Supervisors worry about their grad students. We’re sincerely invested in their work—not just getting them to finish, but making sure they’re ok during the process. We don’t want to grill them—we want to gush about what works and offer revisions for what doesn’t.
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Often committees spend too much time “hammering” a thesis into shape (whose shape?), and not enough time considering the process of the student and why they care about this work. We need more talk about why writing is *hard* and how to preserve/convey developing ideas.
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This is how creative writing pedagogies can help. Talking about the *revision* process as part of writing, not as a punishment or brief awkward stage—about the intimate relation between writing/revision and how both processes require guidance and models.
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Supervisors and committee members need to share their own writing processes and difficulties. “I’m stuck on this right now—what are you stuck on?” Then we can all talk about how we approach that process of revision and how it can be slightly different for each writer.
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We can be transparent too: here are the things I struggled with while writing my thesis. Here are some things you might struggle with. Here are strategies for getting un-stuck. More about process, less about deadlines and immovable expectations.
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Supervisors also have anxiety. We worry that something isn’t working, or that we aren’t effectively communicating expectations, or even that we’re not the best fit for the project. It’s important that we’re honest about anxieties on both sides so we can move forward.
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Sometimes I feel like something isn’t working in a thesis, and think: “Is this my anxiety talking?” Then I’ll take a step back and see all the things that *are* working and realize it’s just a matter of strengthening connections. But the pressure is real on both sides.
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Sometimes supervisors are just *tired* and we forget that revisions are process. Code-switching between projects is difficult and what works for one student won’t work for another. We have to take a breath and return to the material as editors looking to strengthen foundations.
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Replying to @jesbattis
I appreciate your thread but just an fyi, that isn’t what code-switching means, that’s switching between dialects and usually these days has very specific connotations. Just wanted you to know it’s not a synonym for just moving or switching between things.
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Replying to @AdmiralHip
thanks--maybe we could call it genre-switching or something along those lines...the experience of moving between complex projects
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Yeah it needs it’s own terminology. Idk what that would be, tbh I switch projects regularly and I think many careers require it. Code-switching is a very specific thing. It’s not really my lane but many Black folks have discussed it at length, if you were interested in reading up
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