EducationalJune 5, 2020

Tips for Students to Avoid Wasting Time

Stay focused

The most common problem students face, regardless of age group or subject, is procrastination, an intended delay in work. Students need more talent or energy but are unwilling to meet whatever study goals they have been assigned on campus. A reluctance towards assignments followed by a strong desire to find pleasure in all the activities other than allotted work is quite ironic. According to an estimate, 50 to 95% of students go through this phase at least once in their academic career (Tefula, 2014). In this article, we will discuss some helpful tips for students on how to avoid wasting time.

Divide the main task into subtasks.

The thought of a whole task can be very stressful for its quantity and complexity. Only think about the whole assignment at a time; divide it into little chunks. For example, a student is allotted to develop a 3000-word essay; he needs to go straight to the significant figure, brainstorm the topic into subtopics, and specify a word limit for each. He can also develop another divisional strategy according to the nature of the allotted work. The trick is to reach the staircase step by step.

Give yourself rewards as well as punishments.

This approach works best. The law of any country or civilization also works on this principle. The human psyche will give them more energy to work if there is some reward waiting on the other side. Likewise, a probable punishment will restrain the individual from certain things. Therefore, students should set rewards and punishments according to their study frequency. Like, “If I complete this chapter today, I will have my favorite burger, and if I did not study today, I will not watch Netflix this week.”

Small goal but with full potential

The first wrong thing students often do is get excited enough and set a much higher target that is only sometimes manageable in provided circumstances. So, what happens at the end is much more disappointing. Rather than setting a higher target, go for the small ones. It is not the quantity of the study time that matters, but the quality; instead of studying 10 hours with scattered focus, study for just half or even less, like 4 to 5 hours, but with full potential and focus.

So, these are some easy-to-follow tips students can apply to their study plans. Remember, the work left for tomorrow has yet to be done. It is now or never. Buck up yourself and grasp this moment right now.

Reference

Tefula, M., 2014. Student Procrastination. 1st ed.

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EducationalMay 6, 2020

5 Proofreading Tips You Must Not Avoid

Probably the most important part of your writing process is the final proofreading and editing stage. It’s no good slaving over an essay, report, or other project only to find that it’s riddled with careless errors. On the other hand, proofreading can seem so laborious after you’ve just spent all that time and mental energy putting the piece of writing together.

We cannot deny the importance of proofreading, so instead of despairing, we have prepared a handy list of tips and strategies to help make it easier and more effective for you. In this list, we don’t include any of the more obvious ideas like turning on spelling/grammar checks. You should always have those active.

Strategy #1: Be mindful of errors

One of the biggest problems when it comes to proofreading is that your computer doesn’t flag up certain mistakes because, in the computer’s eyes, they are not mistakes. For example:

Don’t forget to buy your father a gift for his birthday.

Do you see the mistake here? The computer system doesn’t show any error, so your eyes may gloss over it quickly. Look more closely, and you’ll see that where it says “but” it should say “buy.” Other common words that we type wrongly, but are all true words:

You – Your

Their – There

Your – You’re

Everyday – Every day

No – Not

The list goes on. Your writing software likely won’t pick up formatting errors either, so if you capitalize something wrong, or forget to use bold, italic, or underline something, the computer won’t know that it’s wrong. Microsoft Word is not able to read your mind!

Strategy #2: Proofread as you write

One simple strategy to use is to proofread as you write, paragraph by paragraph. Proofreading a single paragraph is easier and feels less rushed than when you’re glossing over the entire essay just to get to the end as fast as possible.

Develop this little habit and your work will be more accurate and easier for others to read.

Strategy #3: Try printing out the draft

Another common problem for some is that reading from the screen is difficult. If you’re tired, focusing on the screen is exceedingly difficult. Many people read more accurately and closely when reading on paper. Therefore, printing a finished draft and proofreading with a pen or pencil is preferable, and you’ll likely catch more mistakes.

Remember not to waste paper, though. Use scrap paper for drafts, and print on both sides of each sheet.

Strategy #4: Get a pair of “fresh eyes”

A further strategy is to use ‘fresh eyes,’ which means to have someone who has never seen the content before proofread for you. Never underestimate the power of fresh eyes in improving the quality of proofreading.

As a writer, you are much more prone to missing mistakes than a pair of fresh eyes. Your familiarity with the writing causes you to skip over errors or automatically fix them in your brain so you read it as correct, while it remains incorrect on paper.

Strategy #5: Don’t forget punctuation

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the words, but don’t forget about the punctuation, too. Typical writing software like Microsoft Word will flag up when most punctuation errors happen, but not always, and it will sometimes even offer bad corrections because it doesn’t fully understand your context.

In the end, the quality of your writing is important, so take care and make time for proper proofreading and checking. Your readers will thank you for it.

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EducationalMarch 4, 2020

Common Errors

When completing academic papers, the rules of writing are essential to ensure a high grade, regardless of how great your ideas are. Common errors that students frequently make can bring research papers down, making the student lose confidence in their ability, feel disheartened, and feel frustrated. Use this guide to help ensure that your work is not losing marks for simple mistakes.

#1 – Spelling. While most students rely on spell check, simple typing errors can create issues. Sentences can have a different meaning due to the absence of a letter in a word. While the word is still spelled correctly, it differs from what the writer means. Another common issue is an English UK vs. English American spelling. Check which language your program is set to avoid commonly misspelled words. Finally, make sure to check the spelling and meaning of words. For example, they are and there. Knowing which words to use can help erase simple mistakes in your writing.

#2- Using the same word or phrase repeatedly. This is very common when someone lacks the knowledge of the words or phrases needed to express their feelings. Unfortunately, this is very common when someone is writing in their second language. A thesaurus can help, providing suggestions for other words, but remember that not all word ideas may have the same meaning. Asking others to proofread your work can also help to improve your grade.

#3 – Planning. Students sometimes are so eager to get an assignment started that they do not plan out their work. As a result, the introduction may be too long, the argument is poorly constructed, and the conclusion is missing. Time planning an article is never wasted time. It lets you structure your arguments logically, include accurate resources, and demonstrate your academic ability.

#4 – Stick to your word limit. There is a reason why an organization has given you a word limit. Going over the word count is not a way to show the reader all your knowledge to get a higher grade. Planning, organization, in-depth analysis, clearly demonstrating your view, and referencing can help show your academic ability. But this must be limited, showing your ability to be concise and reach the point.

#5 – Issues with referencing. All articles must reference other academic sources by citing the results of other academic writers. This will help you to strengthen your argument. However, several referencing styles exist. MLA, APA, Chicago, and Harvard are all different ways to reference, so ensure that you reference the way your school requires. Follow guides online to help if needed.

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EducationalDecember 2, 2019

Comma Usage: An Essential Guide

The comma is one of the most commonly seen punctuation marks in English. Some teachers describe it as a period with a little tail, which certainly looks like one, but it also has a very different set of usage rules. In today’s article, we will show you the most important ways to use commas and hopefully help you improve your writing quality. We’ll do this by showing the main functions of commas and then including examples:

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