Writing is probably one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks for any graduate student. At times, writing can feel like a vicious mental cycle of wondering what to say and how to say it so that your point is getting across. But what if I were to tell you that there are ways to make writing easier and enjoyable?
 
If you haven’t heard about it, Texas A&M has a program called P.O.W.E.R., which stands for Promoting Outstanding Writing for Excellence in Research. The purpose of P.O.W.E.R. is to help graduate students develop a writing habit through writing studios. The studios are led and developed by Dr. Pat Goodson and are available to all graduate students. The BASIC writing studio focuses on providing strategies to help you write more and with less stress. The writing studios are held once a week, for two hours, for four weeks. Prior to the start of each month, faculty advisors send out an email with the registration link, or you can go to the P.O.W.E.R. website and register there the last two weeks of every month.
 
Personally, P.O.W.E.R. has helped me tremendously. Often times with writing, I just didn’t know where to start. I signed-up for the October studios and I feel that it has helped me approach writing in a completely different way. It has taught me strategies on how to effectively sort through articles for my research papers and provided me with ways to make writing a daily habit. I’ve also learned about different exercise that can help me become a better writer. I’m incredibly grateful that I attended the October studios and would encourage all graduate students to sign-up.
 
For more information go to http://power.tamu.edu/writing-studios.

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Jessica Martinez
Jessica is a PhD student in the department of Human Resource Development