08.23.17 // So it turns out that my school cafeteria actually has the best brownies in existence

What measures are taken to secure the building ?

Are the walls thin? Brief info of who lives in the building. Are they college kids? People that work through the day? Elderly? Is it a mix? Where does the garbage go?

when and for what reasons are your landlords allowed to enter your home? how much of a notice should they give you before entering?

can the landlord make modifications to your home or apartment without your approval? to what extent?

what are the options and conditions for breaking your lease early if there’s an emergency? (this is ESPECIALLY important for anyone moving to a new state/considerable distance where you are not able to visit the apartment/home before you rent – students get taken advantage of ALL THE TIME with this shit)

if your first or last month at the property is a partial stay (i.e. you move in on july 15th, and rent is typically due on the first) make sure you don’t pay the full first month’s rent before you know the area laws! in many states, you are only legally required to pay for the time you are occupying the property

is renter’s insurance necessary? many apartments want at least 30k coverage, which can run a couple hundred dollars extra per year

-ask if there’s been any consistent/frequent trouble with electricity/internet connectivity/cable if you have it

-what KIND of electricity? 

-what kind of heating (hot water/electric)

-how secure is the neighborhood (if you don’t know) 

- Do they have a policy on rent increases? (Also check if there’s a legal limit to rent increases in the area).

- Are utilities paid in a separate check or with the rent?

- Are utilities metered or pro-rated (in older buildings it’s common to be charged by square footage and/or number of occupants, which can leave you subsidizing the people who turn the a/c down to 60 in the summer or the heat up to 80 in the winter - you may not be able to avoid this but it’s worth trying).

- Are there any switched circuits in the apartment. Buildings built in the late sixties through the early eighties often have switched circuits. If they do, then with the number of devices used these days you will probably have to have something important on the switched circuit - tape the switch in the on position! (Trust me).

- What are the rules on hanging pictures?

- Who is responsible for paying for and replacing bulbs in permanent fixtures? If it’s you and there’s a fixture with weird/unusual bulbs (globe style, chandelier style, etc) ask where you can buy the bulbs.

If you think you’re doing as much as you can when you study and your grades don’t reflect the effort you’re putting in, these tips might be the key

keep your energy up: it’s no use studying if you’re too tired to process the information, after all so before you start studying make sure that you aren’t feeling sluggish or tired. To combat this, I recommend:

exercise: do 10 pushups, jumping jacks, or dance around for a few minutes before you start working or anytime you catch yourself drifting

eat something: one of the best things to do if you’re sluggish is to drink water. Keep water by you while you study and eat some healthy foods like apples, bananas, and almonds.

be smart about where you study: don’t study in bed!!!! Your brain associates your bed with sleep and you will feel tired if you study in bed. Find a quiet, well lit area with lots of room for the most effective studying. Make sure you have water (and food) on hand. The ambiance of where you study is also very important:

don’t listen to music: you might think that you study better when listening to music, but  you don’t. It’s been proven that listening to music while working is a form of multitasking, which slows down your efficiency. If you really want to listen to music, listen to instrumental music or songs you don’t know and a low volume. I personally like listening to ambiance noises when I’m studying.

lighting is important: a dark studying environment isn’t helpful for obvious reasons. Turn on a lamp to keep you awake and alert. (Make sure you turn the brightness down on your electronics, though. The strain put on your eyes by bright blue light does more harm than good).

draw up a plan: have 3 subjects to study for? It looks a lot less daunting if you break it up into manageable chunks. Maybe decide to study chemistry for 30 minutes then move on to math for an hour. Plan this out several days in advance so that you can have something of a weekly schedule. Beyond that, plan how you’re going to study for the subject. For example, plan to read your math notes then do a practice quiz instead of just giving an amount of time.

put away distractions: all the studying advice in the world can’t help you if you’re getting distracted every few minutes by your phone. Put it in another room or with your parents or use an app to block procrastination. Close extra tabs, clear clutter from your study space, and turn off your notifications. Be ruthless in clearing away distractions.

study smart: I’ve talked about this before, but being an active studyer is way more helpful than being passive. Passive studying is reading your textbook or notes without engaging in any other way. A way to actively study a textbook could be to highlight as you go through or to take notes. The best ways to actively study are to teach someone else and to do practice tests (some more examples are making study guides and working out problems out loud).

understanding is key: understanding the material goes a long way in preparing you because pure memorization without understanding is how people study for hours and still fail. A good rule of thumb to see if you understand a topic is if you can teach it, you know it. However, with things you need to memorize like formulas and vocabulary, study those (my favorite way is to create acrostics) a little every day.

use different methods for one topic: even if you’re actively studying, using one method can become horribly monotonous. Plus, if you attack from all angles you have a much better chance at understanding. Make flashcards to go along with notes, draw charts and diagrams, and make mind maps.

watch videos and get outside help: there are a lot of credible websites out there like Khan Academy and Crash Course if you need an extra lesson on a topic you haven’t quite mastered.

take breaks: space out your studying! Maybe later I’ll make a post on how to cram, but a big reason cramming isn’t as advantageous is that you can’t break up your studying. 15 minutes every day is a lot of cumulative studying and way better than studying 3 hours in a panic the day before. Taking breaks during a longer studying session is also helpful. I like to utilize the pomodoro method, which is longer study sessions broken up by short breaks. 

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Classes start tomorrow so I’m getting as prepared as I can with my readings and supplies. Also, an internship for a publishing company that I really want to work for just opened up, so I’ll be trying my best to apply for that as well! I have a meeting with the career center on Friday so I’ll have my cover letter ready for revision then. Another goal for today is to submit more things to my college’s lit mag, I already sent in two things but I don’t think they’re the best. So I’m going to send in a few more things just to be sure I have an okay-chance of getting accepted.

finals.

Hello! So I’ve just finished my first semester of my second year at University, and this was the first time where I had more essays than exams (5 essays, 1 exam). As a result, I would like to share some tips regarding essays and I hope these can help!

-Disclaimer: I study Politics and International Relations, so some of the advice I give may not be suitable for your discipline/subject of study, so please bear that in mind.

-Look at the questions at the beginning of the semester! If you are able to access a syllabus or course guide they should be listed! It gives you an idea as to what to expect from your lectures and seminars and can allow you to relate the content you learn back to the question. 

-If you have chosen a question you want to answer, start preparing once the corresponding lecture and seminars have taken place. This can be through additional readings, looking over your notes so you can make a plan. Preparing early was one of the things that stopped me from having burnout when I was writing up my assignments. 

-Talk to both your lecturer and seminar leader. I can’t stress enough how important this is!! They are there because they want to help you, and are open to answering anything you may have to ask, especially if you aren’t confident enough to ask questions in lectures! For my second International Politics essay, I was able to discuss both a plan and determine what I wanted to study for my final year dissertation. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

-Make a plan. Some tips I learnt in order to make a good plan was to ensure that every point I covered had a sentence at the end that relates back to the question you are answering. Also, the plan should be brief and quickly go over your arguments. In addition, you should have a rough introduction and conclusion that states your thesis and how your essay intends to prove this. 

-Additional Readings. I was privileged in the sense that for the modules I was taking, there were tons of additional readings available to me each week in the syllabi, which helps immensely regarding both exams and essays. So, if you also are lucky, look through the lists! Most of the time, you don’t need to look further for scholarly sources to cite in your assessment. However, if this isn’t the case for you, you should look at your required readings and see who the scholars have cited, which has also provided useful for me. Also, consult your library for help on any databases or search engines that might be useful for your discipline/subject of study. 

-Write your conclusion first. It always helps to know how your essay should end. Being able to reflect on what your arguments should achieve allows you to remind yourself of your thesis. It stops you from losing focus on the question you are answering.

-Your introduction should be a roadmap of your essay. By this, I mean clearly state your thesis and the arguments that will be discussed in the essay.

-Write out your argument on paper first, then type it up. This by far became the most important thing for me when writing out my essays. What I did was state the argument at the top of a piece of paper, and went through the details using bullet points. With a different coloured pen, I would add the necessary citations underneath the bullet points. This helps you to understand what you’re trying to say before actually saying it, and can stop you from looking at the computer screen for a while without typing anything. 

-Remember that to think critically, you need to establish a dialogue between you and the scholars. Whether you agree or disagree with what they are saying, their inclusion should mean that there is something important that supports your thesis. Question what the scholars say: what are their underlying arguments for a particular point? Do they subscribe to a particular ideology/theory? This can all impact on your thesis and its strength. 

Additional tips:

Proofread: no explanation necessary.

Reference and cite the scholars correctly: I use a reference manager called Mendeley, which has a Microsoft Office extension that generates the bibliography for me!

Make sure you organise your time correctly: Writing little and often was my preferred method because I was able to write my arguments at a comfortable pace without feeling pressured.

When you get your results back, talk to your lecturer/seminar leader: This applies regardless of whether your mark is good or bad. Talking in person helps you make sense of what went right and what went wrong.

Don’t pressure yourself: Most of the time this is easier said than done but it really matters. Write for 30 minutes, take a 5-10 minute break, and repeat. Eat healthy snacks, listen to good music and take a deep breath.