This book is a continually-evolving class project for students across multiple semesters.

It is called "the students' guide," because it has been written by students for students.

Each semester that I teach a writing or research course, I give my students the option to write chapters for this book on topics that interest them. Some are first-year graduate students; others are close to defending theses and dissertations. Though not yet experts in the field, these students know what it is like to be a student and also know how to make difficult concepts manageable for their peers. Thus, the true value of their contributions to this book lies in their ability to speak to their peers through its chapters in a way that is clear and meaningful at their stage of academic development.

Contributing to this Book

All students at any university are welcome to contribute to this book by submitting new chapters or revisions of current chapters with substantial updates. Since all chapters are released under a Creative Commons license, any updated chapters will include the name of the new author as a co-author.

Additionally, instructors are welcome to encourage students to submit class papers as chapters to this work. If you are an instructor who manages class papers for inclusion, then we will be happy to include your name in the editor/author list for the volume so that you also can receive credit for your efforts.

To submit a chapter, email your manuscript to studentguide@byu.edu.