What did you think about the research process? What was easy? What was difficult? What would've made it easier for next time?
OR:
Looking ahead for finals: are you stressed? Do your finals seem easy? What are you doing to study? What help do you want/are looking for? How do you study? How do you prepare for things like essays
http://www.buzzfeed.com/hilarysavit/finals-week-as-told-by-the-office-15y6c
The research process was a bit difficult for me. I used like eight sources or something like that, but I didn’t use a lot from each source. It was easy to find sources at first, but as my paper went on, it became more difficult. I think that it would have made it easier if I didn’t procrastinate as much. I tried to start the paper early because I know that I procrastinate a lot, but I only started two days before it was due. Even when I started it, I only got two paragraphs done. So basically I wrote almost all of the paper the day before it was due. I took a few breaks between writing on the day before it was due, but it didn’t help that the breaks were really long. When I finally decided to try to finish my paper, it was around 10:30 at night. I was at about five pages (double spaced) and could not think of anything else to write. I had already added many quotes in the paper, so I really couldn’t add any more of those. I ended up watching half of an episode of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and then half of an episode of Avatar: the Last Airbender. By the time I finished distracting Kolten from his paper and commiserating with Myra about how we couldn’t make our papers any longer, I had decided to just get it over with. And so I just kind of added stuff here and there. Then I decided that I needed a hook because my current hook was terrible. So I looked up how to write a hook and one of them said to use a quote, so I looked up quotes and went from there. In the end, my paper was about five pages and a paragraph or two on the sixth page. So next time, I shouldn't procrastinate or get distracted as much as I did this time, but I know that I probably will anyways.
ReplyDeleteI do the exact same thing! I procrastinated so much and if I didn't do that, then writing my paper might of have been easier for me too. I did not finish my other half of my paper until it was close to the due date, which I also regret. I guess we have learned our lesson of waiting last minute. Hopefully next time we will start earlier. Oh, I also really like the tv shows you watched those are classics! :)
DeleteAfter Thanksgiving I did not worry about finals but now that some time has passed, it has slowly dawned on me that it is actually happening so I started to freak out a little. So I went through each class, figuring out what kind of exams I have for each class, when they are and what I have to learn or do for them. I have two real exams and two presentation type things in which one of them is already next week. The way I see it is that it isn't too horrible but I definitely have my work cut out for me. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to study for it yet but it will somehow have to happen. Hopefully already this weekend but I don't know how much I will get done because I also have a lot of projects to work on. I am really bad at balancing work between studying and working on projects. However my geology professor gave me good tips for the final exam today so that made me happy.
ReplyDeleteHope finals all go well for you guys. Good luck!
During Thanksgiving break I also did not really worry about finals also, but now that we are getting closer it's becoming too real. Luckily for me I have one exam everyday, which I think is a nice layout. Once when you take your first set of finals, you will know how to study for them next time. Those geology tips you got from your professor I'm sure will be really help for your exam. Good luck on your exams and projects! :)
DeleteI agree, I had a difficult time getting myself to be productive during Thanksgiving. However, now that I know how important it is for finals I'm likely not to make the same mistake.
DeleteI think your strategy of outlining what you have to do for each class is a great idea! That way you can stay organized and on top of everything you have to do before your finals.
DeleteI am usually very organized but I feel like this paper just snuck up on me. I was not that productive over Thanksgiving break because I was happy to be with my family and friends.
DeleteLooking ahead for finals I am really stressed for one of my classes. In one of my classes I did really poorly on the tests, but I do an amazing job on the homewok. My tests count more for my grade, therefore this final exam will really decipher how well I do in the class. I really need to do well on this exam or else this class will ruin my gpa. In order to study for this exam, I plan on visiting my professor to go over the concepts we have learned. In addition, I will be doing a bunch of practice problems and review all of my tests to see where my weak areas are. For things like essays I don't usually prepare for them, but I probably should.
ReplyDeleteI understand that sort of stress, but I do know that as long as one works hard, studies, and does the best they can there is nothing more he/she can do. So as long as you are doing those things, which I'm sure you are, you can be proud of what you've done.
DeleteYou've got this Sachi! Try not to worry yourself too much, sometimes it's the stress of it all that gets you in the long run- not how little or how much you've prepared. Just remember, too, that it's only a class, and that you are so much stronger than a bad grade!
DeleteTry not to put some much pressure on this one exam and thinking about how it will effect your grade and GPA, just focus on the information and I am sure that you will do a great job! It seems like you have a very good plan for how to best prepare for the exam with talking to your professor and reviewing past exams to look at areas where you want to improve. When you do all of these things and just really focus on the information for the exam, the grade and the outcome of the class will hopefully just fall into place.
DeleteFirst, good luck on your exam! I am sure with all your hard work you will end up being perfectly fine. Just don't stress, study hard, and you will do great!!
DeleteThe research paper would have been much easier and smoother were there to have been a more detailed outline with more specific guidelines. It would have been nice were those guidelines to have been based upon the things we learned in class. It was not a particularly easy experience for it was hard to find a place to start. However, once I began the research and my thoughts seemed to begin to mesh well making it easier. I am glad however to have gotten the opportunity to look in a bit deeper at the topics I wrote about because they are ones that greatly interest me.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think that the process would have been better off with a more in-depth explanation, especially for those that have not had to write a research paper before.
DeleteI agree. While I enjoyed being able to write about my choice of topic, it was difficult finding a starting point. I have written a paper on ADHD before, but this paper was from a totally different angle. I was going to rely on my old paper for help organizing, but the topic I chose for this project was not relevant to the other paper. Overall, I think this would have been much easier with a little guidance.
DeleteI think so too. Because we had no real strict guideline of our paper, the topic of my research paper ended up being discussed really broadly instead of going in-depth in one particular area. I was told that both methods are ok but it still feels weird because we never really talked about this in class.
DeleteI agree. I like to have guidelines and direction for my papers so it was a bit hard to go off of nothing and it made it more broad.
DeleteI thought the research process was alright, though I had a lot of experience in this regard already. I had many research papers in high school, including a 15 page paper junior year, and a 20 page paper senior year- along with final presentations, so the entire process was good. What kind of got me though, was the organization. I got so disorganized throughout everything with printing out sources, not labeling them correctly, not putting them where they should be. In the long run, this really put me behind the most. Obviously I should be more organized next time when I work on any research paper. I also think more time should have been spent in class going over our drafts/papers, just to work out any kinks or questions as a group.
ReplyDeleteI had the same trouble with organizing sources for my paper! When I read through the books I found, I took notes but for some reason forgot to write down the page number. Then when I went to cite the specific page I got the information from in my paper, it took a lot of extra time wasted for me to look back through the books. Hopefully these problems will encourage better organizational skills for the next research paper I do.
DeleteI had some trouble with organizing sources too. I used only online sources because I didn't want to have to take the time to look through books that I didn't know would even have information I needed.
DeleteLooking ahead to my finals, I am beginning to realize that the next two weeks are most likely going to be very stressful for myself and everyone else around me. The main source of my anxiety about finals week is coming from the fact that I am not really sure what to expect. Luckily, all of the study guides were finally posted this weekend for my exams and the material does not seem to be very over-intimidating which is either really good or I am just under-estimating what the exams will really look like. In preparation, I plan on locking myself away in the library this weekend to hopefully get a good portion of the study guides finished so that over the next week I am able to look over the information rather than cramming to complete the study guide right before I take the exam – hopefully to help improve the retention of the information. I also have an essay due on the Wednesday of finals week that I am hoping to make a dent in over the weekend and the beginning of this week so that I am able to take the essay into my professor and TA during their office hours to discuss some of my main ideas and then to take it into the writing center before turning it in. Although this puts a lot of pressure on completing a lot this weekend and the beginning of this coming week, it will hopefully put me on a good track to stay on top of all of the things that need to be done before the end of this semester and will help to decrease some of the pressure coming from finals week.
ReplyDeleteI feel very similar because I know now what to do for all my finals and it should still be doable but my problem is that I fear that I will have a hard time balancing everything out. I hope that you were able to finish all your work over the weekend. Good luck for your finals, you've got this!
DeleteSame here! The next two weeks are definitely going to be stressful. Good luck with your finals!
DeleteThe overall research process was fairly easy for me. That was probably due to the fact that I have had to write many research papers before. Finding resources that related to my topic was fairly easy. What wasn't as easy was sorting through all of the sources to find ones that were helpful. For example, when I was looking for an article about how ADHD effected the brain chemistry, structure, and function, I found many articles. However, so many of the articles were written in such a high level scientific way that they were useless to me. For next time, I would like to have multiple peer edits throughout the writing of the paper. I find it very helpful to have other people's input on my writing.
ReplyDeleteThe research process was overall an easy process for me. Although there are new things that I learned throughout this research paper, I did a decent amount of research in high school. Finding sources on my topic was relatively easy, the only challenge I faced was learning how to find books from the library, but after I did, I was very glad to have that skill! For next time my only change would be to find more than enough sources so I knew that I would have enough information to write my paper with, and not have to worry about the word count.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point! I only used online resources because I didn't take the time to try to find books in the library.
DeleteThe research paper was okay for me. I don't think I have ever written a research paper but if I have it was probably only one to two pages. I wish that there were more specific guidelines for this paper because I really like directions. I have never had to write more than a three page paper so it was hard for me to write that much without much direction. Finding resources was relatively easy, though I had trouble figuring out in-text citations. I really like the topic I chose to write about but sometimes it was a bit hard to expand on it. I am hoping to take a Children's Lit class soon! I am a bit stressed for finals week because my teachers have not put up the study guide for the final and I wanted to get started early. I could study without one but usually if something is not on the study guide it is not on the exam so I don't want to waste my time. I am hoping that they'll put the study guide up soon.
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