#tipsar

Trots denna kärleksfulla dag vill vi på Bladins Times utfärda en varning till alla er elever. En okontrollerbar fara hotar alla på skolan; så var på er vakt! Den vi har att göra med är nämligen är ingen mindre än Vattenpojken.

Vartenda år den 14:e februari sprakar hans inre upp likt en brasa, matad med bensinindränkt trä. Hanen inom honom har sovit djupt i ett år men idag vaknar han till liv. Djurisk som en Gibbon och pilsk som en svamp, far vattenpojken runt i skolans korridorer och salar, febrilt letande efter något som kan tillfredsställa hans djurlika begär. Undvik till varje pris denna Vattenpojke, om du vill behålla din stolthet.

The founder of the method Philpot has a view of what should be included in every body paragraph. He mentions points underscoring the thesis statement, illustrations from the texts by quotations and explanations of how the quotes and points underscore each other. To understand it more clear and have an example of such an essay, keep on reading or search the link at Internet.

An essay always starts with an introduction. In the first paragraph you tell the reader what you are going to tell them. The host of the video decided to write how two books describes inherently evil characters changing to good under the right circumstances.

In each paragraph you could back up your claim by points. The first could start with the point “there are evil people”. This point could be strengthened with a quote from the book or description of an event in the book. By an analyze (comparing or describe a contrast) you could explain the difference between the characters’ attributes.

Another piece of the statement may be “evil people can change”. This could also be backed up by examples from the book where the evil people do change from bad to good. As before it could be illustrated with a quote. Additionally it could be explained by comparing the protagonists’ attributes or characteristics. Were they independent characters making it possible for them to change without anyone’s conformation?

The third point could explain the different circumstances of the characters giving them motivation to change. Give examples by quotes and describe the contrast and similarities between the two situations. Someone of them might have had a near death experience, making them value their lives more. That is a contrast. The other might have had a friend influence him or her in any way.

The last part summarizes what you have told the readers through your examples and analyzes. It should not give new information like e.g. criminals often tend to be poor and need to act like they do to survive. If it is an opinion you would agree with, probably you could mention a criminal in a book or from a true story changing to good when a rich man acts kindly to them; but it should be mentioned earlier in the text.

Much like probably most Bladins students, I have always been very ambitious and over-achieving, and thus, I have always obsessed over my revision and grades to the point of mental breakdowns. Every deadline and exam used to bring me massive amounts of anxiety and terror. Unfortunately this is very common today, students work themselves to their breaking points - over and over and over again.

Today I feel more confident that as long as I pay attention during lectures, do my reading and note-taking and give myself more than the night before to study, it should go well - and if not, there’s often a re-exam option. (PS. There’s no shame in having to take a re-exam. It saved my ass once or twice this semester.) However this is not, as the article could indicate, an article on how to actually be Hermione. This is a guide with some sound advice on how to study like her. Or something like that. I mean, what do I know? The books and movies don’t really tell us much about her actual study technique, just that whatever she does works (of course, she does have a time-turner to her advantage, which most of us don’t, which means we actually have to manage our time to get the best out of or study sessions).

I personally strongly identify as a Ravenclaw and even though Miss Granger isn’t in my house, she is portrayed as the brainiac in the HP trio. In a maybe nerdy way, she is an inspiration and role model to me when it comes to school-work. I mean, if Hermione can get good grades AND fight against You-Know-Who with her two BFFs whilst also having to save their asses, because Harry and Ron definitely don’t use as much brain power as she does, then I think I can get my assignment done on time… right?

1. Pay attention in class & take notes

I know, I know, it’s so tempting to look out the window or be on FaceBook or Tumblr whilst the teacher is going on and on about something boring you don’t understand. You may think why you would even need to know. Unfortunately for you, if you want to get a good grade, you do need to know that stuff. Thus taking notes is a very easy way to make sure you don’t drift away in daydreams. it will not only give you a great tool when revising for the test or writing the final assignment, it will force you to stay awake and listen to your teacher.

2. Make a study plan

Write down what you need to get done, when it needs to be done and prioritize it accordingly. Not only does this make you organized and it will be easier to know where to start (which is often the hardest part), it will also make it easier to check it off once you’re done and thus keep track of your revision (and trust me, it is so rewarding and almost exciting to get to check that box or cross it off the list). It will also show what you have left to do if you were to get side-tracked or if something pops up.

3. Make studying fun and cozy

I personally like to make it cozy by having coffee or tea from my favorite mug (a Ravenclaw one, of course, gotta rep my house) and maybe a fruit or something like that. I also like to make my notes look neat, use different colors when I can be bothered and have access to multi-colored pens, give myself little breaks and rewards and play instrumental music that help me focus. By making how you study fun and cozy, you’ll be more inclined to actually do it - because you’ll want to.

4. Get up and move

Studying is a sedentary activity - you need to get up and wake your body up every now and again. Walk to the kitchen and get some water, go to the bathroom, do ten jumping jacks, five push ups or something else. Another suggestion would be to do some stretches, especially focused on neck, shoulders and back because these muscles especially tend to get stiff due to forgetting to keep good posture whilst being focused on something else.

5. Try to use as many senses as possible

Reading the material is good - your sight is involved. Taking notes whilst reading is better - your sight and touch are involved. Taking notes whilst reading something you then read aloud is even better - your sight, touch and hearing are involved. I’m not sure it’s possible to include smell and taste, but if you always spray a certain perfume and eat a certain snack when studying the same subject, perhaps it would help you out if you then use that perfume and eat that snack before whatever you need the information for. But I haven’t tried that one myself.

6. Turn your technology off and away if possible, but if not, use the ”do not disturb” function

Sometimes you do need i.e your phone, perhaps you use it as a calculator for maths or you need it for your favorite study playlist etc. Turning it off would make it hard to use them in that case, but putting it on ”do not disturb” will prevent all those notifications and fun stuff from popping up, and thus, the thing will not steal your attention.

7. Make a general to-do list the day before

Is it just me or do you suddenly get really productive regarding general chores when you sit down to study? Your mom asked you to do the dishes, you have to clean your room, you need to meet up with your friend in town at 4PM, etc. Make a to-do list with everything you need and want to do that day apart from studying. This can then be done during your study breaks or when you’re done.

4 tips if anxiety steals your brain

1. Drink tea, preferably chamomile: tea in general is relaxing, but chamomile has been proven to have a calming effect, can ease tension-headaches etc

2. Listen to calming music: example of Spotify playlists I love are ”Wake up and Smell The Coffee”, ”chill.out.brain”, ”Pluggfokus” or any yoga/meditation-type music.

3. vent. Write everything to a friend or in a document to yourself. If you decide to write to a friend, finish it off by saying ”okay gonna go back and try to study now so if you write something I won’t see it nor reply until later but thanks for being here for me” or something to show them you appreciate them.

4. If all else fails and you’ve tried everything you can think of: allow yourself to not study. I don’t mean after trying for half an hour and then giving up to watch Friends or play WoW, I mean if the mere thought of opening a book or writing one more word is making you feel bad in any way, allow yourself to take the day/night off. Do something that makes you happy, something you enjoy for a while instead. That will give you better conditions for trying again later. Often we don’t do this because it is so hard to allow ourselves to have fun when we know we have an important deadline coming up, and if we keep on trying whilst the anxiety is building up, we will only stress ourselves even more and that time is wasted. I would say time you spend doing something that brings you joy is not wasted time, even if you have something important to do. Doing that activity will brighten your mood and make you feel better, and thus, you’ll be able to concentrate and focus more when you get back to it because you won’t be as anxious or stressed.

And I mean... if all else fails... 

Programmet kom med i dagens Sydsvenskan:

Fysiktips: Lär dig mer om forskningsanläggningarna Max IV och ESS och det framtida Brunnshögsområdet. Öppet hus på Maxess besökscentrum. Kl 10-15, Odarslövsmölla.

Vetenskapsshower av LTH- studenter: http://www.vattenhallen.lth.se/kalendarium/visa/article/kulturnatten-i-vattenhallen/

Filmtips: "Purple Rain", filmen om Prince och hans slitningar inom bandet visas på storbild. Kl 21, Mejeriet. Dokumentären "Bortom Lampedusa" visas på Kino 19.30.

Politiktips: Hur ser visionerna ut för Lunds kulturliv? Ansvariga politiker debatterar. Kl 15-17, Mejeriet.

Föreläsningstips: Finns det musik i rymden? Hans-Uno Bengtsson-föreläsningar med Gösta Gustafson kl 19.15, Astronimihuset. Vilken var världens största giftskandal? Charlotte Sparrenbom föreläser kl 19.15, Geocentrum, Sölveg. 12.

Nostalgitrippstips: En utställning om Clemenstorget genom tiderna. Plats: Clemnstorget.

Danstips: Latinamerikans danskväll. Folkets hus kl 18-24. Sambatåg genom stan av Kulturskolans elever kl 18-19. Dansuppvisningar och prova på i Lundagård mellan kl 14 och 01.

Skelettips: Pyssla ihop ditt eget skelett. Du får ta med det hem! Historiska museet kl 12-16.30. Krafts Torg 1.

Konsttips: Hur definierar vi äkthet och värde? Hur ser vi på nationell tillhörighet och identitet? "Superflex/Superfake/ The Parley" heter Konsthallens utställning som har öppet kl 10-23. Vill du hellre titta på klassiska Lundamotiv ska du gå till Trädgårdsgatan 13 där Lundatavlor i naivistisk stil visas på Galleri Milhamre från kl 13. I AF-borgen visas verk som sträcker sig över flera sekler, möbler, design och konst av målare som Tora Vega Holmström och Isaac Grünewald. Kl 17-20.

Gillar du att sjunga? Kl 14 blir det allsång i Stadshallen med körer från Kulturskolan som sjunger välkända barnvisor.

Körmusik med Nilstorpskören.  Kl 19.30.

Scenkonsttips: Obanteaterns uppdrag: att vara roliga. Skådisarna tar till alla trick de kan komma på. Men är de roliga? Stadsteatern kl 20.30. "Psykbryt med Normopaterna". Ett arrangemang av Lilla Teatern som vill bryta normen kring psykisk hälsa. Stenkrossen kl 18. "Shakespeare i fickformat". Elever från Lunds dans- och musikalgymnasium spelar kända Shakespeare-scener. Folkets Hus kl 14,15 och 16.

Musiktips: Tänk att få dirigera en orkester! På Palaestra kan du prova på att leda Lunds akademiska kör i klassiska körverk med hjälp av dirigent Cecilia Martin-Löf. Kl 14-15. På Kulturen spelar kammarorkestern Cappella Lundensis gamla och nya favoriter kl 19.30-20.30. Gipomusic spelar på Stortorget, takscenen kl 19.

Litteraturtips: Studenter från universitetets författarskola läser ur sina pågående arbeten. Kl 19.30-21. Språk- och litteraturcentrum, Helgonabacken 12. 

Sydsvenskan: Sydsvenskans kulturchef Rakel Chukri samtalar med journalisten, författaren och rysslandskännaren Kalle Kniivilä om hans böcker Sovjets barnbarn, Krim tillhör oss och Putins folk. Kl. 18.30

Sydsvenskans profil, kriminalreportern och författaren Joakim Palmkvist, berättar om ”Den vedervärdige boktjuven” - en sann mordhistoria som du garanterat kommer att minnas - länge. Kl 20.30. Sydsvenskans innergård, Skomakaregatan 1.