HOW TO TAKE A TIMED ESSAY EXAM

 

Here is a list of tips to help you get a good grade when you have to take a “timed essay” test:

Plan your time wisely. This first tip may not sound all that useful. But procrastination is probably the biggest reason why bright students sometimes get poor grades. Start early. You can also plan your time during the test itself. Your professor knows which paragraphs are harder to write, and will evaluate them accordingly. Does the question ask you to “evaluate”? If so, don’t fill your page with a summary. Likewise, if the question asks for “evidence,” don’t spend all your time giving your own personal opinions.

• • Start with the larger essay questions, so that you answer them before you burn out or run out of time.
  • If one essay question is worth 50% of the test score, spend 50% of your time on it.
  • If you finish early, you can always go back and add more detail. (As long as your additions and changes are legible, your instructor will probably be happy to see signs of revision.)
• Answer the right question. Before you begin your answer, you should be sure what the question is asking. I often grade a university composition competency test, and sometimes have to fail well-written papers that fail to address the topic the student has been given.
• Collect your thoughts. Resist the urge to start churning out words immediately. If you are going to get anywhere in an essay, you need to know where you are going.
• Leave time to revise. Too often, the only revision students do is crossing out their false starts, or explaining their way out of a corner by adding to the end of their essay. Sometimes, in the middle of a difficult paragraph, students will glance back at the question, and get a new idea. They will then hastily back out of their current paragraph, and provide a rough transition like: “But an even more important aspect is…”. They continue in this manner, like a builder who keeps breaking down walls to add new wings onto a house.
  • To handle this problem when it occurs, don’t automatically add to the end of an essay — write in the margins, or draw a line to indicate where you want to insert a new paragraph.
  • Leave space to revise too — write on every other line and leave the backs of pages blank, so you will have room to make legible insertions if you need to.
  • Obviously, if you are writing your test on a computer, you should just insert and rearrange text as you would normally.
• Revise your thesis statement If inspiration strikes while you are in the middle of an essay, and your conclusion turns out to be nothing like you thought it would be, change your thesisstatement to match your conclusion. (Assuming, of course, that your unexpected conclusion still addresses the assigned topic.
• SOURCE:  http://chris.pirillo.com/tips-for-taking-timed-essay-exams/
• Image source:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVl2uJ6h3X5MZvJNOyu7hckeWkKGmtgAL6aobmQTxIwWXonQhzCHemzDaP4fn0JbF-nLkD8ol7-wFEyUMzc1Rf3xZ89RpBN87x0G-bLBkfhf_ivsYYXRp_fnwhVYn8zpwyaCL3jRDoTw/s320/frustrated.jpg

Essay: Critical Thinking Is a Most Critical Skill

Essay: Critical Thinking Is a Most Critical Skill by Fred Wilcox

To become good writers — or even good citizens — students must first learn to question and explore issues fully.

Those who have never taught expository writing — which I consider the most challenging subject to teach — might assume that writing teachers require students to purchase a basic grammar primer before we drill our classes as one would a sports team or marching band, and before long even the most remedial writer will morph into a competent college-level essayist.

It’s certainly true that our students practice the rudiments of grammar and master the ability to write short, clear, sentences. But after more than 25 years of teaching English and writing on a college level, I am convinced that critical thinking — not rote learning or even incessant writing practice — is the key to turning insecure students into confident writers, professionals, and adults.

On the first day of classes I inform students that no one can teach them how to write; this surprises them. I tell them they will read difficult, challenging books and will be asked to determine whether the author is a reliable narrator. If students decide that a particular author is or is not trustworthy, they must explain why.

In short, students will spend the semester learning to think critically. Critical thinking compels them to examine their most cherished beliefs. It forces them to look closely at the fundamental difference between thinking and collective agreement, and to take responsibility for their own ideas.

I ask students to engage in constructive dialogue with other students, with friends and family. I encourage them to explore why our nation is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. We discuss and deconstruct what they may have learned in secondary schools about the environment, global warming, poverty, violence, and nonviolence. I urge them to conduct an honest inventory of their feelings about race, religion, capitalism, gender, and sexuality.

Most young men and women enter college believing it is not good form to challenge authority. They seem to feel that their survival (meaning good grades) depends upon high scores on standardized tests and upon writing essays designed not to provoke debate or dialogue, but to please their professors.

I urge students to question authority and to summon the courage to reexamine everything they believe to be inviolable. After seeing thousands of insecure students turn into competent writers, I am convinced that critical thinking is the key to good, sound, and even beautiful expository writing.  

Source:  http://www.ithaca.edu/icview/2400/

Image source: http://jmroziak.com/TL3_Artifacts/TL3_Examples/GEDIT525_Academic_Writing_Illustration.JPG

PROOFREADING AND EDITING CHECKLIST

Hello, all

Below is  an editing and proofreading checklist that you should use every time you write.

Editing and Proofreading Checklist

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Have I read the entire paper aloud, one word at a time?

2. Have I eliminated unnecessary words?

3. If quotations have been used, have they been smoothly integrated into the text with my

own sentence both before and after the quote?

4. Have I documented paraphrases and quotations appropriately?

5. If the paper is about a literary text, have I named the author and work in my introduction?

6. If the paper is about a literary text, do I refer to the writer by full name the first time and

by last name thereafter?

7. Does the paper have an original, meaningful title?

8. Have I maintained consistent use of verb tense?

9. Have I used strong verbs?

10. Have I minimized the use of passive voice?

11. Have I checked the grammar and punctuation of the paper thoroughly?

12. Have I checked for spelling errors and typos (Especially these words: to/too/two;

their/there/they’re; your/you’re; its/it’s; past/passed; except/accept; effect/affect)?

Check for varied sentence structure and length: With a pen in your hand, read your paper out

loud. At the end of each sentence, make a slash mark (/). Look at your sentences: are they very

long? very short? You may need to combine some very short sentences, and/or break up some

very long sentences.

Check for complete sentences: Starting from the last sentence in your paper, read it backwards,

one sentence at a time. This helps you focus on a single sentence. Double-underline the subject

and underline the verb for each independent clause. Make sure each subject has a verb. If the

sentence starts with for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so, or which, it isn’t a complete sentence. If it

starts with because, it probably isn’t a complete sentence. Be on the lookout for misplaced or

absent commas that result in run-on sentences or comma splices.

Check pronouns’ referents: Draw a small square around each pronoun. Draw an arrow to the

pronoun’s antecedent/referent. Check for clarity (does the reader know who they are? what do

you mean by it?) and singular/plural consistency (someone did his or her homework, not their

homework).

Check transitional words and phrases: Draw a wavy line under each transitional word or

phrase (moreover, in addition, on the other hand, etc.). You should have some transitions but

not too many. Is each transitional word being used appropriately?

Source:  http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/resources/handouts/editingproofreading.pdf

Image credit:  http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/hdr/assets/images/3.6.2.jpg

 

MIDTERM BLUES? TREAT YOURSELF LIKE A FRIEND

Treat Yourself Like You Would a Good Friend (One Student's Advice)

The folks at lifehack.org have an interesting article titled “How to Be a Friend of Yourself” –

We often focus on building relationships with others that we forget the essential first step: being friends of ourselves. That is the crucial first step if we are to have good relationships with others. How can we have good relationships with others if we don’t even have good relationship with ourselves? (read the rest)

It’s a fantastic article — but I think in order to be a good friend of yourself, it doesn’t just mean being able to accept and embrace yourself. Rather, to be your own best friend, you need to start treating yourself like you would a best friend.

Would you demand as much from your good friend as you do of yourself?

1) Stop taking five classes.

I had to see my poor pre-med friend suffer going to bed at 3 am because he took five classes AND was involved with a lot of extracurricular activities.

Unless you have that smack of genius in you (alas, I do not), have little desire to do much outside of school work, or have to fulfill some sort of pressing requirement, you should not put yourself through the agony.

When you don’t have time to sit down and eat dinner with your friends, when you can’t make a movie date with someone, when you turn down that invitation to a birthday party — that is a sign that you’re doing too much.

2) It’s the weekend for goodness sakes!

Some people understandably have stressful weekends (upcoming midterms, sports team commitments, job), and that’s perfectly understandable. I think I spent the last few weekends hitting the books (much to my dismay!) for upcoming midterms and tests (but I still managed to find a way to sneak myself off to the Quad and MIT).

However, if you find yourself doing work every Friday night to the extent that dragging yourself to a party with a bunch of friends seems like pulling teeth. Please, reconsider your mental sanity. You don’t have to be partying, but you should at least give yourself a good solid evening to RELAX.

3) Don’t treat yourself like you might do to some  friends.

My roommate Ashlyn has voiced this particular frustration of hers to me numerous times. Plans for a birthday party on a Saturday night, and too many people wimp out on the excuse of a problem set, paper, or something or other.

In a school where the first thing you realize is the value of the time, excusing yourself out of a significant event particularly highlights how much you value someone.

4) YouTime, Not YouTube

Ask someone when was the last time they read something for pleasure, and they will wrinkle up their brow, ponder, and confess something like, “Last vacation…”

People get worn down here. Yes there are those impeccably cheery people — god bless them because it means that there is hope for the rest of us — but most seem to get dragged down at some point during their Harvard experience always doing something, but never doing anything for themselves.

Find whatever recharges you. It could be hanging with friends, curling up with a good book or watching a movie. Just make sure you slot some time for yourself. (And if this seems impossible and you’re calling ALL your weeks Hell Weeks, either you or something has got to go.)

5) It’s Okay to Take a Break

One of my classmates somehow suddenly disappeared off the face of the planet in the middle of last semester. I found out a bit later that she took a leave of absence and would be joining the previous class on her return.

I can’t speak for her, but from talking to one of her friends, it seems like she was dealing with some mental and emotional stress from a suicide that occurred on campus. Her friend paraphrased a conversation they had, which I will paraphrase yet again:

“I hope you don’t think I chickened out.”

“No, I think what you did was brave.”

I echo his sentiments exactly. While a few of us don’t know what’s best for ourselves, if something just isn’t working, it might be a good time to just take a break. Leave this high pressure crock pot, hike the alps or just relax at home, and come back with a better perspective on things and yourself.

Source:  http://survivingharvard.com/2008/03/30/treat-yourself-like-you-would-a-good-friend/

BEING A GOOD TEAM MEMBER (ARE YOU?)

Being a Good Teammate

 

If you’re like most people, much of your professional life will be spent working on teams.

 

 Why? Because most projects that are economically interesting are too large and complex for individuals to do alone. Teams of talented people can accomplish great things that seem almost impossible, such as sending a man to the Moon. Such objectives would obviously be impossible if we had to work alone. Therefore, it is important that you learn to work effectively as a team member.

 

While teams allow us to accomplish far more than we could alone, there are also significant downsides to teamwork. As the number of people on a team increases, so does the amount of communication and coordination required to keep the team organized and moving in the same direction. Meetings, emails, phone calls, etc. increase, and these things take time. Also, the more people you add to a team, the more likely it is that at least one of them will be unreliable, antisocial, cranky, lazy, distracted, uncommitted, or otherwise difficult to work with. Such people take more energy from a team than they contribute, and often the team would be better off without them.

 

You should try very hard to not be one of these people. There are specific things you can do to make yourself easy and enjoyable to work with. In the context of this class, here are some important things you can do.

 

 

Be reliable. Be someone your teammates can count on. Do what you say you will do.

 

Attend team meetings. Complete the deliverables you’ve committed to produce (design documents, source code, etc.). Don’t be the one your teammates talk about behind your back as the one who just isn’t getting the job done. Be early. Be on time to meetings. Get your part of the design document done early so your teammates will have time to review it and give you feedback.. If you get things done at the last minute, it will be very hard on your teammates, and your reputation will suffer. Part of getting your piece done is getting it done early.

 

Be prepared. Prepare well for team meetings. Read the specs before the meeting. Think about how you would solve the problem before the meeting. Have your part of the document done before the meeting. Whatever the purpose of the meeting is, make sure you are prepared for it. Such preparation will allow you to be a productive contributor rather than a drag on the meeting. If you show up unprepared, meetings will be longer because your teammates will have to bring you up to speed before the productive part of the meeting can begin.

 

Be responsive. Communicate with your teammates. Send frequent emails letting them know the status of your work. Send them your documents so they can review them.  It will make your team feel a lot better if they can see evidence that you are making progress and getting the job done.

 

Don’t disappear for extended periods of time without explaining to your teammates what happened to you. If your wife is going to have a baby, tell them. If you get sick, tell them. If you have to focus on another class for a few days, tell them. Don’t just disappear for a week without explaining to your teammates what is happening. If you tell them what is going on, they will understand completely. If you just disappear, they will see you as unresponsive and unreliable. If one of your teammates disappears without explanation, talk to your instructor quickly before the situation gets out of control.

 

Be willing. Be eager in accepting assignments. Do your fair share of the work. Don’t always be the last to volunteer. Don’t let one or two members of the team do all the work.

REAL WORLD WRITING CASE # 6: AMBIGUOUS PHRASES

Hello, all.

This week, our real world writing problem is the use of ambiguous phrases in writing.

If you use a common term, let it mean what most people think it does. Do not wrench it around to mean something new, or unfamiliar. Before: Store the list in the library. After: Store the list in the file called lib.txt. Before: You have now killed the spawned consumer process. After:  You have stopped the process that the host program started, expecting to collect the data for its own calculations. If you use a pronoun such as he, she, it, or they, make sure that the referent appears as the noun just before the pronoun, in the same paragraph. Or replace the pronoun with the noun you were  referring to. Before : The report from the budget group suggests downturns in sales, manufacturing, and orders. They are working on recommendations. After: The report from the budget group suggests downturns in sales, manufacturing, and orders. The budget group is working on recommendations. Before: Degas was unhappy with Monet, one of the leading artists in the movement, because he advertised the exhibition. After: Degas was unhappy because Monet, one of the leading artists in the movement, advertised the exhibition. Do not start a sentence with a solo This or That referring vaguely to the whole previous discussion. Say what you are talking about. This what? That what? Before: The sales of extra-thick glass have risen, despite the economic downturn, and, in particular, slowed construction. This now leads to a workdown in our home and office space supply inventory. After: Despite the economic downturn, and, in particular, slowed construction, the sales of extra-thick glass have risen. This growth in sales means that we are now working down our inventory of supplies for home and office construction. Use the same term for the same idea every time. Do not indulge in creative variations. Before: Click the Outline option on the View menu. Click on Outline on View. Choose Outline on the View menu. Pick Outline off of the View menu. After: Choose Outline on the View menu. Choose Outline on the View menu. Choose Outline on the View menu. Choose Outline off of the View menu. Preserve relative pronouns, such as who and that. Before The index containing all of your entries appears on the left side of the work window. Send an alert to users logged in during the last session. After The index, which contains all of your entries, appears on the left side of the work window. Send an alert to users who have logged in during the last session. Use the articles "a," "an," and "the," to avoid telegraphic density. Before Turn knob clockwise to start engine. After Turn the knob clockwise to start the engine. When referring to another page on the site, name the section, rather than assuming that the reader has already seen it ("As we have said before…") Before The latest news appears at the top. After The latest news appears in Press Reports.   Before On the next level up, look for… After In the Oil Change Overview, look for…. Do not refer to another element of the current page by location (above, below, to the left, to the right). Refer tothe heading for that element. Before …as shown in the table below. After ….as shown in the Table of Results.   Before If you go forward, you’ll see the trends. After You’ll see the trends in the Marketing Survey.   Before To the right, the graph shows that the majority of our calls are for support on the new cellphone. After The majority of our calls are for support on the new cellphone. (See the Support Graph). Source:  http://www.webwritingthatworks.com/DGuideCOG5c.htm Image source:  http://nawctsd.navair.navy.mil/Resources/Library/Acqguide/chicken.gif

REAL WORLD WRITING CASE #5: 7 Common Writing Errors

[H]ere are seven… common mistakes that can diminish the shine and credibility of your writing.

1. Loose vs. Lose

This one drives a lot of people crazy, including me. In fact, it’s so prevalent among bloggers that I once feared I was missing something, and somehow “loose” was a proper substitute for “lose” in some other English-speaking countries. Here’s a hint: it’s not.

If your pants are too loose, you might lose your pants.

2. Me, Myself, and I

One of the most common causes of grammatical pain is the choice between “me” and “I.” Too often people use “I” when they should use “me,” because since “I” sounds stilted and proper, it must be right, right? Nope.

The easy way to get this one right is to simply remove the other person from the sentence and then do what sounds correct. You would never say “Give I a call,” so you also wouldn’t say “Give Chris and I a call.” Don’t be afraid of me.

And whatever you do, don’t punt and say “myself” because you’re not sure whether “me” or “I” is the correct choice. “Myself” is only proper in two contexts, both of which are demonstrated below.

Many consider Chris a punk, but I myself tolerate him. Which brings me to ask myself, why?

3. Different than vs. Different from

This one slips under the radar a lot, and I’ll bet I’ve screwed it up countless times. It boils down to the fact that things are logically different from one another, and using the word “than” after different is a grammatical blunder.

This vase is different from the one I have, but I think mine is better thanthis one.

4. Improper Use of the Apostrophe

Basically, you use an apostrophe in two cases:

·                     For contractions (don’t for do not)

·                     To show possession (Frank’s blog means the blog belongs to Frank)

If still in doubt, leave the apostrophe out. It causes more reader confusion to insert an apostrophe where it doesn’t belong than it does to omit one. Plus, you can always plead the typo defense if you leave an apostrophe out, but you look unavoidably dumb when you stick one where it doesn’t belong.

5. Parallelism

Back when I talked about bullet points, one of the tips involved keeping each bullet item in parallel by beginning with the same part of speech. For example, each item might similarly begin with a verb like so:

·                     deliver…

·                     prompt…

·                     cause…

·                     drive…

When writing a list of items in paragraph form, this is even more crucial, and failing to stay in parallel can result in confusion for readers and scorn from English majors. Check out this non-parallel list in a sentence:

Over the weekend, Kevin bought a new MacBook Pro online, two software programs, and arranged for free shipping.

Do you see the problem? If not, break the list into bullet points and it becomes clear:

Over the weekend, Kevin:

·                     Bought a new MacBook Pro online

·                     Two software programs

·                     Arranged for free shipping

Stick the word “ordered” in front of “two software programs” and you’re in parallel. Your readers will subconsciously thank you, and the Grammar Nazis won’t slam you.

6. i.e. vs. e.g.

Ah, Latin… you’ve just gotta love it. As antiquated as they might seem, these two little Latin abbreviations are pretty handy in modern writing, but only if you use them correctly.

The Latin phrase id est means “that is,” so i.e. is a way of saying “in other words.” It’s designed to make something clearer by providing a definition or saying it in a more common way.

Copyblogger has jumped the shark, i.e., gone downhill in quality, because Brian has broken most of his New Year’s resolutions.

The Latin phrase exempli gratia means “for example”, so e.g. is used before giving specific examples that support your assertion.

Copyblogger has jumped the shark because Brian has broken most of his New Year’s resolutions, e.g., promising not to say “Web 2.0,” “linkbait,” or “jumped the shark” on the blog in 2007.

7. Could of, Would of, Should of

Please don’t do this:

I should of gone to the baseball game, and I could of, if Billy would ofdone his job.

This is correct:

I should have gone to the baseball game, and could have, if Billy haddone his job.

Why do people make this mistake?

They could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been correct, except that the ending of those contractions is slurred when spoken. This creates something similar to a homophone, i.e., a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, e.g., of, which results in the common grammatical mistake of substituting of for have.

Ain’t this been fun?

Source: http://www.copyblogger.com/grammar-writing-mistakes/

Image source:  www.pingable.org