by Kristin Huggins, Consultant
The start of the spring semester is one part magic and two parts chaos. Christmas flew by in a peppermint-coated blur, and you suddenly find yourself standing on campus surrounded by the living organism of academia – crowds of students, staff, and faculty swarming about as if Christmas break had never happened. Your nerves are on edge with a new schedule of classes, filled with new colleagues, and the distinct feeling that you are forgetting something as you navigate your new Spring 2023 routine.
Such feelings are not restricted to the student experience. Even as a professor, I still get the tell-tale nightmare the night before the first day of class. Most recently, I dreamt that I mixed up the room numbers of my first class, teaching Italian Diction to a group of terrified History 101 undergrads who were too sweet to correct me for the first 15 minutes. Waking up with sweaty, shaking hands, I launched out of bed at 3am to log in and check my room assignment, still muttering the lyrics to “Si, mi chiamano Mimì” under my breath.
But amidst nightmares, nerves, and chaos is the true magic of the new semester: a fresh start. Today, you can set yourself up for the best chance at writing success. Take stock of the impending deadlines set before you: how many term papers, literature reviews, research proposals, book chapter proposals, articles, or pages of your thesis/dissertation are required to claw your way out of Spring 2023 alive and whole? While you may not be able to complete these projects up front without copious amounts of reading and in-class preparation, you are uniquely positioned to create a Semester Plan that will guide you through the minefield of writing projects.
To create a productive Semester Writing Plan, follow these four steps:
- Map out all semester writing deadlines to determine which you can start early
- Plan out your weekly writing blocks
- Use early readings as a launchpad for establishing a writing reflection routine
- Find a Peer Writing Group to establish consistent writing habits with peer accountability
Map Semester Deadlines & Start Early
Your syllabus and course schedules are your lifeline. Grab onto them with both hands and stay afloat! By now, you should have one or both of these documents from your professors. Set time aside this week to look at them collectively and map out how your deadlines fall throughout the spring calendar.
Take note of weeks where you have multiple deadlines stacked on top of one another. Determine whether you can start early on some of these assignments to save you the headache and long nights later. In some classes (especially Humanities and Social Sciences), you may be able to go ahead and start taking notes on the prompts given for term papers or discussion assignments.
Plan Weekly Writing Blocks
Balancing coursework with personal and professional obligations is a constant struggle, no matter your field or discipline. Like many graduate students, I imagine you are working off of a full plate. Take time this week to look at your weekly responsibilities and determine when you have free blocks of time that could be devoted to writing.
For example, my Tuesdays and Thursdays are filled with studio voice lessons for music majors and musical theatre students. On these days, I have an hour before lessons and an hour mid-day free, but those are my only available blocks. Based on prior teaching experience and knowing my body, my productivity would be best served by using those hours for studio prep and grabbing lunch! Teaching voice is a very physical activity, and if I chose to forgo my lunch in favor of writing, I’d be doing my voice students a disservice and putting my body in harm’s way. Instead, I can reserve writing hours on my non-teaching days, allowing me the office time to sit with my work and chase rabbit trails when needed.
Launch Writing Reflection Routine with Early Readings
Writing and reading make up a two-sided coin in academia. If your class requires copious amounts of writing, chances are you will also be given a heavy reading list. Resist the temptation early in the semester to fly through your reading requirements that don’t have a corresponding writing component. The reading completed early in the semester will likely culminate into the backbone of that term paper or literature review you’ll have to write in a few months. Grab yourself a writing journal and take notes as you read. Jot down your reactions to arguments and copy any quotes that stand out. If a piece reminds you of another author’s work, make a note of that and try to explain how the two are connected. Don’t wait until the week before your paper to do this work!
Find a Peer Writing Group
Before I get things thrown at me by the introverts in the crowd, let me assure you that I am NOT one for group activities. I hate breakout rooms in Zoom. I hate group projects in class. Quite frankly, I would rather eat my own hair. However, despite these professions of introversion, I am a huge advocate for finding a group of peers with whom you can work, write, and share.
Peer writing groups don’t have to be formalized through your program or the GWC. They can be friends you’ve made as a graduate student, preferably those who also share the heavy burden of academic writing deadlines. Regardless of how the group is formed, I have one piece of advice to make this worth your time: consistency. Whether meeting at the library or a local coffee shop (Fabled and Dichotomy are my favorites in Waco), or connecting for an hour via Zoom for quiet writing time, make it happen consistently so that you form the habit and keep one another accountable.
Finally, as you craft your ideal Semester Writing Plan, don’t forget to utilize the resources and support services the Graduate Writing Center provides! Several workshops will be available throughout the semester, highlighting topics of interest explicitly targeting the Graduate Writer. If you are looking for one-on-one assistance with your writing needs, submit a GWC Request to schedule an appointment with one of our writing consultants! Our consultants are here to help you become a productive, articulate academic writer–no matter the discipline or academic style guide!
Welcome back, dear readers, and have a lovely spring semester!