U N D E R G R A D S

Starting in the Fall of 2008, the Graduates in Earth, Life, and Social Sciences have committed to supporting our community of undergraduate students at ASU by implementing two services coordinated by Nefertiti Aquah:

Ask a Grad Student:

Have you heard of 'Ask a Biologist' or 'Ask a geologist' for instance? Well, we are implementing 'Ask a Grad student'. Many undergrads are looking for answers when it comes to the academic life of a grad student. They may have questions about joining a particular research group, or questions about the everyday life as a graduate student, that cannot be fully answered by other people or written materials. We have an active group of graduate students from many different disciplines that are happy to help you find those answers.

All these questions should be sent by e-mail directly to our staff (gelss.asu1@gmail.com).

Before you send any e-mail, please remember the following:

• Responses from GELSS grad students represent their own experience and do not reflect any official policy or view of the Arizona State University.
• We are happy to answer your questions, but please allow us a few days to respond.
• Please be sure to add all the possible details when formulating your questions, so our grads have enough information and can provide you with an accurate response.
• Many questions (such as those pertaining admission requirements or funding opportunities) may already be answered by the Graduate College. We encourage you to first look at those sources if your questions have to deal with any issue directly related to the Graduate College and ASU policies.

Improve your written work:

Undergrads enrolled in any discipline within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences often have to present formal manuscripts in order to achieve a degree. Many students submit a thesis that is later reviewed by one or more professors. or take Research Paper courses, in which the outcome is a formal manuscript.

We believe that the more you think about your research, the more it can improve, and the closer it can get to publication. Remember, the best way you can tell others about your discoveries is by publishing! However, lack of experience, lack of time, and many other factors can interfere in the quality of that work, and therefore, in its impact and significance. We want you to achieve writing of the highest quality and gain as much as possible from your research experience.

So, if you really want to bring strong ideas to your papers, detect weak points or flaws, and explore the implications of your research beyond the limit of your knowledge, let us give you some feedback for your work. Do not let all your effort and sleepless nights be buried in a drawer or a recycling bin !!

This is how it works: GELSS members are widespread throughout all departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. There are usually reading groups in all those departments that consist of a group of grad students that gather together every week or so to discuss a paper on a topic of their interest. We have contacted some of the leaders of those groups to read and discuss your paper. We will get constructive and concise feedback from the reading group and pass that back to you.

At the end, you are responsible for what goes in your manuscript, but we are sure that the feedback you can get will not only boost its quality, but will enrich your understanding of the topic.

• Your program should be within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
• The manuscript should be your Honor's Thesis or a requisite for a Research Paper class.

If you fulfill all these requirements send an email to contact us about working with you to improve your manuscript.