scientia potentia est

Kat, 19, England 2nd year Classical Studies undergrad @ RHUL

[post--grad]

OFFICE HOURS ARE THE BEST. 

get one-on-one help from your professor or TA!

good, real connections make for stronger letters-of-rec than just high grades

(but going to office hours also increases your chance of getting a good grade) because

the professor will know you worked hard and care about their class

also they’re more likely to allow you extensions/make allowances for emergencies if they’ve got a good idea of your personality and integrity

also sometimes professors have snacks

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME

please check the syllabus (or ask) how your teacher prefers to run office hours. most will allow you to just drop in; some prefer you to email about an appointment first. 

I usually keep a page or two in my notebook reserved for making notes about things to bring up in office hours. these can include:

material you’re confused about

material you think you understand but you want to double-check (one really great way of checking comprehension is to ask if you can rephrase/summarize an idea to the professor and get their feedback on your understanding)

material you’re interested in and want more information about

topics you’re considering for your paper/final project 

is the scale of your topic is right for the project? (can you really adequately cover the entire history of American slavery in a three-page paper?)

are you missing any obvious counter-arguments?

have you read the right sources? do they have suggestions for further reading? this can save you a lot of time poking around databases and libraries.

go after you get an essay back! if you’re not happy with your grade, ask them how to improve it; if they’ve given you feedback on the paper, ask if they have any suggestions for implementing that criticism.

other miscellaneous academic questions. this is dependent on your relationship with the professor or TA, but it can be the most rewarding use of office hours, hands down. my last two years of undergrad, I spent a lot of time in office hours (even if I wasn’t enrolled in a class with the professor) talking about graduate school, stress, the writing process, teaching, etc.

go a few times every semester, and don’t wait until the week before the exam! more students show up then, and the professor or TA will likely be busier than usual already, with the end-of-semester rush.

WHAT NOT TO DO

never ask a professor or TA to grade your essay before you turn it in. they will refuse. you can ask them for help on specifics - working out a tricky paragraph, for example, or advice on how to structure the paper. it’s helpful to send them the writing before you show up to their office.

don’t ask them to get you caught up on what you missed while you were absent (except in special circumstances). everyone gets sick or skips once in a while, but it’s not their job to re-teach an entire lesson. use your phone-a-friend option first, and then come to the professor with any specific questions.

don’t ask for exam hints. you won’t get them. 

don’t go in just to complain about a bad grade. it’s irritating and disrespectful. if you’re unhappy with your mark, or think that the professor might have made a mistake (which is totally possible!) approach them about it politely and ask how you can improve it, or ask them to explain their feedback a little more.

[mindelevator]

Making your own personalised guides is quite different from your normal note-taking. Study guides are more exam-oriented, instead of merely summarising and organising information. It is a tool to help you to study for your exams, and to guide you through answering exam questions. This how-to guide is a summary of my learning experiences in both high school and college, so I hope this can help everyone here.

Goals for the study guides

It has to include everything on the syllabus for the examination

Omit things that are not going to be useful/helpful in exams

There are things that may be very informative, but if they have no relevance to the exam, it’s better to take them out of the study guide

Basically, the goal of making this study guide is to have one booklet/notebook that contain things you have learnt in that course, and most importantly, everything you need for the exam.

That means you (supposedly) wouldn’t have to refer to any other materials unless specified in the study guide 

Making this booklet will help you to summarise and analyse information - a great way to study

Materials that you need

If you are in college, lecture notes are usually the most important material you should refer to when studying for exams. If you are in high school, textbooks are more likely to prevail. It depends on your course structure and the way your teacher/lecturer teaches.

Past papers / practice papers are great guidance for you when making study guides, because they help you to understand what will be on the exam paper, and most importantly, how you could answer the question.

Important tip: while making your own summary of the knowledge is useful, write down the model answer from the past paper in your study guide instead. That’s the way you should answer the question related to that topic in the exam, so you shouldn’t waste time putting in and memorising information that is not helpful.

For college students: tutorial questions usually offer great guidance as to what is going to appear in the exam. Putting those in the study guides is usually very helpful.

Organising the study guides

Here are a few tips when organising your notes:

Put a red star next to topics that you think are going to come up in the examination

Circle topics that you don’t understand / fail to grasp when making the study guides

Definitely use bullet points if possible

Highlight key words with definition in one specific colour, or anything that requires direct recitation

Because this is what you will study for the exam, also put down tips that are going to help you with the exams. (You can either draw a box to alert yourself or use a post-it note for these).

Answering structure / attack plan for common exam questions

Some common mistakes previous students made in the exam (which is usually brought up by the teacher / lecturer)

Important concept / clarification of misunderstandings

Remember to leave a page for each chapter and write a summary of it during revision

This will help you to understand the flow of the chapter and it is a great way to recall the information you have just organised

If you want to know more about how to take notes, here are some of my other posts:

A summary on how to take good lecture notes - #13

Type or write?

Type or write? updated + my approach

Should I take notes right now?

How to take outline notes?

Consolidating lecture notes and textbook notes

How to get better handwriting?

How to incorporate colours into note-taking and studying?

[mindelevator]

Hi I was wondering if there were methods to consolidate lecture notes and textbook notes together? I like notetaking by hand so any methods would be appreciated thanks!!

Hi I know that there are people who love to combine the two by re-writing /re-typing their notes and put everything together. I have tried that but I think it takes way too much time and it’s really not effective enough + that also doesn’t work for me bc it is very difficult to study a notes that have legit everything in it (without knowing which ones are more important!)

For most courses lecture notes tend to be way more important than textbook notes. That’s because it’s usually the lecturer who gives the exams and assignments, and of course they will put more focus on what they talk about! So I use my lecture notes as the basis of my revision, and textbook notes as supplementary notes.

I usually don’t combine them and just revise my lecture notes, and quickly go through textbook notes. However, if I do combine them, I will separate my notebook pages in two columns (or three if you use Cornell method), using one column to take lecture notes during class. Usually before class I would have read and annotated the corresponding textbook chapter, so when I get home I will add in any information on textbook that is not mentioned by the lecturer on the third column.

For those parts and sections that lecturers did not even mention at all during lectures, I will judge whether they are relevant. If they are not, I won’t even take notes of them. But if they are, I will have a separate page (probably after everything of that lecture/chapter) as some extra information.

The third column can be narrower, so that you can have enough room for lecture notes.

[mindelevator]

link to my study tips series (strive-for-da-best)

[post--grad]

i was terrified of doing this in undergrad, and now that i’m asked to write them fairly often, i am fondly exasperated when my students don’t know how to ask for them. obviously there’s no single way, but here’s the way i usually do it.

THE FIRST EMAIL

should be short & should mainly be asking whether they’re willing to write you the letter

should provide only the basics - what the professor absolutely needs to know.

the position you’re applying for

when the letter would be due

optional: if you’re afraid they won’t remember you, a quick line identifying yourself & your relation to them

i like to provide an “out,” in case they don’t want to or are unable to write the letter

SAMPLE Dear Professor X, I’m applying for a job as an English tutor at the University Student Resource Center, and was wondering if you’d be willing to write me a letter of recommendation for the position. [optional identification: I really enjoyed taking English 300 with you in Winter 2016, and I’m hoping to develop and pass on those skills to other students through this job.] The letter would be due by September 1st - I know you’re very busy, so I completely understand if you’re not able to write one.  All best, Your Name

THE SECOND EMAIL

they said yes!! amazing.

this one can provide a little more information – a link to the job posting, if there is one, or you can write a quick summary of the position, plus a sentence or two about why you’re excited/interested in the job.

also tell them where to send the letter!! 

directly to the recruiter for the job

to you, to add to your application packet

upload to an online LoR service or to an application website

99% of the time folks are fine with receiving electronic copies, but if they need to mail a hard copy, let them know up front.

SAMPLE: Dear Professor X, Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Here’s the link to the job listing; the letter should be sent as a .pdf file to the email address at the bottom of the page, anytime before 9/1. Thanks again – I’m hoping that this job will provide me with some teaching experience and the opportunity to work on my own writing. Please let me know if you need any more information! Best,  Your Name

WHEN TO SEND A FOLLOW-UP

these stress me out real bad but here’s the deal: most professors have a very shaky relationship to deadlines (especially when they have half a dozen more important ones than your piddly LoR). 

the upshot: do not be afraid to nudge them. 

often they need the nudge and are appreciative of it.

when that nudge happens is up to you and how much room you’ve given them before the deadline, and it’ll look different depending on your relationship with that professor.

GRAD SCHOOL LETTERS

one important note: if this letter is intended for use in grad school applications, do not stress out if it’s a little late. most programs do not care, and pretty much all of them accept late letters without a problem. your professor’s ability to meet deadlines does not reflect on you, and professors are intimately familiar with running late on LoRs. they really honestly don’t care. as long as it gets there before too long, you’ll be fine.

thank-yous are up to you! keep in mind that many departments have policies about gift-giving. i did give thank-yous to my three major letter writers, but they were handwritten cards & homemade cookies, nothing store-bought or expensive.

[queendread]

Right now, I’m sifting through 50+ applications for a new entry-level position. Here’s some advice from the person who will actually be looking at your CV/resume and cover letter:

‘You must include a cover letter’ does not mean ‘write a single line about why you want this position’. If you can’t be bothered to write at least one actual paragraphs about why you want this job, I can’t be bothered to read your CV.

Don’t bother including a list of your interests if all you can think of is ‘socialising with friends’ and ‘listening to music’. Everyone likes those things. Unless you can explain why the stuff you do enriches you as a person and a candidate (e.g. playing an instrument or a sport shows dedication and discipline) then I honestly don’t care how you spend your time. I won’t be looking at your CV thinking ‘huh, they haven’t included their interests, they must have none’, I’m just looking for what you have included.

Even if you apply online, I can see the filename you used for your CV. Filenames that don’t include YOUR name are annoying. Filenames like ‘CV - media’ tell me that you’ve got several CVs you send off depending on the kind of job advertised and that you probably didn’t tailor it for this position. ‘[Full name] CV’ is best.

USE. A. PDF. All the meta information, including how long you worked on it, when you created it, times, etc, is right there in a Word doc. PDFs are far more professional looking and clean and mean that I can’t make any (unconscious or not) decisions about you based on information about the file.

I don’t care what the duties in your previous unrelated jobs were unless you can tell me why they’re useful to this job. If you worked in a shop, and you’re applying for an office job which involves talking to lots of people, don’t give me a list of stuff you did, write a sentence about how much you enjoyed working in a team to help everyone you interacted with and did your best to make them leave the shop with a smile. I want to know what makes you happy in a job, because I want you to be happy within the job I’m advertising.

Does the application pack say who you’ll be reporting to? Can you find their name on the company website? Address your application to them. It’s super easy and shows that you give enough of a shit to google something. 95% of people don’t do this.

Tell me who you are. Tell me what makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work and feel fulfilled. Tell me what you’re looking for, not just what you think I’m looking for.

I will skim your CV. If you have a bunch of bullet points, make every one of them count. Make the first one the best one. If it’s not interesting to you, it’s probably not interesting to me. I’m overworked and tired. Make my job easy.

For an entry-level role, tell me how you’re looking forward to growing and developing and learning as much as you can. I will hire genuine enthusiasm and drive over cherry-picked skills any day. You can teach someone to use Excel, but you can’t teach someone to give a shit. It makes a real difference.

[elenilote]

also please remember that no one gets hired on the basis of their CV alone. CVs are used to find out those applicants that are worth an interview.

[mindelevator]

10 Ways to Prepare for a Successful Academic Year

With August’s Back To School Series on Students Toolbox, we are going to present to you a bunch of posts that are going to be very helpful. To start off, here are 10 things that you can, and probably should do (or at least think about) before starting a new school year to get yourself prepared for it.

1. Tidy you books and notes from the previous semester, and Make Your Study Space Clean and Organized.

you may use somestorage boxes to keep them. I put the storage boxes under my bed and in the closet.

you can also just scan them or take pictures of your work/essays and exams

If you don’t have a study space, or you want to recreate one, you should start now.

2. Start your planner, and create your class schedule.

You can also use the daily and weekly printables we have here, which are specifically designed for students. 

Create your own scheme. It can be color-coding, or it can be different symbols. 

Make your planner suitable and accostumed to your own needs.

If you are still at the stage of planning your classes, and struggling on how to prioritise your classes, you may want to read this article on Tips for Choosing Your Classes and Arranging Your Schedule.

3. Contact your advisers and professors.

Send an email to your academic advisory or professor (if you know who is teaching your courses). It is always good to leave a good impression.

4. Check if you have all your school supplies, and build your own organisation plan.

You should think about 

how you would take notes in class, 

what notebook you should use for each class, 

how to store your papers and more 

Keep reading

[candybanshee]

towards a gentle academic

be up front and honest about the things you do not know

acknowledge the intrinsic value of others’ knowledge bases, even if they do not seem important to you from your institutional context

do not feign mastery where you have none

respect the gaps in others’ knowledge bases

be generous, not only with others

but also with yourself

you overwork yourself at the risk of legitimizing a culture of overwork 

privilege voices and perspectives that have historically been left out of the academy

nothing is ever neutral or apolitical

support the progress of other scholars

collaboration over competition

[earlhamclassics]

Agreed.

[emmastudies]

13.03.16 I decided maybe I should use our camera to take some nicer photos for my blog! I think I should start the 100 days of productivity challenge soon?

In the photo: Arc Customisable Notebook, Kikki K medium personal planner, Staedtler Triplus Fineliners, IKEA white pen pot (with Zebra mildliners and Muji gel pens).

[uyuro]

monpoly, 2016 a6 daily plan

[studykouffee]

here’s for all the lovely and kind people asking me about my headers and fake calligraphy!! i’m sorry i kinda suck at instructions, so i tried putting more detail to direct y'all (´△｀) i hope this helps!! 

also i just started an ig so if y'all wanna check it out! !!!!=͟͟͞͞(๑ò◊ó ﾉ)ﾉ studygram

[studyign]

quick fun thing

okay fam im literally sO HAPPY TODAY 💞  bc i reached 50,000 subscribers on youtube!!!!!!! basically if ur subscribed to my youtube channel just like or reblog this post and ill choose like 20 random people to promo on my blog!!! [u could also check this out if u want but its optional] i hope u all have an AWESOME day! 🔆

[storm-lesbian]

ideas for bullet journal spreads

planning 

goals (month, term, semester, year, life)

habit tracker

yearly / semesterly / termly / monthly / weekly / daily planning 

budget

to read / watch / listen

tv series trackers

upcoming book / tv / movie releases 

birthday / christmas present ideas

birthday / christmas wishlist 

academic

track your grades

list of achievements 

class schedule

resource lists for each of your subjects

assignment list (fortnightly, monthly, termly, semesterly, yearly)

revision timetable or trackers

inspirational

favourite quotes / lyrics

things to do when bored

things to do when stressed

things you’re grateful for

lists / ‘brain-dump’

questions you want the answers to

places you want to go

diy and project ideas

go-to recipes

favourite books, songs, movies, shows

things that make you happy

things you want to learn more about

favourite words

favourite / useful websites

journaling and artsy

pen swatches

handwriting samples and experiments 

stuck in tickets, brochures, recipes, etc. 

letters to yourself + the important people in your life

letters you’ve received 

sticker or stamp collection 

books read, movies watched, shows watch, etc. (monthly, yearly)

best things to happen in… (day, week, month, term, year)

conversations overheard

playlist for [month]

expenses records

eating and workout records

[thirdchildart]

Would you happen to have any networking tips?

1. People are people:  Treat the folks you meet as respected colleagues, not magic heroes. You want to work with them someday–treat YOURSELF as a future professional and imagine this encounter as a simple chance meeting in the workplace–you do not scream in excitement at your co-workers.  

2. If it’s in person, introduce yourself, give an HONEST compliment, tell them what you do, ask a single specific question.

 Random example from real life I have used:  Hello! I’m Megan, a story artist! I really enjoyed your boards in the Frozen Art Book–wish there were more! Do you have advice for someone boarding a musical number?

3. AT THIS POINT, LISTEN.  If they try to strike a conversation, chat lightly!  If they just say, oh, that’s really nice! Understand they maaaay not want to talk more/may be busy/nervous/headed somewhere else. Take what you get with cheer and gratitude, leave them with a sincere thank you, good handshake and/or business card.

4. Business cards at conventions are good–  A business card should have your NAME, E-MAIL (or best contact info) and a link to your WEBSITE/PORTFOLIO.  If you’re contacting them through e-mail, this info should be in the signature. Don’t link them to a tumblr where you reblog a bunch of other stuff–if you want to be an artist, have a tumblr/blogspot/portfolio just for art.

5. Be chill.  Confidence is hard. Practice in a mirror, practice with friends, heck, practice with me. Practice makes perfect, because guess what happened to me at CTN?

*Me walking down a random side hall, sees Alex Hirsch*

ME, “Alex!” 

HE looks up, I just about implode and want to scream–do I imagine the gleam of trepidation in his eye that I’m gonna go fanatical?  I remember he is a person and potential future colleague and my calm, collected practice sessions in front of a mirror kicks in.

“Thank you for Gravity Falls. I’m a story artist. Loved being inspired by your show, sad to see it end.”

“Oh, thanks!” he says, and we both go our merry ways, me sort of glowing. Now, that wasn’t networking really and I doubt he’d remember, but it’s laying a foundation for my future in the industry. I didn’t get to leave a card or anything, but I was able to lead @anacrinecomplex to him a few minutes later and SHE got to hand over a very cute piece of Mabel fanart as a gift. Awww.

6. Follow up.  If they give you contact info or reply to your message, pick ONE thing to ask of them–maybe look at your portfolio, read your resume, critique one piece of work, ask for more advice. 

7. Wait. They are busy. They are already professionals with a fulltime job and personal lives to fit in around it.  Maybe they never get back to you. Maybe they take weeks and weeks.  Patience, do not pester.

8. and finally, keep casual contact! If you have NEW work or a change of status, send them a quick 1-2 line update. “I have a new portfolio since we last spoke.  I implemented change a, b, and c you recommended!” This shows you value their advice and would be a valuable addition to the workplace!

Those are my advices. Good luck!

(it’s not law–friendly suggestions)

[tbhstudying]

Do you know of any good masterposts for UK people who need help choosing a future career path and A Level choices? Many thanks! ♡

sorry ;; i don’t know of any masterposts like that. does anybody from the uk have any tips for anon?? thanks!

[university-classicist]

I have a long post about choosing courses and universities, and what I said for choosing courses is also applicable! Career path wise, the website prospects is very helpful and has a great quiz, and if you want to chat about developing career paths I can give you an introduction in trait matching theory and planned happenstance which can inform your own development? If you have any more specific questions, feel free to hit up my ask!

[imperivm-moved-deactivated20181]

CAESAR’S LAWS & other shit he did.  why julius caesar was not that shitty compared to his contemporaries. a tumblr post presented by agrippa. my sources are lacuscurtius and livy.org, but i typed up most at the top of my head lol. there’s way more but these are p important. 

law on corruption. 59 BCE. restricted the number of ‘gifts’ a governor could receive during his term in a province & ensured governors balanced their accounts before leaving a province. intended to make governors less corrupt and not leave a fucking mess when they returned to rome.

an arrangement between debtors and creditors. possessions were to be estimated as pre-civil war value, and be surrendered to the creditors at that value. everything paid by interest was to be deducted from the principal cost. aimed at keeping both debtors and creditors satisfied. wiped out about ¼ of debts. disappointed radicals. 

LEX IULIA MUNCIPALIS. 44 BCE. aimed at establishing a proper administration in the towns of italy. the predecessor of today’s towns basically.

sumptuary laws. im too lazy to date it.  taxed extravagances and also aimed at taxing ( ? idk im not sure )  merchants who focused on luxuries. intended at boosting economy and focusing on necessary things.

law on farming. 1/3 of the men working on italy’s farms had to be FREEBORN. aimed at avoiding another servile wars and boosting economy.  

idk how it was called. law that disbanded congregations of to avoid further violence in the streets. exception for the jewish community of rome. 

repairing the roman calendar. fixed the calendar bc it was messed up. with the advice of cleopatra’s astronomer, caesar created today’s calendar - the month july was derived from his name !  due to a lil calculation that was messed up, pope gregorius corrected it in the 17th century or something idk. hence the gregorian calendar.

enlarging bureaucracy. the empire was growing and so too the need for bureaucracy.

colonization of the empire. not in the sense of colonialism in the 19th century, but basically founded / rebuilt towns overseas to house the poor in an attempt to reduce the overpopulation of the lowest class - that lacked possessions. 

graindoles. caesar reduced the grain dole - he probs got away with it because of the previously mentioned colonization, and reinstated the fact it was free if im not mistaken. 

citizenship. to the anger of the aristocracy, caesar granted citizenship to the gauls beyond the po - basically no different from the italians, and to some of the gauls belonging to the province caesar conquered. inhabitants of individual towns got it too. he also started to recuit senators there. BYEBYE REACTIONARY ARISTOCRATS

taxation. IN ASIA MINOR AND SICILY HE INTRODUCED A NEW SYSTEM OF TAXATION THAT PROTECTED THE PROVINCIALS FROM EXTORTION. ( whats good brutus byebye scaptius et matinus. ) 

[university-classicist]

Two spreads in my bullet journal that I’m experimenting with this summer.

I decided to go for a goals page then trying a level 10 life thing because quite honestly I hate extreme long term planning, but one for the ~3 months of break seemed quite useful to me.

The reading tracker idea was from a studyblr printable that I have seen floating around and I just went off trying to find it and have know idea who the source was but if you know message me so I can credit them!