Dawn’s Studyblr

Studying English & Creative Writing

[dawn-is-studying]

I decided to go ahead and make an introductory post. I haven’t started college yet but will be this fall. Until then I plan on brushing up on a few things like math, which I am not the greatest at, and keeping track of my Duolingo progress.

My name is Dawn and I’m 33. I am planning on going to college online for my BA in English and Creative Writing.

I am also a wife, mother of two whom I homeschool, and I am a recent breast cancer survivor. This is the reason why I am waiting until fall to begin as I am recovering from surgery and still have radiation to finish. (As of December 31, 2019, though, I am clear.)

I absolutely love to read (Goodreads) and I have written stories since I was 13 years old. I remember writing stories about the books I read. I didn’t realize until I was an adult that this was fan fiction lol.

I love to create new worlds for my writing. It’s my favorite thing to do.

Star Wars is one of my favorites and I’m working my way through the canon timeline. (Reading the books and watching the movies and series.)

I would love to get to know others who are going for an English degree and those who would love to share tips for studying, especially online.

[betweenthemustypages]

Dark Academia self-care tips for the wintertime.

Embrace the beauty of the natural world as we enter into the depths of winter. There’s something wonderfully haunting about the barrenness, the muted saturation, the quiet. This season is like the stillness between the exhale and the inhale. Dwell in that space.

Attempt to get into the habit of waking up early, even if you only manage it on odd occasions. This time of year, the sun might rise later than you. Bask in the morning twilight.

Dress well and fully, even if you do not intend to leave the house.

After you wake up, go for a walk, be it brief of meandering. For a time, don’t listen to music, but rather hone in on the silence, the sound of your footfalls, the winter birds.

If you live near a park or otherwise pleasant natural area with benches, take with you a novel or poetry collection, and linger for a time to read. Remember to wear gloves so that you may turn pages without discomfort.

Open a window periodically throughout the day, even if it’s cold. That brief blast of air will anchor you to the natural world.

Try to complete at least one chapter of reading per day. Tend to your mind just as you tend to your body.

If you wish, compose handwritten letters to those you care for, or fear with whom you may be losing touch. A physical letter holds so much more weight than a text or email. Practice your cursive, make the letter a work of art.

Eat dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, tea rather than soda, whole bread rather than white.

Keep a handwritten journal of your upcoming tasks, daily aspirations and idle musings. Maintaining a written record of one’s obligations helps to remind oneself of their true scales. Otherwise, they might try to expand and sprout teeth in your mind.

Work hard. This season is stark and unyielding, as are you. You were built for this. Face the storm head on.

As night draws in, play some classical music in the candlelight. Close your eyes, tip your head back, and lean into it. Let the song flow through you in haptic ecstasy.

Before retreating to bed, record some of the positive experiences brought to you throughout the day: from tasks you completed successfully, to poetic thoughts that stuck you, to birds you spotted on your windowsill. Kindle your childlike sense of wonder, for there is so much in this world to wonder at.

Breathe. Always. Feel it. 

[these-wilde-nights]

autumn dark academia

finally time for your favorite knitted sweaters and turtlenecks

carving your favorite quotes and book characters into pumpkins

going on evening walks, listening to classical music while looking at all the beautiful trees

finding coffee shops and getting your favorite seasonal beverages

going to a second-hand bookstore, finding  a new cafe and reading your new books right away

sitting under a tree as you read and study, occasionally pulling leaves out of your hair

snuggling up in a cozy armchair, tossing a blanket over your lap, and reading to the light of a pumpkin scented candle

decorating your room and bookshelf with skulls and other assortments

putting your headphones in to listen to podcasts as you rake leaves

staying up all night reading by a window, looking outside occasionally at the streetlamps, wondering if the ghost of oscar wilde is out there somewhere

ink smears on your fingers as you annotate poetry, looking out the window at the colors

opening a window to let the cool autumn air in as you study, a leaf blowing through and landing on your desk

[librarycard]

college is about dying and coming back to life twice a week

[thehistory]

hello! your blog is magical ✨ what kind of dark academia - related habits can one adopt?

Dark academia habits

Read excessively in academic fervor or simply in passion or interest, from classics to true crime or nonfiction weird facts

Drink coffee and/or tea

Wear dark or messy makeup

Write and read poetry and reflect on verses compared to your life

Listen to classical music

Get up at dawn or stay up late (whatever you like best, just pick one not both)

Keep candles lit around you

Learn a new language

Keep secrets

Collect vintage items

Do everything with drama and passion

Wear lots of black and vintage clothes (I have many clothing posts so I’m not going into details)

Walk in the woods

Keep a diary

[thehistory]

Darker/bolder DA makeup ideas?

Bold DA Makeup

1. fluffy brows rather than the Instagram brow, more natural than just a wash of color, brow hairs pushed up and filled in sparse areas

2. A clean red lip. Lipliner makes the edges neater, lipstick or a gloss works.

3. Base/foundation could be light coverage, a tinted moisturizer, or a full coverage foundation. Completely up to you, but I imagine a more dewy/skin-like finish

4. Bronzing/contouring to bring out cheekbones to make them appear sharper and more prominent.

5. As much mascara as your lashes can handle

6. Highlight ✨

7. ***You could stop at five for a more natural look or do the following to make it bolder: add a black liner to the top water line or do a wing

8. Smoky eye look with either dark browns or black

[airmom]

anyways, we’ll make it through ladies, like always

[dawn-is-studying]

Update. I didn’t wait until fall to start. I finished radiation and decided I would start with one class for the first and second term and then start full time in August. I’m so glad my advisor suggested it. I’m loving college and I am so happy to be doing this for myself.

[hoe4byron]

every day i wonder why i'm not living in a dark castle with secret passageways and rooms filled with books

[ranaeissance]

Hi! So I was wondering if you had any tips on staying motivated to take good notes and study, cause I’m having trouble staying organized and motivated. Thanks!

hey there 💞✨ i do have some tips that you can find here, although there’s additional tips for discipline (which is important to note once motivation starts waning).

additional tips on motivation

i mentioned this in the last post but understand why. this one’s a big one. to stay motivated / keep motivated even on low days you have to have a why. a reason for doing this, a reason to keep you going. this can be in the form of goals, to make yourself proud, to get your shit together, anything. find your purpose

surround yourself with likeminded people / positive people / beacons of inspiration - doesn’t necessarily mean befriend people (though that would be nice) but simply be around people who can be forms of inspiration to keep you going. perhaps you have a friend who’s always on the top of your game and you realise ‘woah, i too should try that out?’ or maybe you follow a studyblr who’s constantly getting their shit done even on hard days. don’t think of it as a competition, simply inspiration to do better yourself

if the topic is not of your interest, study in spite of it - hate the subject? take revenge by studying and doing well, let that subject know it won’t bring you down!!! hate the teacher? show them that you are good at what you do and exceed their expectations

make studying fun!! - studying can feel like a chore that’s understandable but it would feel less so if you do little things to put a smile on yourself while you trudge through 3782 pages of work.

how to make studying fun (mini masterpost)

listen to danceable / boppable music

speaking of music, dance if u need to, get that energy through your bones

have a plant buddy, stuff animal to study with you

or study with friends, online or irl, by simply being in their presence

fill your break times with snacks or small videos (if you can manage)

draw little doodles on the side of your notes to keep you company

write notes down that you can understand even if that means using slang, stan twitter language, emojis etc etc etccc

good notes + studying

small manageable chunks - i’ll always standby the pomodoro technique as it makes me realise how productive i can be in a dedicated 45minutes (or however you want to modify it)

know what you’re doing at each study - change study chemistry to study pages 1-5 of x textbook and finish the worksheet

studyblr style notes aren’t always ‘good’ notes - don’t hold yourself to the same standards as studyblr notes with the fancy headers, mildliner highlighters and adorable handwriting. they’re for some, not everyone.

things that constitute of good notes are

readable, clear and concise headings for each topic and subtopic - know what you’re talking about

consistent formatting - you’ll be able to find information quickly and easily. be able to differentiate between the relevant and irrelevant content

content of notes is relevant and plainly set out - you’ll be able to recall the information come exam time

content is not relevant but interesting - learning isn’t always about exams exams exams

summary - summarise what you learnt / quiz yourself

staying organised

once you receive a file, handout, or worksheet file it immediately - you’ll quickly forget where you placed you chemistry worksheet from week 3 unless you filed it immediately

rename the file if needed - be as descriptive as possible so you can use the search feature without going through folders

have an everything folder to hold your handouts before you file them - best if they have tabs

keep notes in one place - if a subject has digital notes keep it all digital, if all handwritten keep it all handwritten. e.g chem - handwritten, literature - digital

utilise a calendar / planner - trust me.

if you’d like anymore specific tips don’t be afraid to pop in my inbox or my dms 💘 hope i helped!!

[ceriniity]

I was talking to my friend about my essay planning process and surprised them with my method - I thought this was the most common way to plan essays and it’s something I find really useful so I decided to share it in case it’s helpful, even though it’s probably not new knowledge! 

What kind of essays can I use this for? 

I use this for all my essays, though they tend to range from 1000-3000 words

I have yet to use it for a dissertation length essay but I’ll probably use the same structure, just much more detailed 

This method is one that really helps me for essays I’m dreading writing or don’t know where to begin, because it breaks it down and makes it more manageable 

May be different for different subjects - I use this predominantly for philosophy essays, which it works really well for

Where to start? (At the beginning and the end!) 

Start with your word count. For example, let’s say your word count was 2000 words

Your introduction and conclusion should be no more than 10% of your essay 

In our example, 10% of 2000 is 200 words, so:  100 words introduction 100 words conclusion

Onto the main body!

We’ve started to break it down! Subtract that from your desired word count and that’s your writing room for the main points of your essay

In our example that leaves you with 1800 words 

Now you need to work out roughly how many words you make a point in - which really isn’t an exact science

For me I make a point in about 150-350 words, it really depends on how much detail you have to include 

If you’re unsure write a rough draft of a point or analyse some of your previous essays - this word count usually includes referencing and quotations

For the sake of our example let’s say each point is about 250 words

250 goes into 1800 7 times, with 50 words for some leeway. 

That means roughly you will need 7 points to make up your essay. 

You can play around with what works for you - if 7 is too many, or perhaps you want an even number of points you can tailor it for that particular essay

Maybe one point will be 500 words instead because you have the most to say about them - whatever works for you is fine.

The emphasis here is on approximation, don’t get too hung up on meeting exact word counts, write what you have first and if you need more, find some detail to add to your points

Here’s the part about this way of planning essays that soothes me - looking at a blank pages and knowing you have to write 2000 words is very daunting. Instead, once I’ve broken it down like this I know I’ll need 5-7 points on a subject I’ve been studying, which is something I know I’m capable of - 

“But Ceri?” I hear you ask. “What if I can’t think of enough points?” 

This is part two of my essay plan - done with the statistics, you need the content

Analyse your question or title, this is the most important bit. 

What is the question asking of you? Does it want an argument? An explanation? What things do you need to include? 

Once you have a clear idea of what they want, whether you have an idea or not of what to write, look over your notes

Every essay needs evidence, something to support what you’re saying, be it data or critics or theorists - my advice is to find the evidence that is there and build your points around it 

When you need to argue to your conclusion look for evidence that opposes each other, and that’s two points already done

Start by writing your essay in bullet points, then in longer sentences while you shift things around and then finally go full essay format

As you write other points or things to include might come to you - be sure you make a note of them! 

One final tip - reference as you go along. It’s such a pain but getting to the end of an essay is a marathon, and then having to go through and sort out your referencing is like a sprint for the end 

Anyway that’s most of my help for now! You might read this and think that none of it will work for you, and that’s fine too, there isn’t one set way to write an essay and this is by no means the best way - just my way. 

It’s probably nothing new to most of you but I’m happy to share just in case, feel free to drop by and ask anything! 

[studyquill]

Notetaking

Sound Note - take notes while you record audio

Evernote - notetaking that syncs across platforms

Paper 53 - minimal notetaking that syncs

Microsoft OneNote - collaboration and syncing, best for Office users

Google Keep - jot things down, best for Google suite users

Notability - take notes and annotate PDFs

Mindly - create mind maps

Day One - a digital journal

Flash Cards

Quizlet - the quintessential flash card app

StudyBlue - another commonly used app

Cram - best for its “cram mode”

Eidetic - uses spaced repetition for effective memorization

Planner 

My Study Life - schedules, tasks, reminders, and more

StudyCal - keeps track of tasks, exams, and grades

24me - automated reminders and event planning

iStudiez - schedule and prioritized task list

Google Calendar - a calendar, best for Google users

Glass Planner - a calendar and to do list with incredible functionality

To Do List

Clear - organized to-do and reminders

MinimaList - simple to-do and focus timer

Trello - collaborative project organizer

Todoist - clean and functional task manager

Default notes app on your phone

Time Management

Forest - plant trees by staying focused

Pomotodo - pomodoro timer with to-do list

Timeglass - custom timers

Tide - pomodoro with white noise

Alarmy - forces you out of bed 

Pillow - smart alarm that tracks sleep cycles

Productivity

Workflow - automate tasks

Habitica - turn your habits into an RPG

Continuo - simple, colorful activity tracking

Freedom - block distracting apps

Free Learning

Coursera - free MOOCs

TED - listen to Ted Talks

Duolingo - language learning

Memrise - spaced repetition language vocabulary

Khan Academy - free video lessons

Ambient Noise

8tracks - curated playlists

Spotify - online music streaming

Coffitivity - cafe ambience

Noisli - background sound generator

Rain Rain - rain sounds

Binaural - binaural beats

Health

Rockin Ramen - recipes based on ramen

MealBoard - meal planning

Lifesum - healthy eating

Stop Breath And Think - mindfulness meditation

Pacifica - mental health management

Sworkit - personalized video workouts

Waterlogged - hydration tracker

Reference

WolframAlpha - Google on steroids

Oxford Dictionary - all of English at your fingertips

RefMe - citation generator

PhotoMath - solve math problems by taking a photo

Mathway - step by step math help

Desmos - free graphing calculator

Wikipedia - not the best source, but it’s handy

Miscellaneous 

Companion - stay safe when walking alone

Mint - money management

Toshl - finance manager

Tiny Scanner - scan documents

[studying-blues]

NOTETAKING TIPS 

I am in no way an expert, but these are the few things I’ve noticed while I was studying for my ib exams. 

1. Use Post Its I think we underestimate how useful post its are. I find that writing down notes on post its and tagging them on the pages really helps me during revision, especially for content heavy subjects like literature and history.

2. Colour coding  I really enjoy making my notes ‘pretty’ so that I would want to look at them again and again and again. Therefore, personally, lack of colour makes my notes dull and I find them boring to read. Colour coding is good too cause its easier for your brain to remember things based on the colour that you’ve assigned. 

3. Booktab Having mini tabs and tagging all the important pages saves you SO MUCH time.  When you’re trying to cram in some last minute information an hour before the exam, you don’t have time to flip through your 800 paged textbook.  So save yourself the trouble and booktab important pages! 

4. Handwriting notes I find that handwriting notes make things easier to remember. HOWEVER, sometimes you just don’t have the time for it. So, you have to be strategic! you can only handwrite certain subjects and digitalise others. 

5. Time  Timing is so important. The earlier you start, the more time you have to do revision. If you're still making notes one day before the exam, you clearly didn’t have enough time. You should have planned your revision so that you have enough time to look through and try past year papers. 

6. Notebooks compared to binders, I really think notebooks are more useful. They give you a sense of organisation because ALL your notes for that subject is in one place. Unlike binders, you won’t ever lose a page or mix up pages. 

7. personalise!  your notes are, ultimately, yours. The only person they should matter to, is you. So, always make sure your notes are formatted to cater to you, and they are easy to understand for you. as long as it works for you, even if the rest of the world doesn’t understand, it doesn’t matter! 

I hope you guys found this useful! All the best in your exams!

[lotsofteaandcramming-blog]

HOW TO ANNOTATE [for english + literature classes]

below are my own tips and tricks on how to annotate text (fiction, literature, poetry, etc. not textbooks or non-fiction) (all links and resources are at the bottom of this post) enjoy :)

HOW SHOULD YOU ANNOTATE?

1. If you are given your own personal copy of a poem or novel for your class, it’s easiest to annotate on that copy as you read. 

2. If your book is a class copy you’re borrowing, you might be able to get away with lightly annotating in pencil and going back to erase it after you’ve written your annotations on separate notes.

3. You can also write on sticky notes and attach them to the pages where they are relevant. 

4. If none of these appeal to you, scribble everything you make note of as you read and write out neater notes after. 

Since I usually have to borrow copies of novels for my English class, I have two steps of annotating; I first read and scribble down everything that comes to mind. Then I’ll write out a more structured copy of my annotations.

This doesn’t apply to everyone, but since my teacher likes to have class discussions about the book/poem, I also leave a section in my notes for writing things talked about in these discussions.

THE TWELVE “TICS”

My English teacher taught me this trick and I always use it when annotating. TICS stands for the T’s, I’s, C’s and S’s of literary devices:

Tone - looking for clues in the speaker and general mood of the story/poem.

Title - not always necessary, but sometimes chapter titles or the main title of a poem/novel are ambiguous or relate to the theme.

Imagery - metaphors, similes, personification, etc.

Irony - kind of like title, it’s not always necessary but it’s still a good idea to look out for it.

Connotation - a meaning of a word that isn’t a literal definition but is implied or relates to it. for example the word mother implies love, kindness, childhood, etc.

Contrast - this is one of the main things to look out for and it can be applied to characters, setting, symbols, etc.

Character - another huge category to look out for; you can write down anything relating to character development, symbolism, conflict, etc.

Conflict - internal conflicts vs external conflict. usually more relevant in literature but can be applied to poetry.

Symbolism - for most, symbolism is the easiest to pick out and it ties in with theme and imagery.

Setting - another main topic. you can take note of symbolism, contrast, irony and imagery in the setting.

Syntax - the same thing as sentence fluency, usually more relevant in poetry but can be applied to literature.

Structure - how a novel or poem is structured by lines, paragraphs, chapters, beginning middle end, etc.

SUMMARIZING

I like to summarize each chapter of a novel on a large pad of to-do list sticky notes. This way it’s brief, it allows me to focus on the most important events, and I can keep it posted on my notes sheets from each chapter.

COLOUR CODING

I love using a colour system to add to my notes. The T’s, I’s, C’s and S’s in “TICS” are all coded a different colour, but you can decide on any colour scheme you want.

KEY QUOTES AND SYMBOLS

Most poems and novels have a downloadable PDF online. I always keep a PDF copy of the piece I’m annotating on my laptop so I can look up key phrases and words. 

If you have a Mac, whenever you open a PDF there’s a little search bar in the top right corner where you can type in key words or phrases and it will give you the pages they are on. I like to do this when I need to expand on a certain symbol or motif and I need some quotes related to it.

You can also email PDF files to your iPhone, iPad, etc. and open it in iBooks. You can actually annotate any text/book in iBooks by highlighting with different colours and writing small notes about the book.

RESOURCES

I LOVE this video on how to annotate by @studyign on studytube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muZcJXlfCWs

How to Annotate 3 Ways: http://a-vce-blog.tumblr.com/post/135418517521/3-ways-to-annotate-your-english-text