Grad School Essentials

Who Should Consider This Book? Grad students entering the humanities, social sciences and possibly the nartural sciences. Why? Dr. Shore mentions that his reading guide, found in the first two chapters of his book, is written for graduate students who are reading books and articles in the humanities, social sciences, and to an extent the natural sciences as well (p 9). He explains that his method is meant to help you "jump around" in the text, and zero in on the primary information that an author is communicating (p 9). What Do You Get? Time saving strategies and tips for reading, writing, presenting, and research, as well as useful information about navigating interpersonal communication with peers and professors.

I just completed my first grad class and ran to this book for help. There seems to be some magical unknown training program between undergad and grad that I was not told about. The bar was set so high, so suddenly, without any education on how to accomplish these new tasks. THANKFULLY, Dr. Shore has an incredible wealth of knowledge here on how to APPROACH grad school. It is sensible, incredibly resourceful, and, my favorite of all, WHITTY! Thank you Dr. Shore for sharing this wealth with the upcoming generation. I may still struggle forward, but at least now I know I won’t drown. *P.S. - This is my first Amazon review in at least 10 years. This book made me get up and right it. It’s that good.

Good book but I don’t want an author’s political views interwoven into book content unless I am reading a book on politics. Since the author preaches simplicity he might take a chapter from his own lesson and apply it to his writing. Apart from that I like the book. Loved it UNTIL I read a few remarks as noted. Disappointed at the lack of self discipline reflected by these remarks.

Great and hilarious crash course! Just what I needed. Steps are easy to remember and follow

This book is used in a practitioner oriented graduate degree program. It receives overwhelmingly positive reviews from students - most of whom are intelligent and successful mid and senior level civilians who have been out of school for five to ten years. It's not the only book one will need to succeed in graduate school, but it is an excellent refresher for people whose critical reading, critical writing and research skills are rusty. You can get an example of Zach Shore's approach to graduate education on youtube. Search for his name and "grad school essentials."

I had been out of school for ten years and I never felt in undergrad like I had a "system." I found this book helped me develop a sustainable system especially for note taking. What's great about this is that he walks you through real academic snippets to explain how the system works. I also recommend an article on study/exam tips on the blog "the art of manliness"

I bought this because of its good reviews and because I wasn't convinced I was getting everything out of my class readings that I could (in a PhD program). And the two reading chapters were probably the only two I'd recommend. Some of it was very basic, but there were good tips. The remainder of the book is definitely targeted to younger students. This is evident through his repeated comments about how the readers are too young to remember certain shows, or were born long after the Soviet Union collapsed. News Flash: there are older students! Not only do I remember the end of the Cold War, I also know some of the more basic skills he teaches because I've held professional jobs, I've interacted with people in a large variety of settings, etc...

Entering the world of academia can be disorienting. Like the little map you're handed as you enter a theme park, this book will help you get your bearings. It's short, and the writing is clear--a very efficient way to get this information.

This book will make you fall in love with academic research! It suddenly is less intimidating and challenging! It provides the most practical methods to produce a good compelling argument, in the form of a large thesis or even a short essay. This book has helped me frame my masters' thesis in a more compelling and coherent manner, with a consistent flow of clarity, which was missing earlier. Professor Zac managed to explain what is most required and HOW to achieve it under 150 pages, which is a testament to his brilliant writing and teaching skills. This is the friendly research assistant we all need when dealing with a writing assignment, boosting our confidence with each solution. Unlike other academic writing books, he explains the methods in a very engaging, accessible manner. It feels like a conversation with him preempting our questions all the way. This book will remain with you years after you graduate, helping you when you need to blog/teach/research or write your proposal for your next degree!

This engagingly-written, succinct guide clarifies the norms of the craft and practice of scholarship that will actually help students efficiently navigate their development in university. In addition to clarification, Shore provides a better ethos and path forward than the alienated gamer's cynicism that can divert students' attention and time, bogging them down and sucking all the air out of the room for everyone. I assign Grad School Essentials to my undergraduate Honours students and prepared my 18 yr old for university by asking him to carefully review it for me. Because it's written in a very friendly, reasonable voice, they are okay with it. I teach in the social sciences at a big engineering- and health sciences-first research university, where there's no institutional socialization of students into scholarship--it's just up to individual profs, and Arts students are treated by the institution as cash cows. This book allows me to help some students get more development out of their university experience. I wish Grad School Essentials was assigned in first year of undergraduate to all students in (at least) the social sciences and humanities. One small objection: On behalf of professors everywhere, and given the book is mostly appropriate for undergrads as well as grad students, I wish Dr. Shore would refine the little part discouraging students from house/cat-sitting. Profs are amongst the most low-paid, dislocated professionals there are, sent out to live without supportive family or lifetime friends, and we've got to leave sometimes to research and go to conferences. Housesitting and catsitting are not exploitative if you pay trusted students a little. It's not going to de-professionalize advanced undergrads to housesit.

I'm a grad student, hence why I decided to buy this book. It's really small, so I wasn't sure how much good advice it would really contain, but I was very pleasantly surprised. This is a great book. It does have a lot of great advice, written in clear and concise instructions. I personally really like the chapter on reading literature. It's one of those books that you could probably get by without, but it had just enough good advice in it to make your life a little easier. I really wish I had found it closer to the start of my grad student career, and not near the end, but that's okay.

As a mature student who has been out of school for a while, this book provided me with shortcuts to studying and usable advice which have made my return to academia so much easier.