colon Semanza: A comprehensive how-to guide on professional development for graduate students in the humanities, with chapters on graduate seminars, teaching, publishing, conferences, writing papers, and the job market, and an appendix with sample CV’s, syllabi, a teaching portfolio. Semanza also tactfully confronts the political aspects of graduate study, arguing for the necessity of graduate unionization and explaining the industrialization of the university and its consequences.

* Book descriptions adapted from goodreads.com.

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