Writing and Publishing
Developing your writing skills is key to success whether you are a graduate student or postdoctoral scholar. The dissertation or thesis is a project unlike any other, and few students start out knowing how to conceptualize and organize large-scale writing projects. Publishing is also an acquired set of skills. GradPathways provides writing and publishing development in partnership with the Writing Center to help ensure success for all graduate students and postdocs.
Skill Review
Review these skills, and consider if you have already developed the skill enough for your future career plans, expect to develop the skill as part of your program, or need to find additional resources to support developing the skill:
- Complete a thesis or dissertation adhering to the standards of my field
- Produce graduate-level papers
- Navigate the publishing process
- Produce effective materials for a grant application
- Produce written work for a broad public audience
- Produce written work for a specific non-specialist audience
- Understand and adhere to norms for business-focused genres of writing
- Translate between two or more languages
On Demand Content
In his talk on How to Turbocharge your Writing, Hugh Kearns emphasizes that productive academic writing is less about talent or motivation and more about managing habits, mindset, and time. He argues that many writers get stuck because they wait for large blocks of time or feel they must produce “perfect” work, which leads to procrastination and anxiety. Instead, Kearns promotes writing in short, regular sessions (“snack writing”), separating drafting from editing, and lowering the emotional stakes by treating writing as a skill that improves through practice. He also highlights the importance of understanding the emotional barriers to writing—such as fear of judgment and perfectionism—and using practical strategies to reduce resistance. Overall, the talk reframes writing as a manageable, repeatable process that becomes faster and more enjoyable when approached strategically rather than emotionally.
In addition, Hugh Kearns has written two articles to help unlock writing and stem writers' blocks: in Turbocharge your Writing Today, Kearns and Maria Gardiner describe the patterns that get in the way of developing a healthy writing practice. In Waiting for the Motivation Fairy, they describe the behavioral shifts needed to overcome procrastination. They have also developed a helpful quick sheet to dispel negative self-talk and motivate writing.
Courses and Programs
The Writing Center is the campus' central resource for writing instruction and writing support. At the Writing Center, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars can find quarterly workshops and seminars, Writing Retreats, Academic Writing Groups, Writing partnerships designed to provide accountability and overcome procrastination, as well as one-on-one consulting.
The University Writing Program (UWP) offers a range of graduate-level writing courses aimed at those teaching writing.
International Students are required to take an English language course during their first academic year to help support their acculturation and learning, unless they meet certain testing requirements. The Writing Placement System can help determine which of the courses would be most useful.