Presented by Dr. Thu Tran

This presentation will provide participants with some key considerations in academic writing for graduate students whose native languages are other than English. Tips for effective academic writing are also offered.

Time: 2pm

Location: Butler-Carlton 110

Contact: emrt24@mst.edu

Arun Prince joined the Office of Graduate Studies during the spring 2013 semester.  Arun will be tutoring graduate students to help them improve their writing skills.  Please join us in welcoming him to our team!

Education:

I have a bachelors degree in information technology.  I came to the United States to earn a masters degree in IST.

 Work Experience:

I worked for one of the biggest software development firms (TCS) in India as a systems engineer for three years. This experience greatly increased my understanding of real world scenarios. It also provided me with ample opportunity to interact with people from various cultures and thus improve my interpersonal skills.

Hobbies:

One of the hobbies I most enjoy includes being a self-professed food critic.   This hobby led me to my new hobby, cooking, and I find that I am actually good at it!

I also enjoy a number of sports, including basketball, cricket, and squash. My greatest love, however, is cars. I love cars, and I love driving cars. Being an eternal optimist, I think I will pick up new hobbies as I gain new experiences in life.

Tutoring:

I believe that knowledge is the only thing that grows if you share it. I believe tutoring is a great opportunity for me to share my knowledge with my graduate student counterparts.

Graduate tutors are available Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to help you improve the quality of your writing.  If you'd like to schedule a tutoring session, please email emrt24@mst.edu.

Please join us in congratulating our graduate tutor, Susan Sipaun.  Susan has just completed Level I training of the Office of Graduate Studies' tutor training program.  This training has been awarded International Tutor Certification by the College Reading and Learning Association.  Tutors who complete one or more levels of this training will receive credentials recognized at over 500 universities internationally.

As part of her training, Susan conducted more than 25 hours of tutoring sessions with graduate students at Missouri S&T.  She contributed regularly to our newsletter, "Graduate Life," the office's Facebook page, and this resource blog.  She completed more than 30 hours of training, attending various workshops and seminars,  to help her improve her tutoring skills, and she assisted with various office activities throughout the fall 2012 semester.

Susan was awarded at an office luncheon for this achievement.  We are sincerely grateful to have Susan working with us to help graduate students improve their writing skills.  She is a great asset to this University, and we look forward to continuing to work with her in the future!

About Myself: 

 I am an MS student within the electrical engineering program. I finished my BS in India last summer. I crossed the oceans to reach MS&T in Fall 2012. I am working on implementing non-linear control methods in the field of power system transient stability.

Tutoring:

As both a high school and an undergraduate student, I had experience writing papers and essays. I understand the difficulties one faces when writing these pieces. As part of a social organization, I tutored school children where I learned what a fun, rewarding experience tutoring can be.  I also found I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others.

I am excited to be working with graduate students to help them more effectively communiate their ideas.

Hobbies:

I enjoy spending my free time with my friends. I also enjoy reading.  I especially love to read fiction from all parts of the world, as they offer a great deal of insight into various cultures and traditions. I enjoy interacting with people from different countries and, particularly, trying the different foods from these countries. I also like to listen to music and love cooking so much that, if I hadn't taken up engineering, I would have considered being a chef!

Graduate tutors are available Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to help you improve the quality of your writing.  If you'd like to schedule a tutoring session, please email emrt24@mst.edu.

Dining in a professional environment can be an intimidating, daunting task.  What food is best to order and when?  Should you order a soft drink or wine?  Which fork do you use for what? 

These decisions are often made more difficult by the added pressure of the situation.  You may be dining as part of a job interview.  Perhaps you are hoping to earn a new project.  Maybe you're simply having dinner with your employer and coworkers.

Whatever the situation may be, the COER can help.  They have designed an etiquette dinner to help answer your questions and reduce your fears.  This etiquette dinner will be held Thursday, March 7, at 5pm in the St. Pat's ballroom at the Havener Center.

The dinner includes a 5-course meal during which all of the fundamentals of proper dining etiquette will be explained. This is excellent training to have before dining with a potential employer. 

There is a $15* reservation fee that is applied to your student account to cover part of the meal's cost. To help those graduate students interested in attending, the Office of Graduate Studies will pay this reservation fee for the first ten graduate students who register.  Those interested should contact Elizabeth Roberson at emrt24@mst.edu. 

*Both reservations cancelled after the RSVP date and no-shows will be subject to an additional $15 fee to cover the full cost of the meal.

 "When you write for your peers, you can use as many technical and esoteric terms as you like.  Why?  You know they will understand what you are saying; you don't need to explain what, to you, are everyday concepts.  But it's a different story when you need to write for non-technical readers." ~Desolie Page

Very often, our journal articles, conference papers, and so forth will be read by both technical and non-technical readers alike.  As such, we must craft our work so that it can be comprehended by an incredibly varied audience.  Desolie Page has written a terrific article on how to do so successfully.  She walks writers through a number of issues writers must consider when putting together their work.  Page offers pointed questions you should ask yourself when beginning your writing.  She then walks you through crafting paragraphs, lists, and non-verbal elements.

For the complete article, please visit Technical Writing for Non-Technical Readers

February 13

Presented by Elizabeth Roberson

A properly formatted document can help lend credibility to nearly any argument.  Developing that format, however, can be a difficult, frustrating task.  Microsoft Word has a number of tools that can help you not only format with consistency but also save time.  This workshop will guide you through these tools while helping you better understand some of the basic principles behind correctly formatting a document.  Reserve your seat today!

Time: 3pm - 4pm

Location: Campus Support Facility (CSF) 114

Reservations: Either emrt24@mst.edu or http://www.facebook.com/mstgradstudies.

February 7

Students often feel intimidated by the prospect of meeting with an advisor. These meetings, however, don't have to be frightening. "Meeting with Your Advisor: How to Speak Up" is a workshop designed to help graduate students overcome common worries. Sit down with a small group of students to discuss both the concerns related to meeting with an advisor and approaches to make the conversation more comfortable and productive. Dr. Patti J. Fleck will facilitate the discussion, share strategies, and introduce resources. Pizza will be provided. Seating is limited to 20 graduate students. Reservations are required.

Time: 12 (noon) - 1pm
Location: Butler-Carlton 215
Contact: emrt24@mst.edu

January 29 - January 31

Welcome Back Graduate Students!

Getting back into the swing of things can be difficult.  The Office of Graduate Studies wants to make it a little easier.  All graduate students are invited to stop by the GRC in 117 Fulton Hall between 8am and 10am for free coffee and donuts. Just our way of saying "Welcome Back!"

From 8am - 10am in 117 Fulton Hall