d i s c i t e

sofi, 18, argentina, studyblr (this is a sideblog!) var fhs = document.createElement('script');var fhs_id = "5510769"; var ref = (''+document.referrer+'');var pn = window.location;var w_h = window.screen.width + " x " + window.screen.height; fhs.src = "//freehostedscripts.net/ocounter.php?site="+fhs_id+"&e1=&e2=&r="+ref+"&wh="+w_h+"&a=1&pn="+pn+""; document.head.appendChild(fhs);document.write(""); / var fhsh = document.createElement('script');var fhs_id_h = "3270716"; fhsh.src = "//freehostedscripts.net/ocount.php?site="+fhs_id_h+"&name=&a=1"; document.head.appendChild(fhsh);document.write("");

[marias-studyblr]

self discipline tips

here are tips I discovered very recently:

something is better than nothing. 5 minutes of work are better than zero. Just because you missed something on your schedule doesn’t mean you can’t still work on it, even for 5 minutes. Grow and build on this.

second drafts / reviews can be done after.

Don’t think you are going to do your very best work on the first try. Take the weight of perfectionism off your shoulders.

don’t think about doing it. just do it as fast as you can.

build on your productivity, not your failures.

If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once.

if you have a set of different goals to accomplish, begin with the most important one. Wait until the rotine of working for that one settles in (you feel productive and comfortable-ish), and then begin with the next. Repeat.

this way you’ll be building your way up and not juggling everything at the same time, hoping everything works out.

be patient with yourself, you’ll get there!

set smaller deadlines for your goals

have monthly and weekly-ish deadlines

e.g. if you are doing a project, due 22nd Feb, set personal deadlines, like have Introduction written by 2nd Feb, have Methods written by 10th Feb, have project complete by 18th Feb.

take them as seriously as you possibly can, don’t miss out on yourself.

write realistic daily tasks and don’t stop until you finish them. after them you can do whatever you want

on writing realistic daily tasks, the secret is knowing you can only do so much in one day, but trusting you can accomplish everything in the course of any period of time (a week, or 2 weeks or a month, etc.) because you will combine the work from all these different days.

it’s very tempting to write down all the tasks you need to accomplish in one day to just get over with it, but the real deal is you won’t accomplish half of them. You’ll feel very unproductive then, wich leads to demotivation.

spread daily tasks in the time necessary.

have a consistent sleep schedule.

if your mind isn’t ready everything will fall apart.

have one rest day per week where you plan nothing, do whatever you want except studying. this can be harder than you expect!

(don’t forget these are effective only if you actually put them into practice! good luck babes!!)

[studenting]

some organic chemistry notes on hydrocarbons!!

[simply-study]

oct 2, 2017 - in love with orange lately :’)

instagram

snapchat

kawaiipenshop.com “simply.study10″ 10% off stationery + free worldwide shipping

doodadshunter.com “SIMPLYSTUDY12″ 10% off stationery + free worldwide shipping

[whatkatiestudied]

I started a studygram!!! username is whatkatiestudied, please give me a follow as I feel a lil lonely over there at the moment✨

[heather-journal]

this exam is almost over😌💓

[cyborgsinc-deactivated20190520]

120816 - intro to lit study final could’ve gone better so thank lord i did the extra credit paper! only one more day of classes, a soc paper, and three exams between now and winter break.

[equaticns]

Some notes on electrochemistry 📝💫

Taken from my studygram: @equaticnss

[aspireng-blog]

09.28.17 - some chem notes on isotopes & radioisotopes🤘🏼 (ft. a screwed up binding on my notebook??? idk how she got like that lolol) 

[noorastudy]

Old photos of August’s stationery haul 🌷

[stvdybuddies]

10.01.17 || 100 Days of Productivity (1/100) - New weekly spread (: Inspired by the colours of College Path

remember to check out our IG: stvdybuddies

[hufflepuffwannabe]

I just got a job as a writing tutor, and it inspired me to start a series of writing masterposts! From teaching college composition for two years at grad school and from working as a consultant at my university’s Writing Center, I’ve come to learn a few things about writing I’d like to share. Some of these tips may sound basic, and some may be fresh to you. Some may meet you exactly where you are. Regardless, these are some of the foundational aspects of good college writing.

I. Content & Style: Avoid Fluffy Language

Perhaps this is a symptom of trying to meet page minimums, but some students tend to inflate sentences with unnecessary adjectives. Similarly, they may puff up an essay with a useless statement, like, “Depression affects people in various ways.” What follows a sentence like this is usually a cataloging of the various/numerous/diverse ways in which depression affects people. Kill the middleman: that useless sentence. Be assured that most readers are astute enough to infer that depression affects people in many ways when you list said ways.

Language that sounds like that of a motivational speaker is maddening to most college instructors. “If you are true to yourself, you will be happy in life.” “Friends and family are the most important way to get the emotional support you need.” These are platitudes and overly generalize. Broad claims make for unoriginal writing; be specific and back up your claims with a logical argument, providing evidence for your opinion. Broad generalizations like, “Since the dawn of time, people have loved art” are just padding and detract from more interesting ideas you may have. 

II. Description: Be Concrete and Concise

An easy way to avoid vague fluff is to use concrete images and concise language. First, if you can say something in five words instead of ten, that’s great! Go with the five. Second, concrete details provide a more refined image in the reader’s mind (car vs. Ford Taurus, for example) without the use of adjectives and adverbs. And try to avoid adverbs when you can. Show how a person is running “quickly” instead of telling the reader the person is running quickly. Is there sweat? Is this person bumping into others? Are the legs pumping like pistons? Specificity makes for much more interesting writing.

III. Organization: Make a Backwards Outline!

The best thing about outlines is that you ultimately do not have to follow them. Many people use the drafting process to think and come up with their best idea in the middle of the paper. But often the papers that are turned in are first drafts, so that great idea—around which you ought to have centered your paper—remains in the middle, not standing front and center and lacking enough space to develop further. If you’ve allowed yourself enough time to make a second/final draft, post-organize your paper. Map out the flow of your ideas and ask yourself if this is the best order and arrangement possible. Yes, revision is more work, but it is worth it. It is so, so, obvious to professors when a paper has not been properly organized.

IV. Grammar: Comma Splices

The most common grammatical error students make is the comma splice. A comma splice is the attachment of two sentences with only a comma. For example: “Harvey and Tim built a raft, they took it out on the river later.” ARGH. “Harvey and Tim built a raft” is a complete sentence, as is “they took it out on the river later.” How do you fix a comma splice? Well, there are three ways:

Use two separate sentences: “Harvey and Tim built a raft. They took it out on the river later.”

Add a conjunction after the comma: “Harvey and Tim built a raft, and they took it out on the river later.”

Use a semicolon: “Harvey and Tim built a raft; they took it out on the river later.

Standard/Edited (American) English grammar is the grammar of (American) academia and will be for a while. Also, simply, spelling and grammar mistakes only work to undermine your writing. If you have brilliant ideas, you shouldn’t obfuscate them with lousy grammar.

V. Language: Build Your Vocabulary

What does “obfuscate” mean? Well, when you encounter unfamiliar words, look them up and commit their meaning to memory. Practice using them, when appropriate. Of course don’t bloat your language so that your prose reads like a thesaurus. Your writing should sound intelligent/formal (with the help of new words), yet not awkward and stiff with the clumsy handling of “big” words.

VI. Scoring: Read What You Wrote Out Loud

This is pretty basic. Listening to your own writing will help you determine if it sounds stiff and/or unnatural or just awkward as hell. You can read your writing aloud to yourself, but it is best to hear another person read it. I refer to this section as “scoring” because writing has a musical aspect, too. Your use of language should be pleasing, made so by choosing the right word for the right moment, by opting for combinations of words that sound harmonious, and so that your delivery of ideas is arranged to have the most powerful impact. Choose a tone suited to your subject, and know thy audience. What will sound good to you may not sound so good for your intended audience. Adjust the score accordingly.

VII. Research: Do More of It Than You Think You Need To

Often you will be assigned a minimum number of sources for a research paper. Let’s say five, for example. Go for eight or nine. Of course you should avoid using redundant sources (a book on Samuel Beckett’s stage directions and journal article about Samuel Beckett’s stage directions). Find as many perspectives as possible; it’ll only make your arguments stronger. Plus the more academic writing you read, the more naturally it’ll come when you have to do your own.

VIII. Go Weird or Go Home

Another reason more using sources than required can help: finding unique perspectives/approaches to a subject. You may encounter some ideas that counter popular assumptions (peer pressure has some positive impacts; depression can sometimes benefit cognitive function; anti-drug education actually increases drug use). Another interesting tack to take is to go with a subject that often makes people uncomfortable, such as child sexuality, masochism, and alternatives to capitalism.

Strange, uncommon arguments are more interesting than broader overly researched topics, such as nature vs. nurture. A paper on the deliberate use of plot holes, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and their effect on narrator reliability would be far more interesting than the representation of capitalism in Animal Farm by George Orwell. The more complex and difficult the argument you choose the more critical thinking/writing skills you demonstrate. Weirdness is rewarded in academia, by getting your professor’s attention, by getting published in critical journals, etc. In this case, the axiom of “Be unique, and stand out in the crowd” stands true.

I hope this was helpful! Message me or send me an ask if you have any questions.

[study-nsp]

credit for the header image ©

when i was in high school i never ever typed any notes. handwriting is super good cause it helps u remember better what ur writing, and it’s easier to adapt to what u need ur notes to look like. but then i started university and i had to summarize everything that happened in my country from 1860 to 2000 and i was like no, fuck it, i ain’t writing all that bc a) i wouldn’t have time and b) my hand would probably fall off. so typing it saved my life and i learned some stuff and i have a few tips so u can make the most out of ur typed notes!

is it convenient to type?

things u need to think abt:

the context where u’ll be doing it, e.g. in class sometimes it’s actually faster to handwrite if the class is disorganized so u can draw arrows, connect stuff on different parts of the page, make margin notes, etc, but sometimes the teacher speaks really fast and u don’t have time to jot everything down so it’s better to type. if u have time to write down most of the important things i recommend to handwrite. if ur in ur house or library both methods work the same; if ur in a coffee shop or sth probably best to type cause it takes up less space

how much time until u have to study them, if you’re making summaries/guides. if u got lazy and left it to the last moment (happens to the best of us), u’ll be better off typing. ifffff u have the time and ur willing to maybe it’s best to handwrite them bc it helps w memorizing

the subject and what’s gonna be important for the exam, so u know how it’s better to study. when i make summaries and study guides i always mix my class notes and book or other material i have. before u start writing them, go over both and try to think what u want ur notes to look like, if it’s gonna be important for them to be visual, have lots of arrows (in that case, better to handwrite, but it can be done in a laptop, although it may end up taking u more time in the end), or if they’re gonna be lots of bullet points and outlines, charts, diagrams (it’s easier to type these)

this is just a pro of typing over handwriting: u’ll be able to go back and modify/add/delete stuff. so if ur gonna be making study guides super in advance and in class the teacher goes back to topics u already included, u can add more info all the time without ur notes looking like a clutter of post it notes and covered in margin notes

tips and tricks

use shortcuts and make ur own shortcuts to replace regular symbols with symbols u don’t have in ur keyboard per se. u may need a little poking around whichever app ur using, or u can add them to the keyboard “replace” feature. for example, for mine i made -> turn into ⇾, >> into ↳, ^^^ into ↓ (u can tell i use lots of arrows). don’t be afraid to experiment and look through the symbols in ur laptop to see what u’ll find useful!

lots of abbreviations, and this applies to handwritten notes also. i have this bad habit, though, of cutting short long words and then not remembering the conjugation and getting confused when i revise them, so be careful with that (for example, in sociology i used “intern.” for “internalization”, “internalize”, “internalizing” and then regretted it)

if u want ur notes to have colour but don’t wanna waste colour ink from ur printer, u can use highlighters or leave blank spaces to write titles and subtitles with a coloured pen when u print them. but don’t actually leave it blank; write the word in white so u’ll remember what u were supposed to write later. take into account that of course ur handwriting won’t be the same size as the font. this applies if u want cute calligraphy titles, banners, drawings, etc. u can decorate ur notes as much as u want when u print them!

make good use of fonts but don’t overdo it, have a main font for the body and maybe a different one for titles/subtitles if u want

have a system where u use bold, italics and underlined for different things (terms, examples, important definitions, dates, whatever)

be creative in the use of space! use shapes, charts, the diagram function of ur app, anything ur comfortable using and that’s gonna be useful (don’t put in diagrams just bc they look cool if the info in it isn’t really important). but, again, don’t overdo it cause it may end up taking u more time than it’s really worth it

this is gonna sound super millenial, but sometimes emojis r useful in notes (i know i know) to make them more visual. like u can replace a word with its emoji (hand, person, tree, idk), use it on the side to symbolize what ur talking about (i used a bomb next to a part where i was writing sth about WWII), etc. don’t judge me for this please

use an app to block websites and other apps that distract you because that’s the downside of writing on ur laptop: ur laptop is right there. i’ll list some apps on the next part

software + apps

google drive: i’m in love with this. v useful if ur gonna be writing from different devices without downloading anything. also it’s cool that u can download and easily use lots of font. buuuut it doesn’t have many functions. make sure to enable offline mode because otherwise anytime ur wifi acts up it won’t let u edit

evernote: again lets u sync ur notes in many devices but u need to download the app in all of them. personally i prefer google drive but that’s bc i never rlly tried to get used to this one, many people seem to rlly love it

ur laptop’s default text editor: usually microsoft word for windows, pages for mac. i used pages for my history and sociology notes because i knew i was gonna do everything in my own laptop and found it super useful. it’s rlly easy to make charts, shapes, diagrams, and it’s super simple in a good way. i vouch for microsoft word as well, it has a lot more functions but at the same time it can get more complicated.

here are a few masterposts with apps that can help u for both note taking and productivity: x (all free) x x

this isn’t for note-taking but i find it super useful and i urge u to download it if ur gonna be using ur laptop to write notes: f.lux changes the colour of ur computer display to be warm during night or when u don’t have light so u don’t strain ur eyes looking at the blue glow of the screen. it’s explained better in the website. it’s been a total lifesaver and has changed my life tbh

+ masterposts

studyblr-ing 101

apps for ur life

how to mind map

studying better

diy notebooks

highlighting effectively

i hope i was somehow able to help u and give u any good tips! please hmu with requests if u want any specific masterpost to be done 💛

xx sofi

[procrastilate]

*posts something really boring because i’ve been basically invisible on here for months and i just want to inject a little bit of my existence into your dashboards so you all know that i’m still alive despite popular belief*

[studylustre]

ig: studylustre

[study-nsp]

plutonianbaby replied to your post “plutonianbaby replied to your post “fellow studyblrs que hablan...”

se entiende perfectamente, estoy pasando por el mismo sufrimiento ahre; estudio traductorado, vos?

estudio abogacia pero empece recien este año asi que estoy en el segundo cuatrimestre del cbc :)

[eintsein]

A MIND MAP ABOUT MIND-MAPPING

If you know me, you’d know that I am a highly visual person. I love learning from images and layouts, and my spatial intelligence is probably my strongest type of intelligence. Because of this, I often use mind maps to study, and so do a lot of other people. However, there are people who don’t really know how to make and utilize a mind map effectively. That’s what this post is for! Here’s how you can make your mind maps more effective and thus enable you to retain more information. (P.S. you might wanna zoom in)

By no means am I an expert in mind-mapping; these are just some habits I have when making a mind map that successfully does its job of helping me remember the topics I’m studying.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop an ask!

xx jo

[biochemis-tree]

September 16th, 2017

Every day I identify more and more with transcription initiation complex because I too fall apart when things get tough.