Four Books on Research, Writing, and Graduate Study

By Tuve Floden

How can professors prepare their students for work inside or outside of academia? How can students get the most out of their time in graduate school? Good mentors play a part in this, but no advisor knows and can explain the details of every professional topic. In the modern job market, these subjects include strong analytical writing, smart research techniques, digital archiving, well-crafted grant applications, the ins and outs of the publication process, the diverse elements of a job search, and employment options outside academia. Unless students know the rare individual who has advice on all these topics, then they must find resources in other ways. In this essay, I offer four books that have served me well in this regard.

Graduate Study for the 21^st Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities, by Gregory Colón Semenza (Palgrave Macmillan, 2nd ed., 2010)

When students enter a graduate program, the scope of the tasks before them can be daunting. Coursework, teaching, conferences, exams, a thesis or dissertation, publications, and the job market all combine to make the experience a bit overwhelming. In Graduate Study for the 21^st Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities, Gregory Colón Semenza explains the importance of taking it step by step. In clear, frank language, he presents these topics in detail, providing definitions, tips, and suggestions, along with excellent samples of a CV, syllabus, abstracts, and cover letters.

For me, this text highlights two particularly important lessons. First, research and writing can be a lonely process, but it doesn’t have to be. Semenza frequently notes that graduate students are part of a community, not just in their departments, but across academia. Try to build relationships with a wide range of classmates and professors, he says, as they may be your colleagues for years to come.

Second, everything in your academic journey is a learning experience. We read articles and books, attend lectures, and participate in conferences to broaden our knowledge. But, as Semenza shows, we can also use these experiences to analyze how individuals structure their work. How does an author develop her argument? What can you learn from the structure of a presentation? What do people do at a conference besides presenting their research?

Digital Paper: A Manual for Research and Writing with Library and Internet Materials, by Andrew Abbott (University of Chicago Press, 2014)

In graduate school, students often study the prominent names in their field, the scholars who set the standard, move research in new directions, and eloquently present powerful conclusions in a short space. How did they do it? Andrew Abbott’s Digital Paper: A Manual for Research and Writing with Library and Internet Materials provides an important framework and offers key insights into this process.

As Abbott explains, research is not a linear process.  Rather, research projects include seven simultaneous and interlocking tasks: designing a project, compiling a bibliography, searching for materials, reading, filing, analyzing, and writing. Research is a complex process and not always straightforward. So, embrace the chaos as you shift in, out, and between these different steps.

Another important point, Abbott writes, is that complete drafts do not emerge in one go. The pivotal scholarly works we read in journals and from university presses have gone through countless stages and drafts. Writing is a process for everyone, whether they are a graduate student or a full professor.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King (Scribner, 2010)

Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is an eloquent memoir and handbook on his experiences as a writer. Of course, academic writing is not fiction, but it still features the same building blocks: words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. In giving advice to aspiring writers, King explains the nature of his creative process from the rough draft stage to the final product, with all his doubts and edits along the way. The end of this book even features several pages of a rough draft, including King’s hand-edits, cross-outs, and rewrites.

For me, this validates a crucial point for academics and especially graduate students: Writing can take place in many ways. There is no correct method to put words on paper. Type them, write long hand, use dictation, or mix and match. The final result will be the same. Moreover, King’s own challenges and rejections should buoy the hearts of any student or academic. Let’s face it: rejection and self-doubt are inevitable.

The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. into a Job, by Karen Kelsky (Three Rivers Press, 2015)

A direct, no-holds-barred book, The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. into a Job carefully chronicles the steps toward success in the academic job market, focused particularly on getting a tenure-track job. Don’t be deceived by author Karen Kelsky’s informal style. Her book, based on her popular blog, is exceedingly thorough. Moreover, it covers not just advice and approaches for successful applicants, but also what not to do and what not to say.

If you want to know how academic departments conduct job searches, this work is essential. It covers CVs, references, teaching philosophies, interviews, publications, cover letters, and job talks, as well as tips on negotiating a job offer.

In addition to these excellent resources, the book’s messages are clear. First, details matter. Take time preparing your materials and preparing for interviews. In addition, be confident and professional in your exchanges, whether via email or in person. You can demonstrate your commitment and expertise in your CV and in how you interact with others. Show people the colleague you want to be, not the student you currently are.

These four books provided me with a wealth of resources during my time as a graduate student, and I still consult these works today. For advice on writing, research techniques, grant applications, conferences, the publication process, and the job search, these works remain a priceless tool for students and scholars alike.

Tuve Floden is an independent scholar of Islamic Studies and Middle Eastern history, and the founder of the blog Other Things. He holds a PhD from Georgetown University and a M.A. from the University of Arizona.