#gradientbluebackpack

🍀 if you're not a fast writer, recording the lesson and writing after is just as much a valid alternative. also, you can record the lesson and type up notes during or after. writing is  also valid. 🍀 the syllabus is the bible of each class and should be studied with as much devout fervor as an anxious mormon on sunday morning. 🍀 if prof says "google this" // "please read this" // "take note of" // "please watch this youtube video" ... that's absolutely going on the test 🍀 don't rely on others, especially on group projects. it may sound coldhearted, but it's your grade that you're gambling with if you assume others will do their part. always have some kind of contingency plan if someone falls through on their work. (i used to color code projects based on who was assigned things, and give the prof a key of who was supposed to do what so they can see who's responsible for gaps in the project). 🍀 your textbooks will probably cost your left kidney, but that's why finding upperclassmen that have a used copy to sell to you for cheap is valuable af. also use textbook resale websites... or if push comes to shove, find the pdf online. most textbooks don't change much between editions if it's like 14.5 to 14.6, so even an old copy should have mostly the same general info! ⚠️⚠️ bonus one because i love y'all just that much: ⚠️ if you're struggling on a certain subject, make sure to properly allot time for it. ⚠️ if you have one really terrible class and a few easy ones, split your time up so you have extra room to work harder on that tough class. it may be overwhelming and put you off from doing it, but it's SO SO SO much worse if you procrastinate on it (i’m guilty af). and don't be afraid to email your prof if you're really struggling to see if you can talk it out and work out something in your favor! profs LOVE students that are self-advocates for their own learning.

work hard, my little doves! <3

have no fear! essay generator is here.

but all seriousness guys this is so cool

you just type in what your topic is, topic type and...

boom! some topics to start you off! sometimes the topics aren’t that... great, but it’s better than having literally nothing!

so while i was at work, i discovered that canva lets you make worksheets! i figured that since my thesis statement post did rather well, i thought about making a thesis statement + essay outline set of worksheets that are free to use (please don’t resell them though!) ♡

link to the PDFs of these can be found here: gradientblueoutline

how to write a thesis... or at least the way i do it ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚

hope this helps some of you out, doves <3333

ok so

a lot of my friends in college would just never pass something in because it was unsatisfactory to their standards, or they just never got around to it, or any other myriad of reasons...

...and it’s like... literally the worst thing you can do to your grade. 

they’d often ask me for help to figure out what future assignments they can do to negate the effect that the 0 had on their grade and i had the painful job of explaining that it takes a METRIC MCFRICKTON of 100s to negate it and recover their grade, and that they were better off handing in an iffy assignment for a 50 or so.

i made a spreadsheet example just to show how this can effect your grade so severely. i love y’all this much, my doves.

to the example!

say you have a class, and the syllabus says that assignments are split in weights like this:

first of all, consider the fact that missing a homework or two is not too detrimental to your overall grade, since the average of all homework is worth 10% of your final score. That means the more homework you get, the less each one matters.

however, consider the midterm and final. combined, they are 50% of your grade, so most of your energy should be spend prepping for and managing those two, as they’re probably the most solid and non-changeable grades.

the other two, papers and projects, are a combined 35%, and are the grades that could be remade, retaken, resubmitted, etc. let’s show what happens if you get 50s or 0s on the different categories. 

let’s start with homework.

so you have 5 homework assignments, and you do pretty well in all of them. in fact, you have a 91 average for the class! but whether or not you do well in them doesn’t effect your grade TOO too much, but let’s mess with that one blue number just to see what happens.

if you change it to a fifty, your grade drops by 0.40 points. That’s not even noticeable, right? but if we change it to a zero...

your grade drops from 91.99 to 90.19, a decrease by 1.8. Again, not huge, but it drops your grade by 4.5x as many points. but doing none of your homework...

drops it by 18.15x the points, knocking you down a letter grade. it’s that big of a deal, guys.

stay tuned for pt 2: messing with your projects grades.

much love my doves, 

here's some morning affirmations for my babies.

☀ you're smarter than you think

☀ you're stronger than you feel

☀ you're deserve happiness

☀ you're cute af

☀ you're gonna pass that test

❄ may your posts be aesthetic

❄ may your poetry be moving

❄ may your juice be poppin

❄ may your vibes be chill

love y'all! here's my one of favorite morning jams to go with that affirmation toast. 🍞

- graddie

part one || part two

time to reiterate what was mentioned in the first part:

1. don’t not do work

2. doing something is better than nothing

3. doing your best and getting a 50 is better than not doing anything

4. graddie loves all her doves

ok recap over! here’s your base, untouched example grades:

and here’s the weighting:

before, we looked at how, depending on the weight of the category of the assignment, the amount of detriment it causes to your overall grade changes depending on whether it’s a 50 or a 0 (0s, of course, being more detrimental by a significant degree). we looked at the least detrimental (homework), and the second two most detrimental (papers and projects). but now, let’s look at what happens if you never hand in a midterm or final exam (blue forbid).

so each one doesn’t have a second grade to cradle it if one grade slips, like the projects and papers did. they’re singular grades that, in some cases, cannot be revised for a better score. because of this, these grades can be a significantly slippery slope in terms of making a mistake (or just not feeling like it) and letting your grades fall. again, to reiterate once more, doing something is better than doing nothing, 50 is better than 0!

let’s test this out with your midterm. remember it’s 20% if your final grade.

as we know, the example final grade is a 91.99, or a 3.7 gpa. if we change the midterm grade to a 50. say it was a really confusing teacher, the instructions were vague, you didn’t really understand but you gave it the ol’ college try and did your best (graddie is still proud of you, dove)... 

your overall grade drops 5.6 points, to a 3.0 gpa. not the end of the world, a B is still respectable! 

however, negating the midterm entirely leads to...

yikes. that’s a 15.6 point drop... 3.7 to 2.0. the difference in the drop is almost triple the detriment, and your letter grade drops from A- to C. 

and for the final... which is 30%...

remember that the original total grade was 91.99, and the final had a 99 as right? well let’s consider the idea that, despite all your best efforts, you got a 50. you tried your best, but the class was too hard and you handed in what you could. you made graddie proud regardless because you did what you could. what happens to the grade?

well, yikes. it’s a fall of 14.7 points, from an A to a C, 3.7 to 2.3. but to reiterate, you did your best! it’s not a failing grade even if the final went poorly. 

however, let’s check out the consequences of giving up and not handing in anything.

...need i say more? A to F. 3.7 to 0.0. not even a passing grade. 

please pass in something rather than nothing!!! a 50 is always better than a 0!!!

i really hope this encourages you guys to, even when things look bleak, to pass in whatever you can! when a pokemon uses struggle, it still can do a little damage in battle. the same goes for college! (weird analogy yes, but... you know lol).

never give up, doves!