Unit2Howtobeagoodgraduatestudent王立新张泳李丽

Unit 2 How to Be a Good Graduate Student Maríe Dejardíns [1]Why go to graduate school at all? The usual reasons given are that a Ph.D. is required or preferred for some jobs, especially research and academic positions; that it gives you a chance to learn a great deal about a specific area; and that it provides an opportunity to develop ideas and per original research. Wanting to delay your job hunt is probably not a good enough reason. Graduate school is a lot of work and requires strong motivation and focus. You have to really want to be there to make it through. [2]It helps to have a good idea of what area you want to specialize in, and preferably a couple of particular research projects you might like to work on. Look for books and current journals and conference proceedings inyour area, and read through them to get an idea of who s doing what where. (You ll be doing a *lot* of reading once you start graduate school, so you might as well get used to it.) This is where advisors first enter the scene: faculty members ought to be willing to talk to undergraduates and help them find out more about research areas and graduate schools. Try to get involved in research: ask professors and TAs whether they need someone to work on an ongoing project, or start an independent research project, with guidance from a faculty member. [3]For many new graduate students, graduate school is unlike anything else they ve done. Sometimes it s hard to know exactly what it is you re supposed to be learning. Yes, you have to complete a dissertation, but how do you start? What should you spend your time doing? [4]Graduate school is a very unstructured environment in most cases. Graduate students typically take nine hours or less of coursework per semester, especially after the second year. For many, the third year -- after coursework is largely finished and preliminary exams have been completed -- is a very difficult and stressful period. This is when you re supposed to find a thesis topic, ifyou re not one of the lucky few who has already found one. Once you do find a topic, you can expect two or more years until completion, with very few landmarks or milestones in sight. [5]Being a good researcher involves more than ``merely coming up with brilliant ideas and implementing them. Most researchers spend the majority of their time reading papers, discussing ideas with colleagues, writing and revising papers, staring blankly into space -- and, of course, having brilliant ideas and implementing them. [6]Keeping a journal of your research activities and ideas is very useful. Write down speculations, interesting problems, possible solutions, random ideas, references to look up, notes on papers you ve read, outlines of papers to write, and interesting quotes. Read back through it periodically. You ll notice that the bits of random thoughts start to come together and a pattern, often turning into a research project or even a thesis topic. I was surprised, looking bac