I am Sanja. I am 24 years old and I love to spend most of my time on various social media websites. I love to sing, edit videos and photos. Thanks for visiting my tumblr đ
Recently, an anon came into my inbox asking for advice on writing essays for class. And since I am a liberal arts major, and good for so little else but writing a lot of papers, I thought Iâd share some knowledge. So pull up a chair, tumblr, and I shall take you by the hand and lead you through the perils and pitfalls of paper writing!
I. WHAT THE HELL IS AN ESSAY ANYWAY????
Itâs an argument.
Thatâs it, really. Writing an essay is about constructing an argument. Youâre trying to convince the audience that whatever youâre saying is soundâa philosophy term that means âboth accurate and logical.â You are trying to convince your audience that whatever youâre saying is not only true, but that it can be arrived at through logical thinking.
This means that in every essay, you have to 1.) say what it is youâre arguing for, and 2.) give evidence as to why your reader should believe you. Yes, even if itâs just a research paper about the life of William Faulkner, you still have to make an argumentâthough in that case itâs âThis is how Faulknerâs life was and here is how I know.â
SoâŠthatâs it, thatâs my whole explanation. An essay is just saying what it is youâre arguing for, and then giving evidence as to why the reader should believe you.
âŠof course those things arenât as easy as they sound.
Hi! The New Year is
approaching
rapidly, so I’ve been thinking a lot about planning, and what method I’m going to try next month… The beggining of a new year after all!! (for us planning freaks, this is a really big deal)
I’ve gathered a bunch of material that I found all around, from different websites and blogs of talented people, that definitely inspired me to make my own planner.
Nothing in here is mine. I’ve linked directly to the file in question so this is a whole lot faster for both you and me, so I’m writing the author next to it. If you, reading this, are the author of one of the files, and want me to take it down or feel uncomfortable with this, then please inform me, I will do so!
And don’t forget these printables are for personal use only.
Take advantage of that lower workload in between exam periods to make good notes, clean your house, get work experience and do the things then rather than when you’re busier
Use Highlighters instead of pens to save time. Or vice versa depending on you
Change the timing in the pomodoro technique to suit you rather than the other way round
Use a planner to
Work out what time of day you study best. You could get up and study in the morning if you’re that sort of person
Attend your tutor or form sessions. Even if you don’t do much in them, you can
Keep your planner small and carry it everywhere
Even better, put your planner on your phone
Don’t sulk if you fail, look back at why you failed and try to improve
If you get distracted by wanting to do something when you should be focusing, write it down. It gives you a checklist of things to do later
Do these things on the checklist in your study breaks
Answer questions without your teaching asking you to
Read about your subjects outside of your classes, especially in high school
Sit at the front of the class room
Don’t sit by yourself in class
Get an early nights sleep
Or at least use sleepytime to get a good time frame
On school days when you wake up, get up straight away, it stops you lazing about
Work hard from the start of the year. There isn’t a time to slack off
Try spaced repititon for learning key facts or a revision schedule
Have snacks and a drink during study sessions. Preferably water.
Summarise and make all your notes onto smaller bits of paper for revision, it helps you cognise what the important facts are
To avoid study stress, take breaks and avoid studying for more than two hours a day
It’s also good to have a day where you don’t study at all once a week
Don’t schedule too far in advance, you’ll just get busy in the meantime or change your methods
When you’re feeling too stressed to work properly but not studying stresses you out, do easier tasks like reviewing flashcards or watching videos on your course
Do as much of your work in school as possible
Prioritise your classes. Especially if you have loads
Make any big habit changes you’ve been thinking of at the start of a term or new year
Study a little before bed, you’ve probably seen that study that says you remember more just before bed
Only make flashcards of the things that you don’t get or are important, not everything
Use online sites like Brainscape, Memrise, Anki or Quizlet for flashcards between devices
Print off your powerpoint slides before a lesson
If you can’t do that, read ahead in the textbook
The syllabus is your guide, so use that as a framework for your revision notes
Your stress and nerves are normal, don’t worry
Aim to finish your revision a week before your exams, it makes you start earlier and finish earlier, you also can rest before your exam
When you pick your subjects, choose the subjects you love
Don’t drink alcohol when you’re studying or any type of drug
Don’t listen to how much everyone is studying. A lot of people big it up or say they do none, usually both aren’t being truthful
Take messy notes in class and neaten them up later
Or take your notes online or on a computer
Have a folder to put your loose sheets and handouts in
Keep your to do list and schedule all in one place, whether that’s a book, app or phone
If you fall behind or are ill a lot, your classmates are your friends for a realistic description of what you’ve missed
When at school, know all the places you’d like to study in case one of them is busy
Don’t work in your bed if it makes you tired
Or work in your bed if all your seats are uncomfortable and it’s distracting
Don’t have too much coffee! And energy drinks are just terrible for you so maybe not have those either
You don’t have to be truthful to your actual opinion in essays, just go for what option has the most points
Listen to your teacher
Have your window open, the fresh air helps
Use practice papers and questions, they really help
Try to teach others as well or if you can’t, explain it in your own words to yourself
Combine more than one technique, so that the weaknesses of each method gets covered by another
Seriously just listen to your teachers
Check your emails every day
Set realistic goals and try not to be too harsh and unrealistic about the time you’ll spend achieving these as well
Use loud and annoying alarms to get you to do things
If you have to read, read out loud rather than in your head
Use a hair tie if you have long hair to keep it out of your face
Keep clean and get dressed for studying
Don’t waste your term making your notes pretty, if it helps, make sure the benefits outweigh the time problems
Study when you can. Don’t study if you’re too exhausted to do so.
Keep your desk as clean as you can
Know your sources of motivation. Possibly find a way to put that in your study space.
Attend as many classes as possible and don’t skip
Keep yourself busy with stuff that isn’t studying
Reward yourself for your hard work
Before you go back to school, start to wake up earlier so you’re ready
Wear comfortable clothes to school
Or wear whatever makes you feel good, feeling bad can be pretty distracting
Always think about the next step early, whether thats getting work experience, choosing subjects, finding a job or picking a thesis
Always eat breakfast
And always eat lunch too! Especially at school
Do whatever is best for you. Don’t follow a studyblr trend, do what’s best for you.
Make your studying a habit. Do it nearly every day for a long time and it’ll begin to feel more like second nature
Get to know your teachers if you can
And don’t be afraid to ask them for help outside of a lesson, either by email or afterwards, it helps a lot
Look at the types of questions you often get wrong as well as the topics you keep missing out on
Keep a spare bit of food in your bag, I usually have some sesame snaps in my bag as a small snack so I don’t have to get up to get food
Make productive friends and people with similar goals to you
When revising, revise everything and then focus on your weak points
Don’t spend too long on tumblr, and if you are right now, then this is your reminder to log off!
Don’t panic when you don’t know all the answers in a test, do you really need 100%?
Break your studying into smaller bits and spread it out over time to avoid headaches, burnout and all the problems that come with it
Eat better. Get enough fruit and vegetables
Don’t forget about Protein, from meats, nuts, etc. it helps a lot
If you’re falling asleep in class, I usually drink water, pinch myself, take lots of notes and fidget to keep myself up
Regularly clear out your bag, because a lot of stuff builds up
If you’re a more artistic person, use drawings like visual notes, mindmaps, timelines and literal drawings to help you study
If you study with a friend, quiz each other
Study on public transport if you can, notes and flashcards on phones are good for this
Don’t neglect any of your subjects, make sure they all get some time spent on them
Also focus beyond your first exam, it’s easy to overprepare for the first test and then not be ready for the rest
When taking a test look through it quickly before hand
Remember you don’t have to take the test in order
Review your notes all the time, review helps the memory
If you want to pull an all-nighter see if you can do it in the morning or day instead, and don’t do it the night before anything important
Always look at the details, especially if you get a mark-scheme or guide for your assignments
Constantly be taking on new improvements and trying to improve your methods
