The International Writing Centers Association has awarded Learning from the Lived Experiences of Graduate Student Writers the Outstanding Book Award for 2021. Dr. Lisa Russell-Pinson, Assistant Teaching Professor of Writing in the Graduate School, co-authored a chapter in this award-winning book along with UNC Charlotte alumnus Dr. Haadi Jafarian, currently Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Denver. Descriptions of the chapter and the book are presented below.
Russell-Pinson and Jafarian’s chapter, entitled “From Avoidance to Action: Helping Dissertation Writers Manage Procrastination,” addresses procrastination in the dissertation writing process. While procrastination often is attributed to laziness, the authors explain that it is more complex and “typically stems from cognitive, social-cultural and/or emotional roots” during the dissertation process; they then present common challenges that dissertation writers experience with procrastination and conclude by suggesting ways that those working with advanced doctoral students can support writers hindered by procrastination. Earlier this year, an excerpt from the chapter was featured in Stanford University’s renowned Tomorrow’s Professor, an online faculty development resource.
Russell-Pinson and Jafarian’s chapter is found in Learning from the Lived Experiences of Graduate Student Writers (Utah State University Press, 2020). This edited collection is a timely resource for understanding and resolving some of the issues graduate students face, particularly as higher education begins to pay more critical attention to graduate student success. Offering diverse approaches for assisting this demographic, the book bridges the gap between theory and practice through a structured examination of graduate students’ narratives about their development as writers, as well as researched approaches for enabling these students to cultivate their craft. The first half of the book showcases the voices of graduate student writers themselves, who describe their experiences with graduate school literacy through various social issues like mentorship, access, writing in communities, and belonging in academic programs. Their narratives illuminate how systemic issues significantly affect graduate students from historically oppressed groups. The second half accompanies these stories with proposed solutions informed by empirical findings that provide evidence for new practices and programming for graduate student writers.