Writing Without the Pressure: A Conversation with Graduate Writing Lab Assistant Judy Salcido
Graduate students spend years becoming experts in their fields, then sit down to write and feel like beginners. Judy Salcido, a Graduate Assistant at the Graduate Center’s Graduate Writing Lab (GWL) and doctoral candidate in Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies, sees this disconnect constantly. The issue, in her view, is not competence. It is the pressure students absorb around what academic writing is supposed to look like.
Rethinking What "Good Writing" Even Means
One of the first things Judy challenges is the framing graduate students often bring with them. The idea that writing can be evaluated along a binary of "good" vs. "bad" is something she actively moves away from in her work.
"That evaluation along a binary of what is considered 'good' vs. 'bad' writing is subjective, and the criteria is often extremely exclusive of different ways and styles of writing and communication," she said. "Trying to evaluate writing that way adds so much pressure on graduate students to 'sound academic' or 'be good writers.' It's added pressure that graduate students don't need."
Instead, her approach is practical. She asks students to clarify their purpose and audience before worrying about anything else. What kind of writing project is it? Who is reading it? What are you trying to say to them? "What one might write to their dissertation committee is not going to be the same as what they might write for a journal article or a conference presentation," she explained. The goal is clarity for a specific reader, not adherence to some abstract standard.
The Challenges She Sees Most
Judy sees two issues come up repeatedly among graduate students: confidence and time management.
On confidence, she points to feedback as a particular pressure point. Students often arrive at the GWL after receiving conflicting notes from advisors, committee members, or journal reviewers. "It can make them feel like they don't know their content or that they're not 'good writers,'" she said. Her response is to help students work through feedback in manageable pieces and to redirect them back to their own expertise. They are immersed in their research every day. They know it better than anyone reviewing it.
On time management, she is candid about her own struggles. Graduate students are trying to balance coursework, jobs, families, and program requirements all at once, and carving out time for writing is hard. "Admittedly, I struggle with this one a lot, so I try to listen to my own advice," she said. The lab helps students build timelines, set deadlines, and track their progress in concrete ways.
What Actually Helps: Structure and Community
Judy credits two resources in particular for keeping her on track as a writer: Writing Efficiency Sessions (WES) and writing groups.
WES sessions offer structured, time-blocked writing time with other graduate students. For Judy, the value is simple. "It helps me stay focused on the tasks I want to complete in that timeframe." There is accountability built in without the pressure of having to perform.
Writing groups add a social layer. Her groups use timers, take breaks, share updates, and offer each other feedback. "It's nice to have a community of other graduate students who are going through similar things," she said. "It makes the dissertation process feel less lonely, and I find a lot of guidance and encouragement from my group members."
Both resources are available through the GWL, and Judy's experience with them is not incidental. She uses them because they work for her, which gives her a grounded perspective when recommending them to others.
You Are the Expert
The foundation to Judy's approach is this: graduate students are not apprentices waiting to be granted permission to write. They are already experts.
"I always try to remind them that they are the experts on their research and writing projects," she said. "They are immersed in their research every day, and they know how to best convey, in writing, their topics to different audiences. Even if they might be building on other researchers' work, they are still doing something new and exciting in their fields, and they are the only ones who have the voice to speak to that work."
That reminder, she says, can go a long way.
If you have not visited the GWL yet, it is worth exploring. Writing groups, writing consultations, and WES sessions are all available to graduate and professional students. The lab's resources are built around the reality of what graduate writing actually looks like, including the uncertainty, the time pressure, and the feedback that sometimes contradicts itself.
Student Spotlight: Judy Salcido
Judy Salcido is a Graduate Assistant in the Graduate Writing Lab and a Ph.D. candidate in Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies, with a minor in Educational Leadership and Policy. Her research focuses on Indigenous storytelling methodologies and testimonio as educational theory and pedagogy, including a project documenting the forced displacement of residents in Ajo, Arizona. She holds a B.A. in Secondary Education and an M.A. in Language, Reading, and Culture with an emphasis on Multicultural Education and Social Justice. Outside of her work and research, Judy recharges by spending time with her partner, friends, family, and her cat, Bowie. She is a self-described foodie, enjoys cardio barre and walks outdoors, and draws creative inspiration from concerts, musicals, and the work of scholars and authors she admires.