Award applications

• University Affairs: What to include in a CIHR fellowship application
  "Through my many experiences of being denied scholarships and fellowships and my successes in several other competitions, I have come to a few conclusions that I hope will help readers in preparing their CIHR applications."
  See also CIHR: Art of Writing a CIHR application, CommonCV Tips and Tricks
• Research Whisperer: What do the Headings Mean?
  "Each funding body uses their own language, but they are all aiming to compare projects to find the best ones. Because of this, they often use relatively similar headings. Here is what I think some of the more common headings on funding application forms are asking for."

Grad Student Life

• Three Month Thesis: The 10 commandments for PhD failure and Are you going to fail your PhD?
  "It’s incredibly common to feel like you aren’t good enough, don’t have enough results, don’t have enough time, can’t write well, can’t cope with the workload … What are you most worried about right now?  Go and ask someone about it. If you already think you’re going to fail, you have nothing to lose."
• Lifehacker Pack for Students: Free software to make your life easier
  "Every year we put together a list of our Lifehacker App packs for each operating system. In the spirit of those lists we figured it was time to put together a list for students getting ready for school. Whether you're on Windows, Mac, iPhone, or Android, we've got you covered." (But of course, beware of too much cloud computing and make frequent backups — a horrific story unfolded last week of someone who lost a year's work because of hackers.)
  

Writing the Thesis / Defending

• Three Month Thesis: Writing your thesis in a second language — Part 1 and Part 2
  "Don’t worry about getting a sentence perfect first time. Everybody has to edit, whether you’re a native speaker or not. The first version of any sentence is for your eyes only, so it doesn’t matter how good it is. Get it down on the page, then try to make it better if you can." (Actually, that's not bad advice for native speakers as well.)
• Thesis Whisperer: "4 things you should know about choosing examiners for your thesis"
  "Thesis examination is an object of study and researchers agree that the choice of thesis examiners needs to be handled with extreme care. Examiners are human and will bring their own pet likes and dislikes into the process of reading your work." (Read the comments for more tips.)
  

After Graduation

• Inside Higher Ed: Advice for Wannabe Profs
  "I was recently discussing graduate school with one of my undergraduates who is interested in becoming a professor. As a student leader with a strong academic record, I think she is very likely to be successful. However, I also felt it was important that she understand the hurdles she will face."