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Books and papers every graduate student should read
Jump to For grad students in any field Resources for writing Writing is the default activity in graduate school. A discovery isn't a discovery unless you can communicate that discovery. A lot of academic writing is horrible, and it tends to be horrible in multiple ways: presentation, ordering, clarity, style, and sometimes even grammar and punctuation. Better writing makes peer reviewers inclined to invest time in it. On writing style, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace simply nails it. The Chicago Manual of Style is an indispensable reference: I didn't find A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations until after my defense, but it is relevant to any kind of academic or technical writing. Like the Chicago book, it's a superb reference tome. Resources for presenting (yourself) Graduate students can't avoid giving presentations. Once again, most academics give awful presentations. will make every presentation you give better at the cost of just one afternoon's reading. Practice
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Asking for a letter of recommendation
Aside: Professional correspondence Update: A few readers have asked if I have general recommendations on writing professional emails and correspondence. I do. I have an article on how to write an email. For professional correspondence, I keep a copy of Business Notes by Florence Isaacs on my desk: It's a valuable reference. Ask early Do not wait until right before the deadline. Don't be shy Do not be shy about asking for letters. Remember that everyone you ask for a letter once had to ask for letters themselves. I hated asking for letters because it seemed like such an imposition, and I hate to impose. Sitting on the other side of the desk, I realize that writing letters is something we sign up for with the job. Personally, I don't mind writing letters, and for good students, I enjoy it. Pick your letter-writers well If you're applying to grad school, you should seek letters from strong names in the field in which you wish to do research. Don't get n letters This will get a student an "nth" letter.
How to Write a Philosophy Paper, (c) 1993 by Peter Horban
Good writing is the product of proper training, much practice, and hard work. The following remarks, though they will not guarantee a top quality paper, should help you determine where best to direct your efforts. I offer first some general comments on philosophical writing, and then some specific "do"s and "don't"s. One of the first points to be clear about is that a philosophical essay is quite different from an essay in most other subjects. Above all, it means that there must be a specific point that you are trying to establish - something that you are trying to convince the reader to accept - together with grounds or justification for its acceptance. Before you start to write your paper, you should be able to state exactly what it is that you are trying to show. The next task is to determine how to go about convincing the reader that your thesis is correct. Second, the ones that will stand out will be the very best ones and the very worst ones. Lengthy introductions.
Nintendo Gets Sued Over The Wii
Ever heard of the Wavit remote? It’s totally okay if you haven’t; that’s not what this story is about. The Wavit Remote’s makers on the other hand… Well, they’ve decided to up and sue Nintendo over the Wii. Not only that, but they’ve included other retailers and manufacturers — including WalMart — in the complaint as well. Now, that’s not to say that Wavit makers ThinkOptical will get a win, but this particular court circuit tends to favor the patent holder over all else. The patent in question, U.S. “The rejection of [...] applications — assigned to Nintendo Co. ThinkOptic included two other patents in the case, as well — one called “Handheld Device for Handheld Vision Based Absolute Pointing System” (7,852,317) and the other titled “Handheld Vision Based Absolute Pointing System” (7,864,159). According to ThinkOptic, just about every part of the Wii infringes these patents in some capacity.
Academic martial arts: Defending your Ph.D.
A good thesis proposal A proper defense begins at the thesis proposal. A good thesis proposal makes a subsequent defense significantly easier. A poor thesis proposal delays graduation and reduces the odds of success. A good proposal forms a contract between student and committee: If I do X, Y and Z, you agree that this constitutes a Ph.D. See my prior advice on thesis proposals. Check in with the committee Students should check in with their committee members at least once a semester between proposal and defense. The committee should receive a copy of any new publications. If conditions arose during the thesis proposal, students should follow up with committee members to ensure that those conditions are being satisfied. The goal is to make the committee feel like the candidate is addressing their concerns, and to simultaneously convey a sense of activity and momentum to the candidate's research. Structure the talk It's a short read, and it will improve presentation skills overnight. Motivation Thesis
EpistemeLinks: For Philosophy Resources on the Internet
