Writing Help for ELL Students

Hello, I’m a grad student in school of engineering. I need to improve my writing (second language) for my assignments. I have seen some programs in OWRC, which one would you recommend me? The drop-in or the TLC? Or maybe other program? —Tori

(This week’s answer is courtesy of Peter Freeman, Interim Director of the Odegaard Writing and Research Center.)

I’d say both are definitely worth exploring. If you join TLC, you and your group will get to meet with a tutor facilitator every week for an entire quarter and work through anything you all have questions about. The drop-in sessions are similar, but allow you to meet with a tutor on a one-on-one basis. Of course, you’re certainly welcome to do both. We can definitely help with grammar. In this case, our tutors will ask questions to help identify specific concerns and offer suggestions and strategies to help address those concerns. We also have plenty of resources on our website to help with grammar and other writing conventions.

I hope this helps!

Ask the Grad School Guru is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guru doesn’t know the answer, the guru will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guru is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Being Intentional Throughout the Spring Quarter

It never hurts to do some intentional planning and mapping out of the most important tasks and goals that lie ahead of you. This is especially true for Spring Quarter as we know that many of you will be graduating, seeking internships, taking the next step in your program, and transitioning into a variety of career paths. So why not welcome spring with some intentionality, and start out the quarter on the right foot? Here are some tips to help you do just that:

Set goals. You can’t do (and be) your best while attempting to do everything at once. Your first step? Take a step back. What? We know this is really hard to do in the midst of a tsunami of work, but it really does make moving forward possible. Make a list of short-term goals that will help your reach long term goals—for the coming week, month, the end of the quarter. Identify time constraints that are out of your control versus deadlines that you can manage and set for yourself—you’ll have a more accurate picture of a schedule that is actually yours. Try out the following resources and see what works for you: individual development plan, decision making, and SMARTER.

Be resourceful. It’s true—in many instances, completing goals and projects are ultimately down to you. They run the gamut from writing a thesis or dissertation to gearing up for multiple job searches. But this doesn’t mean you have to do this work in isolation, nor should you. Create opportunities for you to get and/or give support. Co-organize a writing accountability group with peers, who are inside or outside of your field. The important thing is making a commitment to each other. Check out these guides for writing accountability and dissertation support groups. Seek out opportunities for networking, job shadows, or informational interviews. Schedule meetings with advisors or mentors (community, professional, academic) that you trust, so they can be your sounding board and help keep you on track.

Make commitments. Sometimes we need an extra push to move forward in our work, and creating external deadlines to participate in events that help us grow intellectually and professionally can help. We’ve had graduate students (Masters and Doctoral) say that participating in Scholars’ Studio really helped them organize their thinking about their research in important ways. Just like taking a step back, it can help to pull yourself up from the weeds of your work and communicate with others about it. Whether in a rapid exchange with peers, a lightning or research talk, or ways to showcase your engagement with service and leadership, get inspired or refreshed by participating or attending UW events happening this quarter at all three campuses.

Stay present. We know what you’re thinking, “Yeah right!” Because it feels like crunch time, this can coincide with persistent worrying about the future. Taking time for yourself to slow down at several points throughout the quarter prioritizes your health and takes focus and energy away from anxious thoughts. This can look like doing only one task at a time (as multi-tasking never works), spacing out time between tasks and appointments (so you’re not rushing all the time), decompressing by going for a run or doing yoga following several hours of work-related tasks, or doing absolutely nothing for a few minutes (try focusing on the rhythm of your breath or visualize a soothing image). The purpose of these activities is to help re-ground you and bring you back to your intentions and the present moment.

Warmly,

Jaye Sablan, Kelly Edwards, Ziyan Bai
Core Programs Team

Passive Wifi

Grist.org recognizes that graduate students are “behind almost all scientific and technological advances.” In this case, Vamsi Talla and Bryce Kellogg in particular.

Hours and Hours of Office Hours

I am a TA for a graduate level class this quarter, and my professor is asking me to hold 4 hours of Office Hours. I feel this is too much. I had TA’d the same class last quarter, and I had five hours of Office Hours, way more than any other grad class in my department. It was incredibly stressful, and I grew to hate the work because of the long hours. I was hoping that this quarter I can have office hours similar what others in my department hold. How do I tell my professor? I want a good recommendation letter from him eventually and don’t want to piss him off, but there simply doesn’t seem to be an indirect way to tell him what I want to say. —Anonymous

This is exactly the type of situation to take to the Office of the Ombud. They specialize in handling conflicts with others at UW and will help you approach your professor with your concerns. Additionally, you can consult the Center for Teaching and Learning for tips on how to manage office hours and handle the stress that comes with teaching.

Building and Maintaining Momentum

It’s nearing the end of winter quarter, and we know it can be difficult to keep your spirits and energy up as you work to fulfill on and off campus responsibilities. We are right there with you. Here are five tips to help keep you going:

Set achievable goals. Rather than promising yourself that you’re going to spend 5 full hours in one sitting to work on a paper, approach time management realistically. Try writing in 30 minute chunks. Take a short break and pick it right back up. This approach can be a great stress reliever, because you can make progress one step at a time.

Set boundaries. Set healthy boundaries on campus, at work, and at home–and if you haven’t done so, now is a good time as any to practice. Take stock of what you have to get done in the next two weeks. You can hold off on any tasks and responsibilities that can realistically wait for the next few weeks or month. Boundary setting helps you realize that you do have control over your schedule.

Meet with your support system. Have you checked in with people who’ve got your back? This may include faculty, graduate program advisors, loved ones, student peers, or work colleagues. More than one person in your support system is better. Check in with faculty via e-mail or in person and focus on one or two goals you have for the rest of the quarter. Meet with a peer at the library or a coffee shop to write and go over ideas and drafts. Connecting with loved ones and community is important and can remind you that you are more than just a graduate student. Call, text, skype, share a meal, and/or make plans to spend time together.

Keep yourself nourished. What keeps you going and energized? Do you need a glass of water? How about a snack or meal? A short nap or a good night’s sleep? Is there a song, movie, hobby, or activity that restores your motivation? Is there something you are looking forward to during Spring Break? Post an image or word in your work space or apartment that reminds of you of what you are looking forward to–to keep yourself moving toward that finish line. And it’s always helpful to reflect back on why you’re here in graduate school in the first place (insert personal, intellectual, and professional goals here).

Have faith in yourself. You do have what it takes. Really, you do! You can do your best now and it will be enough.

Warmly,

Jaye Sablan, Kelly Edwards, Ziyan Bai
Core Programs Team

Gratuitous to Grade Grammar?

I’m a TA for a graduate-level course, and many of the students are not native English speakers. I am grading assignments with significant grammatical errors: incorrect tenses, wrong plurals, missing articles, etc. I’m struggling with the tension between not unfairly penalizing students, since English isn’t their first language, but also holding them to a high standard for academic writing, given that they are getting a graduate degree. How have other TAs or instructors handled this? —Grammar Nerd

(This week’s answer is courtesy of Katie Malcolm, Instructional Consultant, Center for Teaching and Learning.)

Thank you for asking—this is a question we hear often in the Center for Teaching and Learning. Although we recommend that TAs check with their supervisors to see if their departments have specific policies about this, the TAs we have worked with over the years and our own teaching experiences have given us some helpful perspectives. When thinking about how to fairly assess my own international and multilingual students’ writing, I ask myself two questions: 1) What are my goals for the assignment? What do I need to prioritize? and 2) How can I communicate these goals to my students in ways that will help them succeed?

1. First, I think about what is important to prioritize for my students in each assignment, given my realistic learning outcomes for a 10-week course. What is the primary goal I want students to achieve through each writing assignment?

In my own assignments, my first priority is for students to develop and sustain a logical argument in conversation with relevant research. If students’ errors leave me unable to understand their argument, I can’t assess it meaningfully, and—whether English is their first, second, or fifth language—I will ask them to edit and revise the assignment in order to receive credit.

Because my primary goal is not for students to write as though English were their first language, if incorrect verb tenses or missing articles do not detract from my ability to understand a student’s point, I tend to overlook or “read through” them, or point out a couple of occurrences in the margins and then make a note of these patterns in my end comments. (Showing students the patterns of their errors helps them learn how to avoid these kinds of errors in the future). Just as students need time and practice to develop fluency in their pronunciation and speaking, they also need time to develop fluency in academic, discipline-specific English writing.

2. Once I have articulated my expectations for students’ writing, I clearly communicate these expectations to students in several ways:

At the same time that I introduce an assignment, I share the assignment grading criteria, usually in the form of a rubric. When writing style is an important aspect of the assignment (as it often is), I make sure that it is part of the grading criteria and weighted appropriately.

I assign multiple drafts so that students know that I do not want them to start a paper the night before it’s due (often a major culprit of unedited papers). I’ll ask students to bring an early draft to class for peer review, or to bring a draft to my office hours, and/or to visit the Odegaard Writing and Resource Center (OWRC) to get feedback on their writing early in the process.
I share writing resources with my students, including information about OWRC, which has drop-in hours for graduate student writers in the Allen Library. There are also a number of great online resources on proofreading that may be helpful to students, such as the Purdue OWL’s “Finding common errors” page and their pages dedicated to multilingual writers. UNC also has some helpful editing resources.

Again, thanks for asking this great question — if you would like to talk more about this or other aspects of your teaching, please don’t hesitate to contact us at thectl@uw.edu.

Negotiating Salary and Your Start-Up Package

In February 2016, the UW Career Center convened a panel of recently hired faculty members to share their perspectives on how to negotiate salary in pursuing an academic career. Here are some highlights from the workshop:

Top Tips:

(Almost) Always negotiate.
Check your attitude (you want to aim for humble-confident).
Think broadly. Beyond just salary, there are moving expenses, set up costs, teaching load, professional development funds, staff support, and etc.
You can’t get it all, but ask yourself: What will help me be a happy, productive faculty member? What are the deal breakers?

Before Asking:

Frame your thinking and communications as a faculty member, not as an aspiring graduate student or postdoc grasping for a position.
Think hard about what you want (what kind of position). Understand fit. What kind of institution are you looking for? What kind of institutional culture? What kind of experience do you want as a professor? What is possible to ask for within the kind of institution in which you are applying?
Do your research. Know what the salary range is for your discipline and type of institution. Know what you can ask for. In order to do this, you can talk with your network, e.g. people who have gotten positions in the last 3-4 years. This helps you know what to expect.

When to Ask?

Never give the first number, even if they ask. Do not talk about salary until you get a job offer.
Do not respond right away after receiving the offer of salary. Let it sit for at least 24 hours.

What to Ask?

Ask for what you need to be successful. Negotiation implies give and take.
Things to ask for: Remember to tie all asks back to your productivity and impact.
- Salary. Consider cost of living in the city, hard money/soft money split – how long before you need to bring in more of your own salary.
- Summer support. Justify it as research/productivity time. It is easier to give since it is a one-time commitment.
- Moving costs. You can get estimates for your move and negotiate for higher amount – usually institutions have set amount whether you move from near or far.
- Tech, grant, and/or teaching support.
- Travel and development. As junior person, you might need to ask for 2 conferences in first 3 years as you build your network and your position.
- Reduced teaching load. How many preps do you want each year (new courses)?
- TA or RA support
Make sure you have what you want at the end of the negotiation.

How to Ask?

Be honest, have integrity. Don’t “BS” – people can see through that.
Be gracious in the way you ask.
Remember humility – you deserve to be treated well (but not better than) all the other faculty.
Tie your requests back to how it will facilitate your contributions and success as a faculty member – you are not asking to be selfish, you are asking because you want to make good on the investment they are making in YOU.

What if…?

You receive multiple offers.
- Be honest. Never misrepresent. Keep in mind these are your colleagues who will be in your national network.
- You can always ask – if you haven’t heard from top choice yet, you can ask where you are in the process because you have another offer.
- Be gracious in asking for more information, and for more time. Search Committees take time, the whole process takes time. E.g. “I have an offer from another institution, but I would be very interested in hearing from you.”
You are moving with your partner who is also pursuing academic career.
- Don’t start asking right away – it can create a barrier.
- You want to be honest. You want to be upfront. But think about when to say it.
- Certain states have “anti-nepotism laws” – strict rules about having relatives be in potential positions of power over each other. Or resource constraints. Research institutional culture/practices – some institutions can be very helpful.
- Sometimes they find “options”, but they are not options that are desirable for your career.
- Sometimes you can ask for career services for your spouse.

Things to Bear in Mind:

When negotiating, you are starting the beginning of a long term relationship. You want to start on the right foot. Be objective, be fair, look for a win-win solution (see Steven Convey). A teaching institution won’t be able to provide a Research I lab space. Know the context in which you are asking.
Don’t take it personally. When they throw a number out, don’t get excited or offended. Look at the range you know they use. It sets your starting point and you move from there. Do not agree on anything right away.
Putting your best self forward in negotiation. Word will get around about the “ridiculous” things you are asking for, or how unreasonable, or difficult you’ve been.
You have to communicate your sense of value. But not your value as “better than everyone else”. Be confident but humble.
If you give up too much, it also creates a lesser If you agree too quickly, you are not perceived as strong. You may end up resenting what others have.

Resources:

Check university websites for benefit packages.
Check with your professional society, or with publicly available databases to find out appropriate salary ranges for your field or the institution. Keep in mind years of experience will count.
Career Center resource on Academic Career: Salary Negotiation
Julia Miller Vick & Jennifer S. Furlong. (2008). Academic Job Search Handbook.
Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever. (2009). Ask for It: How Women Can Use Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want.

Acknowledgement to the panelists:
Dr. Thelma Madzima, Faculty in Biology, UW Bothell
Dr. Hala Annabi, Faculty in iSchool, UW Seattle
Catherine Basl, UW Career Center

Originally posted on February 11, 2016.

The Good Kind of Audit

There is no supervision in the practicum setting of the students in the [redacted] program. Every week, the students have to sign a form to turn into the board, although they did not receive the supervision they have signed off for. Questions are not being answered when they voice their concerns about this. Some people feel this program should be audited because the lack of supervision is only one concern of this program. —Anonymous

I’m so sorry to hear you’re having to deal with this in your program. While students cannot directly request an audit, you should know that the Graduate School conducts Academic Program Reviews for all departments on a rotating schedule. Without calling out your specific department, it looks like this is your year! Program reviews provide several opportunities for student feedback, including speaking to the review committee during the site visit and also sending written feedback.

Online Courses

The last thing you want to do is take more classes, but maybe there’s a gap in your knowledge or skill base you want to fill without paying more tuition. The UW offers free online courses, based on popular classes offered by UW degree and certificate programs.

Write Well

I am coming back to the regular stream of school after 35 years. I would like to improve my writing skill to the level of my cohorts. —Anonymous

Congratulations! And welcome back to school. Students returning to school after a significant amount of time have unique challenges. The most relevant resource for you would be the Odegaard Writing and Research Center. In Odegaard Library, they offer one-to-one tutoring sessions on any piece of writing.

You can make an appointment or drop in. See their website for details and hours. In Allen Library, they also offer Drop-in Consultations for Graduate Students. Sessions are exclusively drop-in and are specifically targeted for graduate students working on long-term projects. See details and hours. They also offer a variety of other programs that might suit your needs. There are also writing centers across campuses and many departments host their own. Here’s a list of resources on the Seattle campus. Bothell has a Writing and Communication Center and Tacoma’s Teaching and Learning Center offers writing consultations. Good luck! Ask the Grad School Guru is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students.

Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guru doesn’t know the answer, the guru will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guru is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.)

Submit a question for the column →