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Originally Posted by Perna
If the "standard" ways of studying do not work for you; ditch them and invent your own. I had to rewrite a paper 3-4 times to get my grade up, getting it more "right" each time (and it was supposed to be rehashing exactly what the book said without plagiarizing) and on the third try I was so bored/disgusted I spent the entire weekend writing it (5+ pages) in verse  |
A paper in verse... sounds interesting! Problem with me is even being able to write it the first time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Perna
I rarely read the textbooks for courses; I just went to online sites about the subject and read and commented in my online classroom and in my own spaces/journals and asked my own questions and wondered things and answered my own questions and wrote little blurbs answering questions from the book/sites, etc. When it came time to write a paper, I knew what interested me, I'd found some off-the-wall interesting/difficult aspect of the subject (I often bought the professor's doctoral thesis, quoted from it and then refuted what they'd said :-) and wrote a wonderful thesis statement then had at it, easy as pie (especially since I was required to write 3-6 papers a semester usually; it was an online university so everything was written).
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I recall really disliking some textbooks, but one the whole, they do tend to be pretty decent. I do enjoy looking up information and researching on my own, though.
Refuting theses... any of them not so happy about that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Perna
I suspect you did okay in the final because it was "final" and you'd lived through the course and remembered all the stuff as you wandered through. Sounds like you are better with "whole" things instead of one thing at a time; lots of people I think study for a test and don't see how that information applies to the next bit! They more or less forget the first bit, learn the second bit, forget the second bit, learn the third bit and then are in trouble when they have to have an exam on all three bits.
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Oh yeah, I tend to pay attention in class and take notes. Since I find the subject interesting, it's not a problem. (Although with this course, I can barely focus on what's said, I'm so busy trying to write everything down. Had I read the book, I'd probably know what to write and what was redundant.) Also, the finals here don't tend to be cumulative. However, the parts do link together, of course.
If it's a multiple-choice exam where I have to rely on recognizing what information I know, it's no problem. It seems that, in general, when I actually have to say something and express myself, I hit a roadblock.
I recall in my clinical psychology class, I think, we were asked to write about something in our past... something we'd never told anyone. I was the only person that didn't write anything; I didn't have to, and I wasn't going to. We didn't have to show it to anyone, but that didn't matter. If I tried writing an essay no one else would ever see, I don't think I'd even be able to do that. I'm not sure if it's related, but even when posting on forums and all, sometimes I have to hit the submit button before I start wondering whether it's worth it to post. And I never re-read what I write, until maybe after I've posted it. I feel like I'll just delete the whole thing.
-hurries to the submit button-