Sample of books available from the UMN Libraries
Below are a selection of online books and readings on the broad topics. We have more online books, journal articles, and sources in our Libraries Search and article databases.
Study like a champ : the psychology-based guide to "grade A" study habits by ISBN: 1433840189Publication Date: 2023This engaging, student-friendly book debunks major myths about studying and provides practical tips for studying smarter, not harder. Written by expert psychology teachers who also conduct the very research that these tips are based on, this book outlines clear steps students can use throughout their high school and college careers to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning.
The Secret Syllabus : a guide to the unwritten rules of college success by ISBN: 9780691224411Publication Date: 2022-07-05The unwritten rules of success that every student must follow to thrive in college The Secret Syllabus equips students with the tools they need to succeed, revealing the unwritten rules and cultural norms and expectations not included in the official curriculum. Left to figure out on their own how the academic world works, students frequently stumble, underperform, and miss opportunities. Without mastery of the secret syllabus, too many miss out on the full, rich experience available to them in college. Jay Phelan and Terry Burnham share the essential lessons they have learned from struggling, unfocused students as well as award-winning college instructors and researchers. The Secret Syllabus draws on Phelan and Burnham's experiences with thousands of undergraduate and graduate students. Weaving engaging storytelling with practical, actionable advice, they illustrate both productive and counterproductive approaches to achieving academic excellence, and highlight the importance of setting and attaining goals, nurturing strong relationships, developing resiliency, and more. This fresh, funny, and boldly innovative book enables students to develop the consistently winning and effective behaviors that will equip them to thrive on campus and beyond.
Learn like a pro : science-based tools to become better at anything by ISBN: 9781250803511Publication Date: 2021An audiobook for learners of all ages containing the best and most updated advice on learning from neuroscience and cognitive psychology. Do you spend too much time learning with disappointing results? Do you find it difficult to remember what you read? Do you put off studying because it's boring and you're easily distracted? This audiobook is for you. Dr. Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe have both struggled in the past with their learning. But they have found techniques to help them master any material. Building on insights from neuroscience and cognitive psychology, they give you a crash course to improve your ability to learn, no matter what the subject is.
How to become a successful college student : the tools, habits, and skills needed to foster college readiness by ISBN: 9781003412687Publication Date: 2024This book is your one-stop shop for the academic tools and habits needed to make your transition from high school to college a resounding success! The shift from high school to college can be a challenge, with many students finding the skills that had previously worked so well no longer seem to be enough. How to Become a Successful College Student outlines the strategies you need to 'level up' your current processes in order to foster learning and retention of information in a new and rigorous environment, while also addressing topics that affect your experience outside of the classroom, such as financial literacy and career preparation. Learn how to pick a major, the benefits of getting out of your comfort zone, how and when to ask for help, and much more.
How to solve a problem : insights for critical thinking, problem-solving, and success in college by ISBN: 9781003263340Publication Date: 2023This practical resource offers new college students, especially those in science degree programs, guidance on engaging successfully with the classroom experience and skillfully tackling technical or scientific questions.
Outsmart Your Brain : Why Learning Is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy by ISBN: 9781982167172Publication Date: 2023-01-24In this revolutionary, comprehensive, and accessible guide on how the brain learns, discover how to study more efficiently and effectively, shrug away exam stress, and most of all, enjoy learning. When we study, we tend to focus on the tasks we can most easily control--such as highlighting and rereading--but these practices only give the illusion of mastery. As Dan Willingham, professor of psychology and bestselling author, explains, familiarity is not the same as comprehension. Perfect for teachers and students of all ages, Outsmart Your Brain provides real-world practices and the latest research on how to train your brain for better learning. Each chapter provides clear and specific strategies while also explaining why traditional study processes do not work. Grounded in scientifically backed practical advice, this is the ultimate guide to improving grades and better understanding the power of our own brains.
Mindshift : break through obstacles to learning and discover your hidden potential by ISBN: 9780399184086Publication Date: 2017"Mindshift reveals how we can overcome stereotypes and preconceived ideas about what is possible for us to learn and become. At a time when we are constantly being asked to retrain and reinvent ourselves to adapt to new technologies and changing industries, this book shows us how we can uncover and develop talents we didn't realize we had--no matter what our age or background. We're often told to "follow our passions." But in Mindshift, Dr. Barbara Oakley shows us how we can broaden our passions. Drawing on the latest neuroscientific insights, Dr. Oakley shepherds us past simplistic ideas of "aptitude" and "ability," which provide only a snapshot of who we are now--with little consideration about how we can change. Even seemingly "bad" traits, such as a poor memory, come with hidden advantages--like increased creativity.
Atomic habits : tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones by ISBN: 9780735211308Publication Date: 2018James Clear, an expert on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. He draws on proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible.
Ace that test : a student's guide to learning better by ISBN: 9781000888829Publication Date: 2023We know students have more to learn than ever before and there is a lot of pressure to perform well on tests, demonstrating superior learning. However, common study strategies such as cramming, highlighting text, and repeated reading have little impact in the longer-term. This exciting new book reveals the effective study strategies that will help you to use your time more efficiently, ace your tests, and retain information over time. In full color and accompanied by beautifully illustrated graphics, Ace That Test offers evidence-based learning strategies that students can use during their study sessions, including dual coding and the power of retrieving what they know
Studying Online : succeeding through distance learning at university by ISBN: 9781003259695Publication Date: 2022-07-07Helping you get to grips with online learning, this book contains a wealth of practical tips and strategies that will make studying online easier. Covering the advantages of online learning as well as the problems you might face, this book provides tried and tested advice to help you overcome those difficulties so that you can work to the best of your abilities. Identifying techniques designed specifically for studying online, this key guide explores topics and methods such as: the differences between traditional and online study, preparing for online study as well as planning and organising; making sole working a collaborative and shared experience; reading online, online notetaking, using study forums, using video, collaboration, and coping with online exams; understanding the possible effects on mental and physical health and how to cope with the distractions the virtual world can bring while taking care of your mental and physical health. With step-by-step instructions for each of the techniques, as well as guidance on using online study software to the best effect, this must-have student companion provides tips and tricks to make university distance studying both effective and enjoyable. Visit the accompanying website here: https://studyingonline.tips
GPS for Success: Skills, Strategies, and Secrets of Superachievers. by ISBN: 9781000579406Publication Date: 2022-05-04Next to food and clothing, achieving personal and professional success is rated at the very top of the hierarchical order of human needs. Everybody wants to be somebody! In this ultimate success book that includes timeless information for generations to come, the author has meticulously chronicled proven skills, strategies and secrets that, if regularly followed, will empower the reader to live the life that they imagine. Just like your car's or phone's GPS, these life navigation skills can get you from where you are to where you want to go in your career. In addition, critically important knowledge and abilities, including job interviewing, must-know people skills, writing, and public speaking, are covered. In this book, the author has scoured the world's literature on these topics and interviewed highly successful people to provide one-stop shopping regarding the most proven and practical recommendations for future career success.
Academic Success Centers (peer tutoring and more)
- Academic Success Centers
The Academic success centers website provides you with a variety of services to help you succeed at the University. Find peer tutors for your courses, academic skills coaching, or get support with writing, research, or media projects.
These services are designed to:
- Boost your confidence as a student
- Help you stay on top of your coursework
- Offer a deeper understanding of the content
- Connect you to peers who know tips and tricks for various courses
- Teach you effective study strategies and time management
Academic Success Coaching
Academic Success Coaching is an opportunity to work one-on-one with a coach to discuss your academic skills and strategies. You and a coach will talk through your course schedule and study habits. Your coach will work with you to develop an individualized plan for academic success. Appointments can be held in-person or virtually. There is no cost for this service.
Topics covered in coaching sessions include:
- Study Skills
- Reading and Note taking Strategies
- Time Management
- Stress Management
- Test Anxiety
Effective U (Online Tutorials)
As a student, you've probably realized you need new skills for dealing with the many tasks filling up your semester: studying, classes, work, finances, family, friends. Explore these free online tutorials to learn new ways to manage your time, manage stress, take better notes, and prepare for tests.
Go to effectiveu.umn.edu.
Sample of books for Graduate and Professional students
Below are a selection of online books and readings on the broad topics. We have more online books, journal articles, and sources in our Libraries Search and article databases.
Mastering your dissertation the answers to your questions on bachelor's, master's and project theses by ISBN: 9783031419119Publication Date: 2023This guide is specifically designed for any student who has ever had a question about theses as part of their university undergraduate degree course in a life- or health science-related subject. It covers the varied types of projects that exist, including experimental work, surveys, meta-analyses, audits and qualitative and quantitative studies - all in one place. Get support at planning, completing and writing of your research based thesis. By using examples and check lists, this book leads you through the entire process encompassing each chapter of the dissertation. Let the question and answer writing style encourage you and boost your confidence when embarking on what is probably your largest piece of work to date, solved in a step by step approach. The experienced authors have run an enormous number of web and face-to-face workshops to support students in life and health science
Survival Skills for Thesis and Dissertation Candidates by ISBN: 9783030809386Publication Date: 2021-09-15This is a must-have preparation and reference guide for students embarking on the challenging journey of completing a thesis or dissertation. The authors, who are both "students of thesis and dissertation travel," combine their expertise and insights to offer wise travel guidance designed to enhance both the success and satisfaction of this likely once-in-a-lifetime journey. The various chapters provide a realistic preview of how to prepare for and how to complete each stage of this travel journey successfully. Individual chapters on each of the major tasks each serve as an important reference for students to review as they progress, thus providing a guide which will be consulted many times throughout their program. The book provides advice on the most common aspects of the thesis or dissertation process, and it is written in a user-friendly manner designed to engage students and to enhance their comfort level as they journey through their candidacy. The importance of each task in the thesis or dissertation journey is addressed, along with its role in contributing to a successful outcome, and is accompanied by advice and suggestions from previous travellers. The challenges inherent in all stages of the journey are examined, along with proactive strategies for avoiding potential "bumps in the road." You will not want to depart on this monumental travel adventure without this valuable survival guide!
Deconstructing Doctoral Discourses by ISBN: 3031110153Publication Date: 2023-01-02This book identifies and challenges assumptions about the doctorate and the discourses associated with it. The editors and contributors subvert and transform the de facto assumptions that frame the ways in which 'the doctorate' is spoken and written, and thus underpin approaches to planning, conducting and evaluating doctoral research. Giving voice to doctoral students and supervisors, the book opens a pathway for their own stories: why students entered doctoral study, the understandings and experiences they gleaned from it, and the implications for their own character. The book questions what kinds of discourses help to construct contemporary doctoral research, and how these might be de- and reconstructed, and asks what doctoral study might look like in the future. Academics, students and practitioners alike will find an avenue into rigorous research design from reflective and insightful scholars who provide a voice for doctoral strategies for success.
Mastering Your PhD : Survival and Success in the Doctoral Years and Beyond by ISBN: 3031114167Publication Date: 2022-11-29This bestselling book guides PhD students through their graduate years and beyond. Filled with practical advice on getting started, communicating with your supervisor, staying the course, and planning for the future, this book is an indispensable guide for graduate students who need that extra bit of help getting started and making it through. Who should read this book? Any student currently in, or curious about, a PhD programme, be it in the physical and life sciences, engineering, computer science, math, medicine, or the humanities -- this book tackles the obstacles and hurdles that almost all PhD students face during their doctoral training. Whether you're at the very beginning of your research, close to the end, or just feeling frustrated and stuck at any point in between...it's never too early -- or too late -- to focus on your success! This third edition contains a variety of new material, including additional chapters and advice on how to make the most of remote learning, collaboration, and communication tools, as well as updated material on your next career step once you have your coveted doctoral degree in hand. Some of the material in the third edition appeared as part of a monthly column on the ScienceCareers website.
Finding Your Research Voice: Story Telling and Theatre Skills for Bringing Your Presentation to Life by ISBN: 3030315193Publication Date: 2020-03-14Learning to tell a compelling research story can have a significant impact on your career. It can make you stand out at professional conferences, on the job market, or during an ideal networking opportunity. It is easy to tell a research story badly. It takes time and effort to learn to tell a research story well. This compact and engaging volume presents a series of techniques followed by theatre-inspired, field tested exercises that will help you improve your research presentations. Once you've learned how to create a dynamic live performance of your research story, you may find that this professional obligation is no longer something to dread, and may even become a highlight of your research experience.
Sample of books on writing and academic writing
Below are a selection of online books and readings on the broad topics. We have more online books, journal articles, and sources in our Libraries Search and article databases.
How to Write a Lot : a practical guide to productive academic writing by ISBN: 9781433829734Publication Date: 2018-09-01All academics need to write, but many struggle to finish their dissertations, articles, books, or grant proposals. Writing is hard work and can be difficult to wedge into a frenetic academic schedule. How can we write it all while still having a life? In this second edition of his popular guidebook, Paul Silvia offers fresh advice to help you overcome barriers to writing and use your time more productively. After addressing some common excuses and bad habits, he provides practical strategies to motivate students, professors, researchers, and other academics to become better and more prolific writers. Silvia draws from his own experience in psychology to explain how to write, submit, and revise academic work, from journal articles to books, all without sacrificing evenings, weekends, and vacations. The tips and strategies in this second edition have been updated to apply to academic writing in most disciplines. Also new to this edition is a chapter on writing grant and fellowship proposals.
Bird by Bird : some instructions on writing and life by ISBN: 9780307424983Publication Date: 2007-12-18An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer's world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times). For a quarter century, more than a million readers--scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities--have been inspired by Anne Lamott's hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice.
They Say / I Say : the moves that matter in academic writing by ISBN: 9781469028880Publication Date: 2014-04-01The best-selling book on academic writing-in use at more than 1,500 schools."They Say / I Say" identifies the key rhetorical moves in academic writing, showing students how to frame their arguments in the larger context of what others have said and providing templates to help them make those moves. And, because these moves are central across all disciplines, the book includes chapters on writing in the sciences, writing in the social sciences, and-new to this edition-writing about literature.
The Elements of Academic Style : writing for the humanities by ISBN: 9780231168007Publication Date: 2014-08-26Eric Hayot teaches graduate students and faculty in literary and cultural studies how to think and write like a professional scholar. From granular concerns, such as sentence structure and grammar, to big-picture issues, such as adhering to genre patterns for successful research and publishing and developing productive and rewarding writing habits, Hayot helps ambitious students, newly minted Ph.D.'s, and established professors shape their work and develop their voices. Hayot does more than explain the techniques of academic writing. He aims to adjust the writer's perspective, encouraging scholars to think of themselves as makers and doers of important work. Scholarly writing can be frustrating and exhausting, yet also satisfying and crucial, and Hayot weaves these experiences, including his own trials and tribulations, into an ethos for scholars to draw on as they write. Combining psychological support with practical suggestions for composing introductions and conclusions, developing a schedule for writing, using notes and citations, and structuring paragraphs and essays, this guide to the elements of academic style does its part to rejuvenate scholarship and writing in the humanities.
Writing Science : how to write papers that get cited and proposals that get funded by ISBN: 9780199909513Publication Date: 2011-11-01As a scientist, you are a professional writer: your career is built on successful proposals and papers. Success isn't defined by getting papers into print, but by getting them into the reader's consciousness. Writing Science is built upon the idea that successful science writing tells a story. It uses that insight to discuss how to write more effectively. Integrating lessons from other genres of writing with those from the author's years of experience as author, reviewer, and editor, the book shows scientists and students how to present their research in a way that is clear and that will maximize reader comprehension.The book takes an integrated approach, using the principles of story structure to discuss every aspect of successful science writing, from the overall structure of a paper or proposal to individual sections, paragraphs, sentences, and words. It begins by building core arguments, analyzing why some stories are engaging and memorable while others are quickly forgotten, and proceeds to the elements of story structure, showing how the structures scientists and researchers use in papers and proposals fit into classical models.
Writing for Social Scientists : how to start and finish your thesis, book, or article by ISBN: 9780226041308Publication Date: 2007-12-15Students and researchers all write under pressure, and those pressures--most lamentably, the desire to impress your audience rather than to communicate with them--often lead to pretentious prose, academic posturing, and, not infrequently, writer's block. Sociologist Howard S. Becker has written the classic book on how to conquer these pressures and simply write. First published nearly twenty years ago, Writing for Social Scientists has become a lifesaver for writers in all fields, from beginning students to published authors. Becker's message is clear: in order to learn how to write, take a deep breath and then begin writing. Revise. Repeat. It is not always an easy process, as Becker wryly relates. Decades of teaching, researching, and writing have given him plenty of material, and Becker neatly exposes the foibles of academia and its "publish or perish" atmosphere. Wordiness, the passive voice, inserting a "the way in which" when a simple "how" will do--all these mechanisms are a part of the social structure of academic writing.
Academic Writing and Dyslexia : A Visual Guide to Writing at University by ISBN: 9781032040073Publication Date: 2022-08-23Fully revised and expanded, this book presents a unique visual approach to academic writing and composition tailored to the needs of students with dyslexia in Higher Education. It will help you to successfully structure and articulate your ideas, get to grips with critical reading, thinking and writing and fulfil your full academic potential. The 'writing process' (e.g.: genre and style, critical thinking and reading, writing, sentence construction and proofreading editing) is de-mystified and translated into innovative, meaningful visual representations in the form of templates, images, icons and prompts designed to meet the visual and 'big picture' learning styles and strengths of your dyslexia. Underpinned by extensive research, this book will help you to present your thoughts and evaluate and critique competing arguments in a compelling way. It is written to help you bridge the gap between your existing coping strategies and the increased demands and rigours of academic writing at university. This second edition features enhanced visual techniques for reading online, expanded material to cover scientific writing, literature reviews, reflective writing and academic style, and detailed explanations of how dyslexia effects writing, how to reduce pressure on your working memory, and how to get your creativity and ideas onto the page in order to excel.
Handbook for Academic Authors by ISBN: 9781009063876Publication Date: 2022-03-17Whether you are a faculty member, a librarian, an independent scholar, the junior member of a research team, or a writer outside academia, Handbook for Academic Authors will help you select the right publisher, submit a winning proposal, negotiate a favorable contract, and work with your editor to ensure your research reaches the largest possible audience. The book provides advice on writing for different audiences and managing the mechanics of authorship, including manuscript preparation, acquiring illustrations, proofreading, and indexing. To address the major changes in scholarly publishing over the last decade, the sixth edition has been revised and updated to include discussions about open access and digital publishing, the use of social media as a marketing tool, changes within academia, and concerns of new entrants into academia. Written in a personalized, accessible style, Handbook for Academic Authors offers sound advice and encouragement to a wide range of aspiring academic authors.
Last Updated: Oct 15, 2024 3:09 PM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/c.php?g=1414507