More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Next, go back and check the question parts you underlined in the first step. Make sure each is adequately addressed by the points you just noted in the margin. When you’re sure that you have identified all the relevant information for the essay, number these points in the order that you want to present them.
Strategy #5: Check Your Work
A study system is only as useful as your ability to adapt it to your unique situation.
Never lose your cool. Michael did the right thing by ordering his problems according to their difficulty and then skipping past a particularly troubling one when it appeared. His goal was to get the maximum number of points possible, not to get every problem right. And the result was a strong grade.
Part Two Cheat Sheet Step #1. Take Smart Notes • Always go to class and try to take the best notes possible. • For nontechnical courses, capture the big ideas by taking notes in the question/evidence/conclusion format. • For technical courses, record as many sample problems and answers as possible.
Step #2. Demote Your Assignments • Work a little bit each day on your assignments; avoid suffering from day-before syndrome. • Read only the favored sources on the syllabus in detail. To decide how much time to spend on supplemental sources, remember the importance hierarchy: – readings that make an argument are more important than – readings that describe an event or person, which are more important than – readings that only provide context (i.e., speech transcripts, press clippings). • Take reading notes in the question/evidence/conclusion
conclusion format. • Work in groups on problem sets, solve problems on the go, and write up your answers formally the first time. Step #3. Marshal Your Resources • Figure out exactly what the test will cover. • Cluster your notes for nontechnical courses. • Build mega-problem sets for technical courses. Step #4. Conquer the Material • Embrace the quiz-and-recall method. It’s the single most efficient way to study.
Spread out memorization over several days. Your mind can do only so much at a time. Step #5. Invest in “Academic Disaster Insurance” • Eliminate the question marks for topics covered in class or from the reading that you don’t understand. Step #6. Provide “A+” Answers • Look over the whole test first. • Figure out how much time you have to spend on each question (leaving a ten-minute cushion at the end).
Answer the questions in order of increasing difficulty. • Write out a mini-outline before tackling an essay question. • Use any and all leftover time to check and recheck your work.
“The key to effective paper writing is breaking down the task into manageable units.”
The sooner you dispel the notion that writing is the most important part of paper writing, the easier it will become for you
“Once I have the structure, the paper writes itself.”
A research paper requires you to choose a topic within provided parameters and then devise an original thesis relevant to your chosen topic.
Research papers require original research to support your original thesis,
These essays are short, and they typically require you to analyze one or more of your class reading assignments.
Critical analysis essays differ from research papers in several significant ways: Topics are provided in advance, your thesis is nothing more than a specific answer to the question asked in the assignment, and there is little-to-no original research required.
The required precision of your thinking works in direct proportion to the constraint of the material.
more specific the assignment, the more subtle and detailed your thinking must be.
The best way to identify a titillating topic is to start looking for one early. “I work on topic ideas in my head and on scraps of paper beginning anywhere from a week to a month in advance of the actual deadline for a paper,” explains Doris, a straight-A Harvard student.
“Keep an eye out for concepts that interest you in the readings and lectures. If there’s something that grabs you, it will probably make a good topic.”
“Be imaginative and intuitive—look for unusual connections between individuals, ideas, and broader themes,”
Start General, Then Move One Layer Deep
The main reason you found these general sources is to get at their bibliographies.
the second step of your thesis-hunting expedition is to examine the list of books and articles cited in the relevant sections of your general sources.
“A great thesis typically has at least these four qualities,” explains Christine, a straight-A student from Harvard. “It’s provocative, nuanced, direct, and inclusive.” She goes on to warn: “A thesis should, at the same time, also show a grasp of the complexities of a subject—‘in
“The most important part of your paper is the thesis. Once you have a solid thesis, the rest just falls into place.”
In other words, before continuing, make sure that your preliminary research strongly indicates that something similar to your thesis idea will be supported by the more detailed investigations to follow.
often talk to a professor to clarify my ideas before I begin writing.” This is great advice. For every research paper and significant critical analysis essay (i.e., assignments more than just a few pages long), you should make a habit of discussing your targeted thesis idea with your professor. Go to office hours, or make an appointment, explain your topic and thesis, then ask the following questions: 1. Is my idea appropriate for the assignment? 2. Does it cover too much? 3. Is it too simple?
Research like a machine. They follow a system—a mechanical process, the same for every paper—that produces consistent high-quality results.
Their system is based on these four steps: 1. Find sources. 2. Make personal copies of all sources. 3. Annotate the material. 4. Decide if you’re done. (If the answer is “no,” then loop back to #1.)
Start with general sources and then look in their bibliographies for more targeted resources.
Search Tactic #1: Break Up Your Query into General Chunks
Search Tactic #2: Use Journal Databases
Search Tactic #3: When in Doubt, Google
A good rule of thumb is: Don’t cite Web sites.
Search Tactic #4: Ask a Librarian
Make a photocopy or printout of all relevant material.
“Printouts and Xeroxes of source info are often superior to books or digital copies,” explains Christine from Harvard, “since you can annotate them to death.” Feel free to underline things, highlight, draw arrows, cross out sections, or put big stars next to important points.
this approach maximizes the control you have over your information,
First, make sure you label each photocopy with all of the information needed to later construct a formal citation. For example, if you photocopy a book chapter, jot down on the first page the name of the book, the author(s), the publisher and its location, and the copyright date. Or, if you prefer, follow Christine’s advice and simply “make a photocopy of the title and copyright info” as found in the front of the book,
Second, photocopy each source’s bibliography.
You need to review the sources and annotate them with a concise description of the important information, if any, that they contain.
Specifically, read through the source quickly. Every time you pass by an important definition, idea, or opinion that seems relevant to your thesis, jot down (on your computer or by hand) the page number and a quick description. For example, if the author argues a particular point of interest, write only what this point is—there is no need to also copy down the evidence he uses to support it as you would for notes on a reading assignment.
The Research Termination Determination Procedure:
List the topics (specific questions, facts, or accounts from your research) that are crucial to support your thesis.
List the topics that might help you support your thesis. 3. If you have at least two good sources for each of the topics from #1, and have at least one good source for a majority of the topics from #2, then you’re done. Otherwise, you need to keep researching.
make three piles of my sources: very useful, potentially useful, and not useful.”
“In order to write a great paper, you really need to make connections that other people haven’t made, and the only way to do that is to think.”
“You must have a vision of what the overall structure of your paper will be,”
“Organization of thought can make a decently researched essay into a fine piece of academic work.”
