Thursday, November 20, 2008

Top Tips to Finish UW20 Strong!


Students and faculty give advice on how to finish those pesky end-of-the-semester projects.

13. Use the Writing Center!!!! (UW20 student Ashley Dennee).

12. Primary sources are your friends! (UW20 student Alyson Corbett).

11. When you find sources, capture the information. Write it down; print it out; "print to screen." Otherwise, you end up searching for an essay or a primary source for hours without any luck (UW20 student, anonymously submitted).

10. Sleep enough. Eat well. Minimize sugar intake. Avoid the Red Bull! Get some exercise (endorphins are stress-relieving). Have some fun--but not so much that you can't work the next day! (Prof. Drown).

9. Give your writing, revising, and final researching the time that it needs. Do a little bit every day (Prof. Fruscione).

8. Contact your professor and librarian. They can help you find valuable resources (UW20 student Ashley Dennee).

7. Instead of trying to write new material at the beginning of your writing session, try to start a period of writing/revising by rereading what you did during the previous session. This can be a helpful way of easing back in to the writing process, instead of hitting the ground running (Prof. Fruscione).

6. Be ruthless with yourself when it comes to revising. If material doesn't belong, it should be taken out.

5. Give yourself a physical and mental break--take a short walk, do some yoga, go for a jog, or something else to get you away from the computer for a bit (Prof. Fruscione).

4. Sometimes, it is good to work on just one section of the paper, for a couple of hours, and then return the next day, to work on another section (UW20 student, anonymously submitted).

3. You have many different sources for sources available to you, DON'T be afraid to use something other than the internet! (UW20 student, anonymously submitted).

2. Expect that your end-of-the-semester tasks will take longer than you think (Prof. Drown).

1. Don't revise when your tired. You miss a lot of stuff. Instead, take a nap beforehand. It's better to say up a little later revising and not be tired because you took a nap than it is to rush through revisions while exhausted and get to bed early (UW20 student Joanne George).

1 comment:

  1. Great advice!

    If only I could bring myself to do things before last minute...

    ReplyDelete