Your Paper Trail

So it's summer, meaning that many of us have temporarily abandoned the academic writing chunk of our brains. In light of this fact, while I've truly wanted to write a blog post during the merry month of June, I confess I haven't had much to talk about except Season 9 of "So You Think You Can Dance" (I wish I could dance), my cat's recent tooth surgery (he's fine and eating like a termite), or my upcoming trip to Dollywood Splash Country (I am irrationally excited about this). And I fear that a rambling post about any of these would reveal just how little I get out of the house; never mind the fact that none of the above have a single thing to do with writing, interdisciplinary scholarship, or graduate school.

Lucky for you, when I was reading today's edition of MALS student Kari Roueche's blog Archiventures, I received some much-needed inspiration. (Thanks, Kari!) One point she made struck me as worth repeating. Reflecting on how the authors of some letters she is processing for her practicum used such kind and polite language, even when corresponding informally with close family members, Kari notes:

"What you leave behind in the way of writing sets an example for the next generation" 

Wow. Kind of adds value, and perhaps some pressure, to our writing. Even if much of our written work doesn't make it to the next generation, it certainly lingers on at least a short while, outlasting spoken words, which are gone as soon as they are uttered. After all, there's a reason we create (and tax evaders try to demolish) the all-important "paper trail." Whether typing a quick email or writing a dissertation, our writing indeed provides a tidbit of our lives, an example of how and why we did our job, talked to a friend, or learned a new subject. In short, what we put in writing documents who we are. 

Knowing that your writing serves as an example of yourself, I'll end my post with the following request:  take a moment to think about what you want your paper trail to say about you. What do you want the "next generation" of scholars, family, or community members to learn from and about you? Whatever your answer, try and let this knowledge guide and motivate your writing throughout your life.

Ninja Proofreading

Understandably, you're probably sick of your final paper(s) by now. But I urge you to resist the temptation to rush through the proofreading process.

Proofreading is tedious but essential to completing a great paper. After all, why would you want to let a a string of misspellings, incorrect words, and punctuation errors obscure a carefully constructed argument that you've worked on for months?

So, instead of glancing your paper over in an attempt to rid yourself of it once in for all, adopt a new attitude towards proofreading. Be methodical, unconventional, and stealthy. Proofread like a ninja! Here's a few tips to help you do that:

Ninja Proofreading Rule #1: Outsmart the enemy. Print your paper out to proofread it. Like it or not, we are conditioned to proofread according to squiggly red and green lines. You might swear that you're not - that you don't trust those menacing lines, and since Clippy bit the dust, you are free from the tethers of the word-processor's built-in know-it-all-ness. But trust me, you rely on them to some degree. Printing out a copy to proofread allows you to release your paper from the crutches of spellchecker, and allows you to highlight, circle, and mark out errors and rewrites in a much more satisfying, tactile manner.

Ninja Proofreading Rule #2: Don't let your paper see it coming. Read from the bottom up. I don't mean literally read backwards (I'm not trying to kill you here - you're already half-dead at this point in your writing). Start at the end of your paper and work your way up, reading (forward) one paragraph at a time. Doing so will allow you to focus on structure, spelling, and punctuation because you'll be breaking up your reading into small, disordered chunks. That's what you want right now.

Ninja Proofreading Rule #3: Do it with style. Read the paper aloud, standing up, in a confident tone.. It really doesn't matter if you have an audience for this one, because only the act of reading aloud, word for word, will help you recognize the sneakiest errors, for example, where you accidentally wrote "form" when you meant "from." Purposely using an authoritative, even smug tone will not only prevent you from lapsing into a harried murmur (causing you to say "yada yada yada" and miss errors), but it will in fact highlight your errors by making you sound like a bit of an idiot.

Ninja Proofreading Rule #4: Attack when your paper least expects it. Don't proofread immediately after you've finished writing. I can almost guarantee that you will miss half of the mistakes existing in your paper if you try and proofread after spending 5 hours trying to perfect your conclusion. You need to give your eyes and your brain a break. Ideally, you can let it rest a day. At the very least, take an hour to leave the room and do something completely unrelated to your paper before returning to proofread. (Working on another paper does NOT count as something completely unrelated to your paper.)

Ninja Proofreading Rule #5: Make it like you weren't even there. Schedule an hour or two exclusively for proofreading. Disappear mysteriously (preferably in a ninja-like manner), and during this time, shun the outside world and proofread only.

Ninja Proofreading Rule #6: Allow no distraction. Do not rely on proofreading "as you go." Also, don't revise the copy of your paper on your computer as you proofread your printed-out copy. I don't care if you think it's more efficient, because it's not, really. All you'll end up doing is not really proofreading and not really revising. No matter how diligently you try to be when you do either of these things, chances are you've left some obvious mistakes in your paper. You might even add in new mistakes while you swap between reading and correcting two copies of your work.

Ninja Proofreading Rule #7: Respect that which is simple in appearance. My last piece of advice for ninja proofreading is this: don't leave revising your bibliography until the last minute. I promise you it will take about 4 times longer to proofread, edit, and perfect the formatting, punctuation, and styling of a bibliography than you think it will.

I'll leave you with some links about the proofreading process that I think you might find helpful. First, here's a link to UNC-Chapel Hill's proofreading handout. This covers all the bases in a non-ninja fashion, but is helpful nonetheless. Second, remember that just because something's grammatically correct doesn't mean it's actually correct. This rather amusing blog highlights this fact. Additionally, here's a video titled, "The the Impotence of Proofreading." This poem, if written, would entirely check out if one were to rely on a word processing spellchecker, but, as you will hear, you would NOT want to commit any of these errors in your paper. Warning: this video contains profanity. And finally, because I've always wanted to include a cat in this blog, here's a ninja kitty (who might want to proofread): 
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Good luck finishing up the Spring 2012 semester, and have a great break!

Pouring on Some D

Defense, that is.

As in your thesis/project defense. It's that last major hurdle before you pay off your library fines and graduate...at last. And it can be scary. It was for me.

After all, I'd never defended a project before. I felt like I really didn't know what to expect, despite being reassured by my committee that I would merely have to provide an overview of my project and then answer a few questions. Instead, this simple response combined with 30 months of sleep deprivation, the stress of actually finishing the project, and the fear of failure led me down a path of paranoia: "What are they going to ask me? Are they going to purposely put me in the hot seat just to see me squirm? Will they make me wait outside for an hour while they determine my fate? Will I fail if I accidentally leave in my draft a sentence with the word "form" where I meant to type "from"? Will I have to recite the entire introduction to Postmodernism: or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism?"

In reality, my defense was exactly what my committee said it would be. I gave an overview of my project: how and why I decided to pursue my topic, my thesis, the practical workings of my project, etc. Then, my committee asked me a few questions about how I thought my project might fit into the greater archives community. We ended with some friendly talk about the topic that felt much more like a roundtable discussion than a dragon's den.

Your defense doesn't have to be so scary, if you're adequately prepared. Easier said than done? A little. But, if you've communicated well with your committee throughout out the thesis/project's lifespan, you will get plenty of feedback on the defense-worthiness of your culminating experience well before the defense takes place.

So, here's some advice, drawn from my personal experience, that I hope will help those of you defending in the near future gain little more confidence:

1. From the moment you begin work on your thesis/project, maintain frequent and constructive communication with your committee. I cannot stress this enough. While this is not exactly d-day advice, your success in communicating with your committee will directly affect the success of your defense. Send them your proposal, keep them abreast of any changes or updates you wish to make to your research, and schedule regular meetings during key points in your research process (e.g., after forming a working thesis, compiling a bibliography, or completing an initial draft). Better yet, announce to them a preliminary proposal-to-defense schedule early in the game. Whatever you do, be proactive in your communication with your committee - the more invested you are in finishing your project, the more the committee members will be as well.

2. Schedule your defense for a day when you don't have to be anywhere else. Make your defense day Defense Day. Take the day off from work if at all possible. Arrange for someone else to take your kids to school (and pick them up). I chose to schedule mine for the afternoon. This worked well for my committee, but it also allowed me to spend the morning getting everything ready, from practicing my presentation one last time to making sure I didn't have runs in my pantyhose. Go ahead a schedule drinks or dinner with a friend for the evening after your defense. Knowing you have a reward coming your way will ease some of the stress of then day (even more so if you can get your friend to pay).

3. Turn in your final, pre-defense draft no later than one week before your scheduled defense. Here's some exclusive, inside info gleaned from my days as a GA: professors get really pissy if a student who is scheduled to defend on Monday morning dumps a copy of her draft on their desks on Friday afternoon. Not only does this leave an impression of your lack of preparedness, but it also doesn't give them enough time to give your draft the attention it deserves. Create a deadline to have your draft done 7 days before your defense, announce this deadline to the world, and stick to it. 

4. Risk overdressing. Even though MALS is a relatively non-judgmental program when it comes to style and appearances, I think it's a good idea to don the business garb for your defense. Dressing up will make you feel like a pro, and will help remind your subconscious that you are so pro. Hence my wearing of pantyhose mentioned in tip #2.

5. Practice. Practice what you'll say. Time it. Make sure you don't end up with a two-hour monologue when your chair asked for a 20-minute presentation. Use this practice time to clarify your ideas and anticipate questions. Jot down a framework for how you'll answer such questions. This is particularly important if you've decided to include (or exclude) areas of discussion about which you and/or members of your committee have not seen eye-to-eye during prior meetings about your research.

6. Remember, your committee wants you to graduate just as much as you do. This in no way means that they will pass a thesis/project that is not ready to be passed. However, no one on your committee harbors a sadistic desire to see you fail. It's important to keep this in perspective. That said...

7. If you're truly not ready to defend, then don't schedule a defense. Just about the only students I've heard of who did not pass their defense on the first go-round are those who really shouldn't have defended yet but insisted upon doing so anyway. Defending prematurely won't magically make your project complete. Completing your project will make your project complete. Defending when you are not ready will be a (very stressful) waste of time both for your and your committee. If you follow Tip #1 and communicate regularly with your committee, you can all but avoid this. If you are honestly unsure about your readiness, meet with your chair in an informal, non-defense meeting and discuss your concerns.

So, there you have it. My seven tips for a good defensive strategy. For more practical information on deadlines, electronic thesis submission, and the graduation process at ETSU, check out the ETSU School of Graduate Studies Web page and the Thesis and Project Section of the MALS Writing Center Website. Best wishes to all of you soon-to-be MALS alumni!

It's Your Week!

Did you know that April 2-6 is National Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week? I confess that I did not know until today. Let me start out by saying that I do, indeed appreciate you all, and not only because I have a job because of you MALS students, nor because I was only recently a grad student myself (although both of these circumstances do play a part).

And while this "week," ironically, is only five days long, I give you all seven full days worth of appreciation. I appreciate you because you are taking the time and resources to better yourself as a citizen of this world. In my somewhat biased opinion as a MALS alumn, I think it takes a special kind of person to pursue interdisciplinary graduate studies. Not only are you in the midst of one of the more rigorous programs on campus in terms of critical thinking, writing, and research requirements, but you are likely doing so while being misunderstood by family, friends, strangers, and colleagues. It's easy to announce that you're getting your master's in biochemistry, astrophysics, kinesiology, or something else with a flashy, if narrow, disciplinary objective. Your program of study, however, takes a little more explaining to the uninitiated. You approach your scholarship with a complex, real-world problem in mind first, recognize that a single discipline cannot adequately address this problem, and after all that go about learning not only the theories of interdisicplinary scholarship but also those associates with multiple disciplines. Impressive, I think, but try giving an elevator speech on that and you'll run out of floors far before you finish explaining the word "interdisciplinarity."

Who knows? It might take a fellow interdisciplinarian to appreciate one, especially while you're  knee-deep in seminar paper drafts, style manuals, and cultural theory books, your fingers are stained with highlighter, and you can't remember your own name for lack of sleep. But know this - what you're doing is worth it, and I appreciate you for having the guts to pursue MALS.

The EnTITLEment Process

I've found that writers vary in their attitudes toward titles. Some, like me, find the title to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the paper to write. I savor the process of coming up with that attractive, two or three line statement that encapsulates the essence of a paper over which I have toiled for weeks or months. Others are rather ambivalent toward titles. They see them as a necessary part of a paper, but treat it as little more than an afterthought to be slapped on the cover page just before the final printing.

Regardless of your feelings about titles, you need one. Moreover, you need a title that really works for your paper and offers the reader an accurate and concise first impression of your argument. In this respect, I urge you to get in the habit of treating the title as an integral part of the paper instead of as a piece of metadata. By this, I mean that your title should both introduce and reinforce the crux of your argument and not simply provide a few simple terms that you might put into a search engine. Lets look at an example:

Title 1: Bicycle Commuting and Gas Prices

Title 2: A Push to Pedal: Rethinking the Bicycle as a Commuter Vehicle in an Era of Rising Gasoline Prices

While the first title gives us a general idea of what the paper will cover, it's really too vague. There's not even a hint of what direction the author's argument will take. We only know that the paper will probably explore some relationship between bicycle commuting and gas prices. Title #2 gives us much more vivid insight into this paper's thesis. We know that we are going to read about a movement to increase the use of bicycles for transportation, within the context of a current economic environment of rising fuel costs.

In your Turabian manual, Booth, et al. state that your title should be the "last thing you write" for your paper (108). Why? Because it's only after your paper is finished (or getting pretty close) when you will have a complete picture of your argument and know how to best shape your title. And, when you complete this last element of your paper, think about the key and phrases and concepts throughout your paper that best state the essence of your argument. Most likely, you'll find such phrases in your introduction (particularly in your thesis statement) and/or in your conclusion, two sections that are dedicated to packaging your overall argument.

While I agree that finalizing your title is best left as the last act of paper-writing, there's no reason why you shouldn't start jotting down title ideas earlier in the writing process. I believe that the process of articulating a title helps you think more critically about your paper as  a whole. If you have a hard time coming up with a title that is any more specific than one or two nouns (like Title #1 in the above example), you might want to ask yourself why? Could it be that you yourself are unsure of how to articulate your thesis statement? Early in the writing process, this is probably fine. But, by keeping a "working title" alongside your "working thesis," you can use these two critical elements of your paper to help you shape (and reshape) your content. By letting the working title and working thesis really work, you have a built-in mechanism to monitor your clarity, organization, and depth of analysis.

While at the end of a long, arduous research and writing process, you may be tempted to throw down a couple of words that serve as a catch-all for your paper, please don't. Your hard work deserves an interesting title, so spend a little extra time on the first part of a paper anyone reads. The last thing you want is for the title to become the only part anyone reads.

PS> I didn't come up for a title for this post until after I finished writing (and rewriting) all of the above.