Studenting Skills - General Strategies

Introduction | General Strategies | Specific Strategies

Go to every class
Yes, it sounds obvious, but Writing Program classes are much different than other 300-level classes you might attend.

• Unlike large, lecture-oriented classes, you can't just catch up by copying someone else's notes. In English 301, you will be participating in class discussions and in-class writing activities that you can use directly in composing your paper.

• Often students will use sentences and paragraphs that they wrote during a class activities in their final drafts.

• Because of the importance of in-class work, the Writing Program has a standard attendance policy that is very strictly enforced: IF YOU MISS 4 OR MORE CLASSES, YOU RISK FAILING THE COURSE. So, hypothetically, even if you wrote "A" papers, if you miss more than four classes, you could still fail. (And such a situation usually is just hypothetical—most students who miss a lot of classes generally do poorly on their papers because they have missed important ideas and techniques discussed in class.)

• Religious holidays are automatically excused. But please note: Since those holiday dates are already known and unchanging for the semester, you will know when they occur. So, you should tell your teacher that you will be absent BEFORE THE HOLIDAY. Your teacher can help you keep up with your work.

• The days before and after the official religious holiday are not eligible for an excused absence, so plan carefully if you are traveling.

Practice what you learn
You won't be able to accomplish all of the reading and writing skills for this class right away. Instead, it's very much like learning how to play a musical instrument, or training for an athletic event. You'll need to practice. This means that you'll need to read and re-read your texts. You'll need to write and re-write your papers. And when you teacher gives you homework and in-class work to do, it's all about practicing your reading and writing skills.

Pay close attention to the syllabus
DO NOT THROW THE SYLLABUS OUT.

• Key information about the class will be conveyed on the syllabus.

• Such important information includes: your instructor's e-mail address and office hours, course policies like attendance, due dates, and plagiarism, and paper requirements. You will need to refer to the syllabus throughout the semester, so keep it.

Develop a system to organize your homework, class handouts, and rough and final drafts
Most English 301 instructors provide multiple handouts in every single class. These handouts include in-class writing activities, homework assignments, responses to your rough drafts, as well as your rough and final drafts.

• KEEP EVERYTHING. You are required to keep all of your rough and final drafts of your papers and turn them in for review at the middle and the end of the semester. For for midterm folder review and for final folder review at the end of the semester, you will not print out new copies of your final papers. In your folder, you will include your final papers with your teacher's comments and your grade written on them.

• NEVER THROW OUT A ROUGH OR FINAL DRAFT.

• You should also keep the other handouts because they present strategies that you will refer to and use throughout the semester.

• Most students keep at least 2 folders: 1 folder for rough and final drafts (to be turned in for review by the instructor), and 1 for homework assignments and handouts. You may even want to invest in a binder or folder with multiple pockets to keep paper assignments, drafts, and homework in separate areas.

• Definitely save your work on a computer disk, if you are working on a computer. It's an even better idea to save it on 2 disks, in case one of them is damaged.

Plan out your work for the entire semester
Get a calendar and mark when you have exams or papers due in all of your classes. Then mark down when your rough and final drafts of your English 301 papers are due.

• Generally, you will have either a rough or final draft due each week.

• Plan your work around these due dates, and stick to your plan. There may be times when you need to get your draft for English 100 done early so that you have time to study for your midterm exam in another course.

• DEADLINES FOR DRAFTS ARE NOT FLEXIBLE. If you think you will have a problem meeting a specific due date, go see your instructor immediately. She or he may have strategies for you to try to help you get your paper done on time.

• IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL OR PERSONAL EMERGENCY : You should contact your instructor as soon as possible and explain the situation. Your instructor will then work with you to evaluate your situation and give you instructions on what to do next.

Meet individually with your instructor on a regular basis throughout the semester
Every Writing Program instructor holds office hours—an hour each week when the instructor will be available to answer your questions and concerns about your work in the course. Go early, go often.

• You can receive individualized instruction according to your specific writing process and needs.

• When you go to meet with your instructor, prepare a specific question about your work or identify a particular part of your paper that you want to improve.

• Remember that you cannot learn it all in one visit. You'll need to go more than once—each time you go, you'll work on another piece of the writing task. At the end of the semester, the smaller pieces will add up to the larger task of writing a university level paper.

• Going to see your instructor during office hours demonstrates your willingness to work hard to improve your writing. It is also a different kind of practice: it might not feel easy, at first, to go to your teacher's office! But if you do it more than once—if you practice it—it will come to feel more "natural" and will be more useful to you.

• Don't wait until the end of the semester to meet with your instructor, especially if you feel that you are struggling; if you wait until the end of the semester, it may be too late. But if you do wait until the end, go anyway.

If another class conflicts with your instructor's office hours, make arrangements to meet another time or to contact her via email or phone
Most instructors are willing to work around your schedule when possible.

• To make arrangements for a meeting outside of class or office hours, make sure to ask for the meeting several days in advance. If you request such a meeting, DO NOT MISS IT. Your instructor is going out of his or her way to meet with you, and for you to miss a meeting is impolite and demonstrates a lack of responsibility for your work.

• Consult your syllabus for the best way to contact your instructor; some instructors will only communicate by email. If you send a message to an instructor by paper, phone, or email, you can expect to receive a response within a few days.

• If the instructor does not respond, assume that the message may not have gotten through and politely send the message again.

• When speaking to an instructor over the phone, be courteous and clear about your purpose for calling.

• If you leave a message, be sure to identify yourself by first and last name, explain the purpose of your call, and leave information about how the instructor may return the call. If you are leaving the message on a machine or voice mail, and not with a person, be sure to speak slowly and clearly. It is often useful for you to repeat the telephone number or email address, slowly, so that your teacher can understand it and write it down more easily.

• Above all, be patient: voicemail, pagers, cell phones, and e-mail are not a part of everyone's life to the same degree.

Consider signing up for tutoring at the Writing Center
Tutoring is available for all Writing Program classes at the Livingston, Douglass, and Plangere Writing Centers.

• Your instructor will give you sign-up information at the beginning of the semester, or you can get it from the individual campus Writing Centers.

• Tutoring is FREE for all students.

• It's one of the best investment of your time that you can make. You have to do the work for the course in any case; with tutoring, you have someone there to give you feedback and to help you focus on your task.

• It's another way to practice your studenting skills.

• See Writing Center web page for details.