[lefeuillemort]

Things that I learned in my first year at university

1. Some people are not there to work, they’re just joking around. Don't waste your time with them and try to meet the people that really care.

2. One semester passes at the speed of light. Start from day one and try not to let anything unrevised for too long (one week is considered too long).

3. Your teachers will be your saviors. They are the ones who know everything so make sure you have a good working relationship with them (let them see you know stuff and are willing to work) and then when you’re having more trouble learning something they will gladly help you.

4. Be consistent with your routine. A routine helps you get started more easily and defeat the inertia and laziness. Organizing my day as a working day, with study starting at 10 in the morning and classes in the afternoon, helps me focusing on the things I have to do, not waste time, and also have tiny pieces of time during the day to treat myself.

5. Treat yourself. Sometimes I take the bus instead of the metro because I like to watch the views. Sometimes I buy a cake for lunch. Sometimes I take a break in the park and, at the end of the day I go on a walk. Make sure you don’t forget yourself in the middle of everything. You’re the most important thing!

6. Find things that motivate you. A nice looking library, a park, a playlist, everything is valid as long as it makes you ready to work.

7. Choose your group wisely. When making group projects make sure you choose the people who really want to work, and if they don’t talk to your teachers, they will advise you. Also, don’t be afraid to make a group project on your own. You will survive, trust me! And you will learn a lot!

8. The front seat is the best. Choose a good seat in class where you can see and hear your teacher and they can hear you. The front seat is my favorite because it is easier to ignore everyone else and focus on the class.

9. Exercise. Really! Do something like walking every day, or yoga, or whatever you prefer, but make sure you move. It helps your brain and your body.

10. Have fun. At least every week or twice a month, go somewhere you like or visit a new place. Play the tourist and take your mind away from the work. That’s the way to keep your mind sane.

[bookish-student]

How to write a perfect Law Paper

Time for some Sunday Tips for Law Students !

Here is the method I use to write my law papers. I always get good grades for them (between 16 and 19 out of 20) so I guess I’m not that bad at it. And I thought I could share what little knowledge I have on the subject.

1. Be sure to pick the right background color

This one is a tip I’ve learned from other Studyblrs. If you have to work for long hours on the computer, be sure to change the background color of your paper to mint green instead of white. 

Mint green is less painful for your eyes and you won’t get any headaches / migraines if you use it.

Just make sure to put it back to white when you print the paper or send it to your teacher. 

I forgot about it, once, and I printed my whole philosophy notes with a mint green background (it wasn’t ugly, though).

2. Pick up enough sources… but not too many !

Having a huge bibliography is always great. It prooves that you’ve searched the subject of your paper thoroughly. 

But will you have time to read the 45 books and 60 cases you’ve found? And if you don’t read them, what’s the point? Will your teacher truly believe that you read all of this (teachers were students once and they must know that we all add a few sources we never read in our bibliography).

Pick up your sources carefully. Limit yourself to a few well-chosen ones, like books by authors who are renowned experts in the field you are writing about. Pick famous cases.

It’s always better to have a little bibliography of well-chosen sources that you actually read than to have 15 pages of random cases / books you never opened !

(For Belgian Law Students only, I will publish a little list of authors that you can check to have good sources in a subject).

3. Plan you time

You will have to read the documents you’ve found. And you will have to write the paper. 

Don’t underestimate the time it will take you. A text or a book you’ve picked might be difficult to understand and take you more time than what you expected. A case might give links to another one, that you’ll have to find and read.

Writing the paper might be difficult too: we all struggled once in our life to find the adequate legal terms. Plus, you might not feel inspired to write on some days.

Take all this into account and plan your time ahead. The sooner you will start writing, the sooner this paper will be finished.

And to avoid last-minute stress and printing problems, be sure to have your paper ready, spell-checked and printed at least a week before its due date ! It will save you a lot of stress.

Studyblrs always post really good printables to plan your time, so don’t hesitate in browsing them : you’ll find the right one for you !

4. Organize your notes and documents

This is a basic one, really.

Be sure you don’t lose any of your documents. While laptop material is easily stacked in folders, copies of library books or handwritten notes you’ve taken while reading documents are more fragile when it comes to stocking them.

Be sure to have a special binder for your written material. And choose a practical and pretty one: 

Practical because you will have it close to your laptop or computer when writing => be sure it’s easy to manipulate ;

Pretty because it will motivate you to read what’s inside.

5. While writing, confront point of views

If your research was thorough, you’ll find yourself with several documents written by several authors.

You can be sure hese authors won’t have the same point of view on the matter you are researching. So you might wonder how to cope with these contrasting point of views.

The best way to do it is :

To attract the attention on these different point of views : by writing something like “Leleu thinks this… while Massager thinks that…”;

And then, you give your personal position. Law teachers LOVE  when their students have a critical position, so don’t be shy : tell them what you think and which author you stand with !

I hope this will be helpful ! 

Don’t hesitate to ask questions about the subject if something is still unclear.

[elkstudies]

Hey, guys! This last semester I’ve taken a class in academic writing, focusing especially on essays, so I thought I’d share some of the tips I’ve learned :)

Step 1: Preparation

Brainstorm! Once you know what you’re writing about, have a quick brainstorm about what you already know on the subject. It may also give you original content that you won’t find in your research which is great!

Research! It sounds boring & time-consuming but it’s so helpful. Look online, at articles & books, they are all a great source of information. And you can find them all for free at your uni/school/local library! Make sure when you find a source you want to use, you keep it to reference later. I like to bookmark them all in a folder that I can come back to later when I need to reference. 

Organise! All the points you’ve gathered from your brainstorm & research can be put into a simple mind map or list form which helps you plan out where in your essay each point should be placed. This will make the writing process much easier & faster.

Step 2: Write

Topic Sentences Before you write your introduction come up with 3-7 (depending on how long your essay needs to be) topic sentences. These are opening paragraph sentences which introduce your point & relate it to the essays main topic. They don’t need to be used to introduce every new point but are a good place to start & a good warm up for the actual writing of the essay. 

Introduction The introduction is very important, it gives the reader a taste of what the essays going to be about, the writing style & introduces the main topic. It should be concise yet give enough information to give the reader a real grip on what they’re about to read. It should include your thesis, a strong sentence which sums up the main point. I also like to make introductions somewhat thought-provoking, to allow the reader to create their own ideas on the subject but this depends on the subject, sometimes you’re going to want to be more definite.

Main Points The main body of the essay should explain or expand on your topic. It’s a chance to get your points across, show the reader what you know. Every main point should get its own paragraph(s). Each paragraph must have a reason to exist; it should relate to the main subject, develop the point and fit in with the overall flow of the essay. Also, make sure a paragraph only deals with one point/idea! Otherwise, it may get too confusing!

Conclusion Your conclusion doesn’t have to be long & don’t use it to list your points. It should be a nice, solid end to your essay that leaves the reader with an impression. Also, it’s best not to put in a new idea in the conclusion, just use it as one of your main points instead!

Step 3: Check

References Don’t forget those annoying references. They’re a pain but it’s better to have them done. Make sure you’re using the right referencing style for your institution! A quick google search can easily help with any problems you may have! 

Proofread  This is something I hate doing but is actually so important. Errors in an essay can sometimes stand out more than the good points and can lower the standard of the essay. Make sure you read & reread!  I personally hate rereading my own writing so I use Grammarly as much as I can. Grammarly is a free automated proofreader which corrects as you type. It underlines any errors and when you click on them it gives you corrections (which also helps you learn & fix your common mistakes for yourself!). It’s available for Chrome, Microsoft Office, Windows etc. I’ve honestly found it so helpful for proofreading & really believe it helps me improve errors I wouldn’t have noticed myself. 

Plagiarism Obviously, don’t  knowingly plagiarise, but if you worry that your work is going to be similar to someone else’s you can check online how similar your essay is. It can be a good thing to check before you submit, just for peace of mind! 

*some links are affiliate but I only support products/brands I love & use myself 

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[nervouspython]

when you’re proofreading make sure you print it out to proof read a few times! on a screen your eyes miss certain mistakes because your eyes are used to seeing your essay on your laptop/computer. so print out, highlight and change your essay on paper then edit, print and proofread again.

[moody-poet-deactivated20180227]

How I Got Straight A’s in My First Year of University

I was so proud of myself when I received firsts (that’s A’s for those not attending uni in the UK) on all of my assessments in my first year at university. Here are some tips for y’all to try at any point in university. They may be specific at times to my experience—my degree is in the social sciences and humanities, and I’m studying in the UK—but I did try to make them more generally applicable, and hopefully they should be helpful to someone out there.

Part One: Everyday Study Routine

Before the start of the academic year, try to get in a little bit of preparation. See if there are any syllabi or reading lists posted online. You don’t have to pour over them, of course, but do attempt to do something, and have a basic grasp on what will be covered in your classes.

Go to all your lectures and seminars. Unless you absolutely have to miss class because you are ill or have an important obligation to take care of, it’s really important to attend your lectures every day. (Note: if you are struggling with mental or chronic illness or a disability, don’t beat yourself up if you keep missing class. Please take care of yourself.) You may be tempted to just look at the PowerPoint presentation online, but it’s much more effective to be there in person. Often the lecturer may include information or extra explanations which are not included in the presentation. It will also allow you to process the information aurally as well as visually, and you will have the added benefit of taking notes too. You may also be able to ask questions.

Do all the pre-reading for lectures. I know it’s tempting to put it off, but try to work it into your daily routine (because you will have reading to do every day). Inevitably, there will be times where you slip up and don’t have time to finish. If this happens, make sure you catch up on it at some point, because it’s very important to solidifying the concepts you are learning about. Also, the more you read in general, the better you will become at reading (and also writing).

Take diligent notes (for both your lectures and pre-reading), and keep them organized. I prefer to handwrite in a notebook, as it helps me synthesize information rather than just typing it out verbatim—but it is totally up to you. If you do use a notebook, make a table of contents on the first page, where you write the date, topic, class, and page numbers of each set of notes you take. I think it’s a great idea to include your own thoughts and opinions in notes, or linking concepts you are learning to concepts you already know about.

If you have the time, make sure to be reading books/essays/articles and engaging with ideas outside of your regular syllabus. This is one of the most important techniques (in my experience, at least) when it comes to writing essays and answering exam questions. Evidence of wider reading around a topic is a great way to boost the credibility of your argument. It also does wonders to solidify and broaden your conceptualization of certain ideas you may have covered in your classes.

Where possible, try to contribute (as much as you feel comfortable) in seminars. If you are very quiet and reserved, that is totally okay too. I’m with you. But it has helped me tremendously in the past year to push myself to speak up more often in seminars. Talking in seminars allows you to clarify concepts and engage more deeply with the material being discussed (and it might impress your seminar tutor too, though this is secondary to the learning in my opinion).

If you have some nerdy-ass friends, talk with them about your ideas and what you’re both learning in your courses. I can’t tell you the number of essays I’ve written which actually have blossomed out of conversations I’ve had with friends, where they’ve exposed me to topics I’d never heard of before or broadened my view of a concept. Learning from each other in a casual and fun setting is amazing!

Part Two: Assessment Time

When you are given notice about big assignments coming up, such as essays or group projects, try to start working on them ASAP. Trust me, I know how hard it is. This is coming from someone who has dealt for years with chronic procrastination issues and nearly didn’t graduate from high school because of it. But you must start planning as soon as you possibly can, because the due date will come screaming up and before you know it, it’ll be the night before the deadline and you won’t have a clue what you’re writing about. Work it into your daily schedule if you have to. One great tip is to write down the deadline as being earlier (say, a week earlier) than what it actually is. This will prompt you to start earlier than you normally would have.

Do a shitload of reading, widely, from multiple sources. Read everything you can on the topic you are doing your assignment on. For a basic literature review, this means looking through at least 20+ sources. That doesn’t mean carefully perusing each one front to back; it means looking through all the relevant literature to find a few great sources which will really give you a coherent argument and a big picture of the topic at hand.

Keep your sources organized. I use Paperpile, which is a Chrome extension that allows you to save and organize academic sources. I make a folder for each assessment I am working on, and anything I find relevant to my topic, I save it to the folder. This will be a life saver for you when you actually go to plan your paper and also do the referencing.

Content is important, but perhaps even more important is your argument and structure. This mostly applies to essays, but you can apply it to other types of assessments too. Try not to structure your argument in terms of blocks of content—e.g. Paragraph 1 is about Topic A, Paragraph 2 is about Topic B—but rather in terms of how you are laying out your argument. Make sure each part of your essay flows into the next, so that you are, for example, setting up a kind of dialogue or narrative between the different sources you’re using. Also ensure that any point you are making clearly relates back to your main thesis.

If you’re a perfectionist like me: train yourself to remember that there is no such thing as perfect. Try to imagine what the perfect essay would be like. Can you imagine it? It’s probably pretty difficult, right? That’s because there is no such thing as a perfect assignment. Remind yourself of this, constantly. Tell yourself that you will be okay with just doing your very best. If you think about it logically: handing in something that is perhaps not your best ever, but handing it in on time and doing pretty well, is infinitely better than attempting to have a “perfect” essay but handing it in late and failing the assignment.

I hope this helped some of you! Best of luck and happy studying this year—go knock ‘em out! xo

[moody-poet-deactivated20180227]

How I Got Straight A’s in My First Year of University

I was so proud of myself when I received firsts (that’s A’s for those not attending uni in the UK) on all of my assessments in my first year at university. Here are some tips for y’all to try at any point in university. They may be specific at times to my experience—my degree is in the social sciences and humanities, and I’m studying in the UK—but I did try to make them more generally applicable, and hopefully they should be helpful to someone out there.

Part One: Everyday Study Routine

Before the start of the academic year, try to get in a little bit of preparation. See if there are any syllabi or reading lists posted online. You don’t have to pour over them, of course, but do attempt to do something, and have a basic grasp on what will be covered in your classes.

Go to all your lectures and seminars. Unless you absolutely have to miss class because you are ill or have an important obligation to take care of, it’s really important to attend your lectures every day. (Note: if you are struggling with mental or chronic illness or a disability, don’t beat yourself up if you keep missing class. Please take care of yourself.) You may be tempted to just look at the PowerPoint presentation online, but it’s much more effective to be there in person. Often the lecturer may include information or extra explanations which are not included in the presentation. It will also allow you to process the information aurally as well as visually, and you will have the added benefit of taking notes too. You may also be able to ask questions.

Do all the pre-reading for lectures. I know it’s tempting to put it off, but try to work it into your daily routine (because you will have reading to do every day). Inevitably, there will be times where you slip up and don’t have time to finish. If this happens, make sure you catch up on it at some point, because it’s very important to solidifying the concepts you are learning about. Also, the more you read in general, the better you will become at reading (and also writing).

Take diligent notes (for both your lectures and pre-reading), and keep them organized. I prefer to handwrite in a notebook, as it helps me synthesize information rather than just typing it out verbatim—but it is totally up to you. If you do use a notebook, make a table of contents on the first page, where you write the date, topic, class, and page numbers of each set of notes you take. I think it’s a great idea to include your own thoughts and opinions in notes, or linking concepts you are learning to concepts you already know about.

If you have the time, make sure to be reading books/essays/articles and engaging with ideas outside of your regular syllabus. This is one of the most important techniques (in my experience, at least) when it comes to writing essays and answering exam questions. Evidence of wider reading around a topic is a great way to boost the credibility of your argument. It also does wonders to solidify and broaden your conceptualization of certain ideas you may have covered in your classes.

Where possible, try to contribute (as much as you feel comfortable) in seminars. If you are very quiet and reserved, that is totally okay too. I’m with you. But it has helped me tremendously in the past year to push myself to speak up more often in seminars. Talking in seminars allows you to clarify concepts and engage more deeply with the material being discussed (and it might impress your seminar tutor too, though this is secondary to the learning in my opinion).

If you have some nerdy-ass friends, talk with them about your ideas and what you’re both learning in your courses. I can’t tell you the number of essays I’ve written which actually have blossomed out of conversations I’ve had with friends, where they’ve exposed me to topics I’d never heard of before or broadened my view of a concept. Learning from each other in a casual and fun setting is amazing!

Part Two: Assessment Time

When you are given notice about big assignments coming up, such as essays or group projects, try to start working on them ASAP. Trust me, I know how hard it is. This is coming from someone who has dealt for years with chronic procrastination issues and nearly didn’t graduate from high school because of it. But you must start planning as soon as you possibly can, because the due date will come screaming up and before you know it, it’ll be the night before the deadline and you won’t have a clue what you’re writing about. Work it into your daily schedule if you have to. One great tip is to write down the deadline as being earlier (say, a week earlier) than what it actually is. This will prompt you to start earlier than you normally would have.

Do a shitload of reading, widely, from multiple sources. Read everything you can on the topic you are doing your assignment on. For a basic literature review, this means looking through at least 20+ sources. That doesn’t mean carefully perusing each one front to back; it means looking through all the relevant literature to find a few great sources which will really give you a coherent argument and a big picture of the topic at hand.

Keep your sources organized. I use Paperpile, which is a Chrome extension that allows you to save and organize academic sources. I make a folder for each assessment I am working on, and anything I find relevant to my topic, I save it to the folder. This will be a life saver for you when you actually go to plan your paper and also do the referencing.

Content is important, but perhaps even more important is your argument and structure. This mostly applies to essays, but you can apply it to other types of assessments too. Try not to structure your argument in terms of blocks of content—e.g. Paragraph 1 is about Topic A, Paragraph 2 is about Topic B—but rather in terms of how you are laying out your argument. Make sure each part of your essay flows into the next, so that you are, for example, setting up a kind of dialogue or narrative between the different sources you’re using. Also ensure that any point you are making clearly relates back to your main thesis.

If you’re a perfectionist like me: train yourself to remember that there is no such thing as perfect. Try to imagine what the perfect essay would be like. Can you imagine it? It’s probably pretty difficult, right? That’s because there is no such thing as a perfect assignment. Remind yourself of this, constantly. Tell yourself that you will be okay with just doing your very best. If you think about it logically: handing in something that is perhaps not your best ever, but handing it in on time and doing pretty well, is infinitely better than attempting to have a “perfect” essay but handing it in late and failing the assignment.

I hope this helped some of you! Best of luck and happy studying this year—go knock ‘em out! xo

[ringo-obsession]

Turn your handwriting into a font

I discovered this by accident and I thought it was really funny and cute:

1. Download the template from MyScriptFont website

2. Write out the alphabet and numbers in your style, using a black marker (felt pen). This is mine:

3. Scan the template  4. Upload to the MyScriptFont website, name it, set the format and click “send file” 5. Download it to your computer and install

And check out my result!

[traumbelrum-deactivated20240801]

reblogging for writers that want to invent their own font. 

[rbcstudies-deactivated20180716]

17/100 days of productivity - 25 January 2017

So today I studied anatomy, my favorite subject in the whole world. Just take a look at that beautiful cell and think about the other millions of cells that move our body. That’s who we are.

[elrood]

This is my “may-tracking” page, where I was keeping track of some habits or things I considered interesting, like hours of sleep or how much water I was drinking :) I also created space for a tiny drawing of how I was feeling that day or what felt important to me that day. ✨🐰🌲

[s-t-u-d-yblr]

Adam Smith

[imy-study]

07.11.2016 | 14/100 days of productivity

I actually studied Norwegian today, but I’m at a friend’s place and can’t take a proper picture :c

[s-t-u-d-yblr]

[studyspo-masterblog]

Last year I had the problem that I always had too little paper. So I didn’t know how many I will need and bought 15 pieces. I hope this will last a bit ^-^

[athenastudying-deactivated20220]

22 June 2016 ||

8 weeks worth of German lecture notes and for once I am happy with how they turned out. Exam in four weeks! :)

[wannabeproductive]

18 days until IB finals | 15.10.16

Today I finished revising the Biology core, started Maths Options practice, and caught up on Chemistry notes. I’m feeling really good about my progress with these three subjects!

[lotta-studies]

28.2.2016 // 1% 

spend all weekend writing notes for the upcoming test on german history *:･✧* 

[studyguideverified]

14/100 days of productivity   + TUE 6.8.16 // 10:12PM

theme of the day:  flashcards forever. I LOVE ADIPOCYTES THEY ARE SO CUTE!!! Also I have to credit Feralis for all my biology. Link here. Everything you’ve ever even glanced at in biology class is on there. E.v.e.r.y.thi.ng.  ⊙ω⊙

[chamomileandnotebooks-blog]

Today’s literature studies!