Tips on Preparing for Class Discussions

"Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors."
               —African Proverb

To recap what we discussed during class (and to aid those who are not in my class or missed the session), these are key points for preparing successfully for class discussions:

• Read the assignment before class and write down any questions you may have about it.
• Ask questions based on critical thinking skills:
• How can I use this information?
• How does this information compare with what I already know about the topic?
• What ideas, concepts, or points of view from the reading did you not understand?
• What is the source of the material?
• Is the material fact or opinion?
• What is the author’s purpose? Is the author biased?
• Has relevant and sufficient evidence been provided?

College Writing Skills: Study Success Tips

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that people reached in life as by the obstacles that they have overcome."
—Booker T. Washington

To recap what we discussed during class (and to aid those who are not in my class or missed the session), these are key points for successful studying:

• Study in a place that has minimal distractions.
• Stay healthy and relaxed.
• Attend each class.
• Take notes during class and on each assigned reading.
• Reflect upon your habits and routines. Accentuate those habits that will help you be successful in
           college and try to eliminate those habits that will hinder your success.
• Seek help from your professors and/or the learning center when you need it
• Maintain a positive attitude.
• Complete assignments on time and to the best of your ability.
• Develop ways to manage your time well.
• Prioritize your most important projects, assignments, and activities.
• Avoid waiting until the last minute to complete assignments.
• Try to balance your academic work, extracurricular activities, and personal commitments.
• Be organized. Organize your study space, desk, planner, and notebooks and binders.
• Stay focused while studying, during class, and as you are taking exams.

Know Your Learning Style

Thought for the week:

"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, 

for this thing that we call failure is not the falling down, 

but the staying down."

—Mary Pickford

NOTE: Learning Style Tips gleaned from exercises in our College Writing Skills textbook and MyWritingLab.com (I LOVE that program!) and recapped in the weekly course newsletter. 

Your learning style guides how you study and the best ways for you to learn and retain information. So, it's important to consider these questions:

What kind of learner are you? What strategies can you use in your classes to meet your learning style?
• If you are an applied learner, use case studies, examples, and practical applications.
• If you are a conceptual learner, organize information into main ideas and examples.
• If you are an auditory learner, tape record lectures and form study groups to discuss lecture content.
• If you are a visual learner, create visual aids such as maps, charts, and diagrams of course content.
• If you are a social learner, take courses involving class discussion and form study groups whenever possible.
• If you are an independent learner, take courses that use a traditional lecture –exam or independent study format.
• If you are a spatial learner, use outlining, visualization, and mapping techniques.
• If you are a verbal learner, discuss steps, processes, and procedures with classmates or instructors.
• If you are a creative learner, take courses that involve exploration, experimentation, and discussion.
• If you are a pragmatic learner, write out a list of steps, processes, and procedures.

College Writing Skills: The Writing Process

This is dedicated to my students in the College Writing Skills program at ESC, though any writer--or student--will find it helpful. When I began teaching writing at the local college, I created a weekly sheet to help freshman students learn to manage the syllabus. It evolved into a "newsletter" of sorts complete with articles, study tips, and motivational quotes. I'll now post those on my blog (and use the online course page for updates and homework/assignment due date reminders). 

Whether we are aware of it or not, all writing goes through a series of stages from the initial idea to the completed product. It helps to relate the process of writing to what you know. A process is simply breaking something into steps. Many things we do daily follow a process. Think about the steps used to do daily tasks, enjoy your hobbies, or improve skills such as dance, music, sports, and so on.
Prewriting is the first step in the writing process. It  includes brainstorming ideas, settling on a subject, and selecting a topic. Brainstorming is accomplished in several ways. Making lists, creating a cluster or bubble outline (sometimes called a mind map), or journaling all help in focusing the topic.
  Prewriting also includes planning and organizing. Deciding on audience and purpose takes place during this stage. The method used for brainstorming is then turned into an outline or plan for our writing. When you complete your assignment to poll 12 people to ask whether they use prewriting, note whether they are still students or working adults. Many people who have been in their occupations for awhile and writing emails, business letters, and reports do not realize that they "prewrite" because they plan in their heads what they will say and how they will say it.
Drafting is the next step. The purpose of this stage is to get thoughts onto paper. In elementary and secondary school your teachers may have referred to the “sloppy copy.” This is the messy draft. DO NOT ever try to turn in your draft to a college instructor. They expect your papers to have gone through at least one round of revision and editing. Keep in mind, professional writers will do this many, many times before submitting it to their editors to make it as perfect as possible.
Revision is the rethinking step. At this point you will review your draft for clarity, supporting details, and move and/or cut sections to better express your point. This stage should not be confused with editing. (That is not about rethinking your approach.)
Editing and Proofreading is the final step. The purpose of this stage is to check for flow, grammatical and spelling errors, correct format, and so on.
Keep in mind that the entire process is recursive. (This word will by on your vocabulary quiz!) This means that it is not necessarily a chronological process. At any point you can go back to a previous stage to improve the overall product. Unlike say, baking a cake, in which it would be ineffective to add the forgotten baking soda once the cake is in the oven, in the writing process you can go back to prewriting and add to your plan even as you are drafting.
  Though not part of the writing process, prioritizing is vital for your academic career (and beyond). Prioritizing means setting both goals and the action steps to achieve those goals.
Breaking tasks into smaller steps creates manageable pieces. This helps in prioritizing schedules. Create goals and then set action steps to complete each goal. Remember, we eat an elephant one bite at a time; we write essays one word at a time.

Play it Again, SAM: Setting Goals instead of Resolutions

The new year is upon us. Have you set your resolutions yet? I hate resolutions. Declaring your purpose for the new year doesn't make it happen. I resolve to lose weight, exercise more, and get more done, but without a plan my enthusiasm waivers and I find myself drowning in my own resolve.

About a decade ago affirmations and intentions were the latest thing at the new year. Both are more positive forms of new year's resolutions. You state that you will do something. I will trim down. I will incorporate diet and exercise into a healthier lifestyle. I will organize to achieve more. While positive and presented with the mood that we all have the power to make these intentions happen, again, if enthusiasm waivers the positive crumbles into negative inaction. Before long I’m beating myself up for blatant laziness. Not exactly positive and affirming. So, I like to focus on goals. Some creative people freeze up at the thought of setting goals. It’s so . . . business oriented. If you fall into this category, think of goals as stepping stones toward achieving your dream.

Like task management, goals take the bigger picture and break it into manageable pieces. Each smaller task or goal leads to accomplishing the bigger task. Many of us do this without realizing it—during the holidays, for instance. In order to get those holiday cards in the mail, there are steps involved. You need to create the list of people you’ll send them to, make labels (or address the envelopes), write notes and/or sign each card, stuff the envelopes, stamp, and drop at the post office. Each step might be done in 5- to 15-minute segments as your schedule allows. In the end, the cards are in the mail and on their way.

Goal-setting is the same. Set a goal, a time frame for achieving it, and then create action steps (or small goals that lead to the larger goal). Use S-A-M as a guideline. The goal should be specific. Select a target and set a deadline such as trimming 2 inches off your waist by summer, losing 15 pounds, or sending out 20 manuscripts by December. It should be achievable. This means you need to make it happen; you cannot rely on what someone else does as a step in the process (such as an editor accepting just 1 manuscript to launch your career). You need to find an exercise you enjoy doing if you are going to trim 2 inches off your waist. You will need to write a manuscript in order to reach that goal of submitting 20.  Finally, your goal needs to be measurable. Notice that these three goals include a specific number. This helps you track your progress as the year progresses.

I had a writing friend who decided to set of goal of receiving 10 rejections in a year. She was working to fit writing into a busy life as a mother, wife, and office manager. She had heard me speak and a comment I made about taking the plunge and getting over the fear of submitting really struck her. She knew that manuscripts left in a drawer would never become books. Setting a goal to get rejected took away her fear of rejection. It is part of a writer’s life after all. Her goal was specific and measurable. She knew she had to send out a MS a month to reach that goal. That was achievable given her busy life.

When the first MS was returned, the sting of rejection wasn't so bad. She sent it out again. And again. She had nearly reached her goal of 10 rejections by summer when she received an acceptance. Then a second. Now she was forced to write new material in order to reach her goal. She did. But she also had credits to list when sending out those new MSS. By the next year, she was ready to “play it again, SAM” in setting new goals. No floundering in good intentions or vague resolutions. Just specific, achievable, and measurable goals with action steps toward reaching them.

Here’s wishing you all a happy and productive 2013. Happy Writing!