stuck-in-studytine

[stuck-in-studytine]

hello!! as an online college student, i’ve been lucky enough to already have some experience with online schooling, so i’m here to offer all my advice for the students of quarantined schools! due to the covid-19 outbreak, it’s been very difficult for many who’ve had to switch to online school. however, there are many way to make it simpler and faster, and i’m here to give my best tips!!

firstly, make a list. whether you’re more comfortable with a physical to-do list or a virtual calendar to schedule things out (i’ve used google calendar almost my whole life but i just got the app elisi and it’s beautiful, minimalist, and easy to use! available on pretty much every device). planning out your work is the most efficient way to get it done.

don’t try to do everything at once. while it’s best to get things done soon, space out your work efficiently so you don’t feel overwhelmed!

create a simple, comfortable study space. it doesn’t have to be a perfectly organized desk or gorgeous setup at the kitchen table; i do all of my college work from my bed with a comfy throw blanket and fairy lights up. the most important thing is that you are in the right position to do work, you are comfortable, and that you are able to keep everything you need close to you.

work in chunks. to best knock out your work, take it an hour at a time with 10 to 15 minute breaks in between. make some tea, get a snack, stay energized.

drink lots of water. you are not immune to the coronavirus. it’s also easier to stay energized and focused when you’re hydrated.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR INSTRUCTORS. at first i was very timid to communicate back and forth with my professors when something was wrong but i have learned that it is the most important thing to have good communication. if you don’t understand a concept, have trouble with the online system, or just need general help in your academics, sending them an email is the best way to solve the problem.

reward yourself!! once you’ve finished an assignment, give yourself a little treat (maybe a half hour of minecraft or your favorite snack to munch on!!)–it’s the best way to encourage your mind to work harder.

don’t work too late. you’re off from school. unless it’s the night of the due date, don’t push yourself until it’s done. the morning is just a sleep away.

these are some good playlists for background music.

another important tip! communicate with your classmates in case you don’t understand something. everybody learns differently and some pick up info different than others. 

make fancy notes!! get fancy with your stationery!! you have plenty of time now and can go bonkers with your beautiful notes.

continue to check your temperature and monitor symptoms. your school has closed for a reason. your safety and health are important.

retain a relatively normal sleep schedule, similar to the one you have when you normally go to school. slipping out of your regular sleep cycle can and will kick your ass when it’s time to go back.

lastly, eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. take a nap when you’re tired. remember to go to the bathroom and keep your water filled. take care of yourself.

if i think of anything else to add, i will!! just wanted to bring forth my advice in hopes that it benefits anybody who is at home b/c of quarantine or school cancellation :)

[stuck-in-studytine]

So what’s gone on in the years since my ‘how to deal with GCSEs post’?

Where do I start...

• May 2017 - Sat my mock A Levels - got AAD (rip geography)

• July 2017 - Visited Cambridge uni on a summer school, hated every second and decided not to apply

• Feb 2018 - Got accepted in to all 5 universities (Queens Belfast, City London, Nottingham, Liverpool, Lancaster)

• June 2018 - Sat my A Levels - got ABB (yay geography!)

• September 2018 - Started Psychology BSc at Nottingham, hated it

• October 2019 - Transferred to Nursing (Adult) BSc at Nottingham, love it!

And that’s it up until now! More posts to follow, but don’t forget that it’s okay to be unsure and it’s okay to change your mind. I went from being set on doing Psychology at Cambridge to thriving in a Nursing degree at Uni of Nottingham ❤️

[stuck-in-studytine]

Y’all ever forget you have a semi-successful studyblr account? Cause same.

Now the world is on lockdown I’ve decided to try use this account to re-motivate me in uni studies and other things ♥️

Keep posted for updates xx

[stuck-in-studytine]

Reblog if Black Lives Matter to you

Where are those woke white people at!?

[stuck-in-studytine]

5 Tips for Staying Motivated

1. Reward as you go. You should be proud of everything you accomplish along the way, not just the destination itself. So be happy when you complete one assignment or find sources for an essay, don’t just focus on the overall grade at the end of the year.

2. Set goals. Early in the semester, you need to establish what you want to accomplish this school year. Whether that be study more or go out less, you need to make and write down a plan right off the bat. 

3. Don’t get discouraged. We all mess up. We all get behind in school work or break one of the rules we set for ourselves. That’s just a part of life. DO NOT use this as an excuse to give up though. Just start doing it again the next day. It won’t be the end of the world unless you give up complete. 

4. Do things sooner rather than later. Try to get your work done as soon as possible. When you get home from school, take a short break, and I mean SHORT, and then get your assignments done for the day. That way, you can just relax and chill until you go to bed, rather than pulling an all nighter if something ends up taking longer than expected. 

5. Procrastinate with other work. Let’s say you don’t want to read a chapter of a book for a class. Well, before doing that, go ahead and clean your room and practice your violin. If you’re going to procrastinate, do it with something worthwhile, rather than spending hours on tumblr. At least that’s a few less things you have to do later on. 

[stuck-in-studytine]

Back to School: How to Get an A*/8 or 9 in an English Lit Essay!

Happy September, everyone!

As we all get our gears in motion to start a new year, I thought I would share my top tips for scoring the highest marks in English Literature essays. 

(P.S. Lots of these tips are applicable to other subjects too)

1. Don’t write about the character as if they are real

Unfortunately, this is a common error in English Lit essays. It is absolutely imperative to remember that a character is not a person, but is a construct of the writer in order to present an idea or theme. No matter what the question, you should be linking your answer back to the writer’s ideas and theme of the text, even if it doesn’t seem obvious what the theme is on the first inspection of the question. Using the author’s name frequently in your essay will demonstrate that you recognise the character is not a real person - ‘Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle as…’

2. Don’t analyse the plot

Avoid analysing the plot or when things happen in the text. Don’t write ‘When X happens it makes us think Y’. Instead:

Analyse the writer’s use of language, structure and form to create meaning

Do a close language analysis of specific words/phrases, including a sound analysis (plosives, assonance, etc.)

Do a structural analysis of what happens when and why that’s important (Freytag’s pyramid)

Do an analysis of form (stage directions, dramatic monologue, etc.)

3. Keep your answer relevant throughout

You need to be explicitly answering the question - not going off on a tangent nor trying to change the question to suit an answer that you want to write. One way of avoiding this is by starting each paragraph with a topic sentence, summarising what that paragraph is going to be about and how it answers the question. Another method is simply by rewording the question into your answer at the start and end of every paragraph. At least. For greater impact, include synonyms of the word, which can also help with the readability of your answer.

4. Avoid PEE/PEEL/etc. where you can

Thousands of students are taught the same, basic Point-Evidence-Explain (or variant) analytical paragraph structure. If you want to stand out, show academic strength, and achieve the highest marks then you must break free from the chains of PEE! (This also applies for your introduction format. ‘In this essay, I will argue…’ gets pretty dull after reading it 100 times)

For my students, I will be teaching them to write What-How-Why paragraphs:

WHAT has the writer done?

HOW have they done it?

WHY have they done it/is it effective?

This way, your focus is always on why the writer has chosen to use that specific language/structure/form, but it allows you to be creative in crafting your response. Being able to discuss the ‘why’ of literature is the key to unlocking the highest grades. Reading through examiners’ reports this summer has made one thing clear - it is not enough to merely spot linguistic devices or structural features. You must explain why the writer has chosen them and why that is an effective choice (or not).

5. Avoid sweeping statements about context

The main advice here is to only include comments about the context of the text if it adds to the analytical point that you are making. They should not be a bolt-on sentence, but they should enhance your answer.

Further, sweeping claims like ‘All Jacobean women were oppressed by society’ is far too vague. On the other hand, a comment like ‘Lady Macbeth is a disturbing example of womanhood because she denies her gender at a time where the role of a woman was clear-cut, even patriarchal, in Jacobean society’ suggests that you have a greater understanding of how context can influence the writer’s choices.

6. A plan is your best friend

Always, always make time to plan your answer. A method I recommend is, first, circling the key words in the question (character/theme, what you are asked to do, where in the text you are asked to look, etc.). Secondly, write all of your ideas down onto the page, highlighting parts from the extract if you have that in front of you. Finally, select a judicious number of points that you are going to talk about (quality not quantity here) and number the order in which you are going to make them.

If you are writing a comparative essay, each paragraph must start and end with a comparative point about whatever it is you are comparing (characters/themes/etc.) I suggest the following format:

‘X is presented in both text A and text B. However, in A the author uses device 1 and 2 to demonstrate X. On the other hand, in B, the author demonstrates X via use of device 2 and 3.’ Then write one paragraph for each text. Repeat this again for another similarity. And again for a third - if you think that is appropriate.

Click HERE if you want more top tips/resources/essay advice/study motivation!!

Click HERE if you want more top tips/resources/essay advice/study motivation!!

Photograph used is not mine

[stuck-in-studytine]

I wish all black students going back to school a very successful semester ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 don’t let this white supremacy shit bring you down, we’re capable of being well educated….. use your intelligence for the best of the world and continue to flourish in prosperity

[stuck-in-studytine]

If you're applying to somewhere like Oxford or Cambridge, how good do your GCSEs have to be?

For Oxford they take GCSEs quite seriously because its the best uni in the world so they kind of have to narrow people down, but Cambridge is pretty chill like they know that you were young and a kid and stupid so they don't mind much. They just say 5+ A/A*s so that they know for sure you can keep up, but its a recommendation, not a requirement.

[stuck-in-studytine]

hiya! (diff anon to the first about functioning labels) i have ASD or formally aspergers too and it's hard because i think functioning labels are a bit gross tbh (you're welcome to use them i think don't get me wrong!!!) anyway i also dislike aspergers due to everyone surrounding that... and ASD is vague. so nothing truly fits :(( i'm glad you feel HF as a label works for you, although i personally wouldn't go for it. this is rambly and unnecessary but i wanted to chip in, hope that's okay😅

Thanks for acknowledging that they're up to personal preference, that's really big of you :) I can understand the controversy but to be honest its a bigger thing than high functioning autistic people saying 'ew its gross' because at the end of the day the people with low functioning autism need more care than us, and its not really fair for us to take away the labels because then allistics are gonna be confused and there aren't really going to be boundaries in medical journals about how severe a person has to be before their medical responsibility needs to be passes on to another, for example. I loved and still love aspergers because it took away the need for extreme functioning labels and kind of made that divide without it being too strong? Like how no one has taken away ADHD because its different to ~autism~ but is still autism, and that's what people with aspergers had and I hate it was taken away.Anyway, its like gender and things like that. Even if someone doesn't agree, if a label makes a person happy then who am I to dispute it? :)Sorry sometimes I explain things weirdly and only I get it

[stuck-in-studytine]

Hey! I love your notes and it's snazzy to see a fellow autistic studyblr, but can you avoid functioning labels as they're pretty harmful and I'm sure you can find some literature on them on tumblr/google!! Thanks and good luck !

Hey :) I use them because at the end of the day that's how they are and its my personal preference. When I go in to working with diagnosis I can't just say 'yeah this kid would be diagnosed with autism and so would this kid. They're different types but people get upset if you classify them.' its just not how it works and it'd make actually diagnosing people so much harder than it is already. I know the controversy around them but at the end of the day if I, an autistic person, wants to use those (scientifically correct) words, its not fair for another autistic person to tell me I can't. Its like black people and the n-word. We all hold just as much of a right to use them. If you have any more problems/questions then please message me.

[stuck-in-studytine]

You said you wanted to work on autism diagnosis, do you know a lot of autistic people or are you autistic or engage with the autistic community a lot? Sorry, just curious.

I have high functioning autism although it was much worse when I was younger and I'm cling now, thanks to a quick diagnosis and hence better treatment (at a loss for better words to use) for it. I also worked in a school for people with low functioning autism :)

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What's your dream job, and where would you most like to live?

I want to be a doctor of psychology doing research in to the diagnosis of autism and I want to live in the US or Australia.

[stuck-in-studytine]

Omg happy birthday you wonderful person 🎉🎊🎉🎉 I hope you enjoy your day 🎊🎉🎊🎊

Thank you ❤❤❤

[stuck-in-studytine]

happy birthday!

*sweats awkwardly* You too? (But seriously, thank you! ❤)

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❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Important PSA

today is my girlfriend’s (@whizzersass) birthday and they are the actual best

[stuck-in-studytine]

Bringing this back because y'all will be well in to GCSEs by now and I wanted to share some final count down/post GCSE tips too:

• KEEP GOING. Its the final stretch, but don't slack off thinking you'll have made up for it with the exams you did two weeks ago. It might be stressful now but you've got 9 weeks of R & R coming up!

• I know that book looks great now, and that video game is so fun to play, but again, you have 9 weeks to do that stuff. You need relaxation, I don't doubt that, but don't do what I did and kid yourself that spending 3 hours doing nothing in particular on your phone while lay on your bed is relaxing. Its not.

• Muslims - Allah will forgive you if you opt not to fast on exam days, and even days leading up. He wants what is best for you and He knows your heart is in the right place, so put your studies first and eat so you can concentrate. There's nothing worse than being in an exam and all you can think about is what you're going to eat at iftar.

• Keep positive. Its a scary concept but it'll all be over soon and there's nothing you can do to change what's happened. Just put it to the back of your mind, move on and enjoy the 9 weeks of rest. There's no use beating yourself up over what can't be changed. GCSEs aren't the end of the world, but if it comes to it resits are possible and then you'll have even longer to revise, so its a win-win!

• The last exam will be weird. You won't know how to feel. Everyone will still have the feeling that they should be studying for like three days after. You'll be sat in your room and be like 'I need to study but I've ogr nothing to study for'. Its weird at the time but enjoy it. Its actually a nice feeling looking back on it because its a feeling that marks the end™.

• Speak to people. They're going through what you're going through and know the stresses. You can lean on them if you need to. Or lean on someone who has already been through it. We're here to help ❤

• GOOD LUCK

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Stay tuned for 'how to cope with results day stresses'

Things I wish I had done in my GCSEs

Okay y'all sit down, listen up and enjoy!

I did my GCSEs last year. I didn’t bomb them by any means, but I also didn’t do as well as I’d hoped!

So here are some tips and tricks on how to pass yo GCSEs!:

• Don’t just re write the text book. I did this for science because ‘that’s just how I learn’ and ‘everybody is different!’. Yeah. Some people can learn that way, but that’s how I revised for science, and I got a B when aiming for an A at least. I already had a text book, and while I did retain some stuff, I didn’t have to spend hours copying down something I already had.

• I ignored my food tech exam. I decided that I didn’t want it, it wasn’t important and I wasn’t fussed about my result. Come results day? I cried because of it. Don’t be me. Even if you focus on some exams more, never leave an exam until that morning.

• You can revise for maths. Its called practicing. Even if you have a formula sheet, you need to practice.

• You have three different long term memory stores, two of which are phonological (sounds) and visuo spatial (words/reading). Instead if trying to cram everything in to one store (eg. Only doing mindmaps) utilise them both! Listen to the information and then make a mind map. You get 2x the storage space!

• DONT STOP REVISING AFTER YOUR MOCKS - I appreciate that its too late for some of you, but this is a piece of advice that I was given that I will regret not taking for the rest of my life. If you revise 100 pages over 150 days, those last 50 can be used to consolidate what you already know. If you revise 100 pages in 50, you’re rushing and literally learning everything before you go in to the exam.

• Don’t ignore a subject that you don’t like and hope it’s not on the exam. It will be on the exam. That’s how it works. True fact. I ignored rivers and coasts and two hours before the exam showed up to my geography teacher and said ‘I only know hazards’. She thought I was joking. After a mad rush of cramming I got an A, but she told me that I could have gotten an A*.

• DO get plenty of rest the night before. Its better to answer most questions amazingly because you didnt cram at 2am that morning than answer all the questions but badly because you didn’t sleep

• Do take a bottle of water in to your exam. Students who take water in to their exam do 25% better than those who don’t.

• Do use pre exam checklists to cool your nerves

• Do have faith in yourself. GCSEs are important, but they aren’t more important than your health. Unless you’re doing medicine or a similar course, your uni won’t look at them because they know that at the at point you were just a kid. That they were a life lesson. I didn’t do great in my GCSEs, but I was so heart broken that my teacher then said I probably wouldn’t get in to Cambridge that I worked my ass off and am now one of the best students in my year ❤ GCSEs should motivate you to show what you can do in your A Levels

[stuck-in-studytine]

listen.... I'm a lesbian and I would pay andrew rannells to kill me too

Sapphic and Achillean solidarity is wanting Andrew Rannells to murder you.