Duly noted...
May. 7th, 2006 01:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcTruth be told I've been more a shitty student than a good one. In fact, between grade 6 and starting my MA, my performance was a study in under-achievement. Granted I made the honour througout high school, but that was largely playing the system (oooh weighted averages) and pushing through on pure brain power. But I never developed a proper work ethic: I was the kween of corner cutting.
I use this to my advantage when I encounter similar students in my class. "Oh yeah, I did mediocre work during my undergrad too...but unlike you I never felt entitled to first-class marks." That usually has the impact of a 2x4 upside the head. Work is fun sometimes! But I digress...
When I started my MA (11 years, btw, after finishing my BA), I was credential-chasing. I had long ago divorced learning from schooling. But a few years working made more (cynically) willing to jump through some hoops, so I accepted from the outset that I'd push out a lot of work, largely detached from any possible learning. I was, however, mightily suprised to find that in grad skool one's ideas--and the articulation and justification of same--were paramount. I must've been distracted or something, because pretty soon I was learning from the work. And, a powerful urge to avoid fucking up (I was also the kween of imcompletion) lit a fire under my arse. So I started trying to study, and found through trial and error, what worked for me. And, it turns out, lots of people use these sorts of techniques.
But in a spirit of solidarity with others whose dys/functional families did not equip them with life skills 101, I offer![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jawnbc's study tips:
1. Highlight both copiously and purposefully, then transcribe: I love Meredith Vieira (about the leave The View for the Today Show) for all sorts of reasons. No, actually I want to be her: gorgeous, smart, wickedly funny, a bit raunchy, passionate....yes I endeavour to be the fat furry peniled version of Meredith. On The View one day she blurted out "but the learning is in the writing out!" and I thought "OMG! Could it be?" Loving her meant giving it a try....and boy did it work. But more specifically my process is: a.) highlight important points and possibly valuable quotes; b.) transcribe them verbatim, complete with page # info; and c.) review those notes and write a brief synthesis for each reading (article or paper, or book section or chapter).
2. Take minimal notes during class: I rarely took notes before grad skool, so I tried to do a 180 and take lots in my first semester. In my case it meant missing things because I was acting like a court reporter. Instead I only write down questions that twig in my mind, or things to follow-up on after class. I'm a talk learner, so the talking and listening is really important to my consruction of knowledge. In my instance this means one spiral notebook lasted throughout my MA and PhD.
3. Think time: Why don't teachers and profs emphasize this more? Think about what you're reading, writing or preparing to write. There's this stoopid discourse that great work just flows out of the fingers. It don't. Read, think, write, think, revise, think, read some more, think. Waddya think?
4. Write early and revise: I used to write my papers the day before they were due. Granted when I was doing my BA we still used typewriters, which made revision a chore. Thank gawd for word processing: I can revise a paper easily, and even keep archived versions of the same paper. But to revise properly means starting writing much earlier. I know start papers (ideally) 2 months before they're due. And for research proposals it's more often 6 months.
5. Dead versus Drop dead(lines): Simply put, I deadline things at least a week before they're due for major tasks; 3 days before for minor ones. And I kill myself to stick to these deadlines. Then, if I'm stuck I have some wiggly room. I then call the "real" deadline the "drop deadline": because if I don't get the work in on-time, I'm dead...metaphorically speaking. Surprisingly this has reduced my stress around deadlines phenomenally.
6. Peers 2 proof; profs to critique: Having a pair of "friendly eyes" scan a paper for surface errors and the like is good. And some peers can offer really good constructive editorial feedback. But I've found too often pals want to be nice, and not hurt your feelings, and are often focussed on their own work. So when I want a strong critique--delivered collegially--I seek a prof. Even now. It's helped me develop a thicker skin regarding criticism and my writing and thinking have improved leaps and bounds as a result. Bear in mind, however, that you can't really ask the prof who's teaching your class to review your work before you submit it: that disadvantages your peers.
7.Annotated bibliography: When I'm reviewing literature, writing up 1-2 sentences about each reading, then crafting it into an annotated bibliography, brings things into focus really quickly. And it also doesn't really require more effort, since the work done prepping the AB folds nicely into writing the paper.
Zot's eet! You got any tips?
I use this to my advantage when I encounter similar students in my class. "Oh yeah, I did mediocre work during my undergrad too...but unlike you I never felt entitled to first-class marks." That usually has the impact of a 2x4 upside the head. Work is fun sometimes! But I digress...
When I started my MA (11 years, btw, after finishing my BA), I was credential-chasing. I had long ago divorced learning from schooling. But a few years working made more (cynically) willing to jump through some hoops, so I accepted from the outset that I'd push out a lot of work, largely detached from any possible learning. I was, however, mightily suprised to find that in grad skool one's ideas--and the articulation and justification of same--were paramount. I must've been distracted or something, because pretty soon I was learning from the work. And, a powerful urge to avoid fucking up (I was also the kween of imcompletion) lit a fire under my arse. So I started trying to study, and found through trial and error, what worked for me. And, it turns out, lots of people use these sorts of techniques.
But in a spirit of solidarity with others whose dys/functional families did not equip them with life skills 101, I offer
jawnbc's study tips:1. Highlight both copiously and purposefully, then transcribe: I love Meredith Vieira (about the leave The View for the Today Show) for all sorts of reasons. No, actually I want to be her: gorgeous, smart, wickedly funny, a bit raunchy, passionate....yes I endeavour to be the fat furry peniled version of Meredith. On The View one day she blurted out "but the learning is in the writing out!" and I thought "OMG! Could it be?" Loving her meant giving it a try....and boy did it work. But more specifically my process is: a.) highlight important points and possibly valuable quotes; b.) transcribe them verbatim, complete with page # info; and c.) review those notes and write a brief synthesis for each reading (article or paper, or book section or chapter).
2. Take minimal notes during class: I rarely took notes before grad skool, so I tried to do a 180 and take lots in my first semester. In my case it meant missing things because I was acting like a court reporter. Instead I only write down questions that twig in my mind, or things to follow-up on after class. I'm a talk learner, so the talking and listening is really important to my consruction of knowledge. In my instance this means one spiral notebook lasted throughout my MA and PhD.
3. Think time: Why don't teachers and profs emphasize this more? Think about what you're reading, writing or preparing to write. There's this stoopid discourse that great work just flows out of the fingers. It don't. Read, think, write, think, revise, think, read some more, think. Waddya think?
4. Write early and revise: I used to write my papers the day before they were due. Granted when I was doing my BA we still used typewriters, which made revision a chore. Thank gawd for word processing: I can revise a paper easily, and even keep archived versions of the same paper. But to revise properly means starting writing much earlier. I know start papers (ideally) 2 months before they're due. And for research proposals it's more often 6 months.
5. Dead versus Drop dead(lines): Simply put, I deadline things at least a week before they're due for major tasks; 3 days before for minor ones. And I kill myself to stick to these deadlines. Then, if I'm stuck I have some wiggly room. I then call the "real" deadline the "drop deadline": because if I don't get the work in on-time, I'm dead...metaphorically speaking. Surprisingly this has reduced my stress around deadlines phenomenally.
6. Peers 2 proof; profs to critique: Having a pair of "friendly eyes" scan a paper for surface errors and the like is good. And some peers can offer really good constructive editorial feedback. But I've found too often pals want to be nice, and not hurt your feelings, and are often focussed on their own work. So when I want a strong critique--delivered collegially--I seek a prof. Even now. It's helped me develop a thicker skin regarding criticism and my writing and thinking have improved leaps and bounds as a result. Bear in mind, however, that you can't really ask the prof who's teaching your class to review your work before you submit it: that disadvantages your peers.
7.Annotated bibliography: When I'm reviewing literature, writing up 1-2 sentences about each reading, then crafting it into an annotated bibliography, brings things into focus really quickly. And it also doesn't really require more effort, since the work done prepping the AB folds nicely into writing the paper.
Zot's eet! You got any tips?
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-07 09:08 pm (UTC)Yikes. I could've written all of the above, verbatim. Yes, I got high marks on my papers written the night before. That was expedient, but it created my deep cynicism regarding the academic process and the worth of putting myself through it. I might someday go back to school, if/when I figure out something I want to study, and a good reason for doing it—I will not go back to school to collect wallpaper—and I often say it'll have to wait until I've forgot the prodigious BS that goes with the academic experience, but I think what I really mean, mostly, is that I'm afraid I wouldn't have the self-discipline to make the process worthwhile. I certainly didn't in undergrad. Ha ha, I skated my way to a University of Michigan degree...joke's on me. :-(
no subject
Date: 2006-05-07 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-07 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-07 11:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-07 11:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-08 02:16 am (UTC)it's taken me a long time to find subjects that i do well in and want to work hard for. i'm not sure if that is because i'm more mature or because i was just doing the wrong things before. both i guess. practical (compared with academic) subjects seem to suit me much better.
i'll take those tips on board - thanks!
ps: i do know how to use capitals. i learnt that in primary skool.