This quiz can help you build your word power and prepare for college entry exams. If you miss any of the words, simply try again in a day or two!
There are 10 questions. Have fun!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Cell Phone Tips
If you're a normal student, you probably love your cell phone. It provides a connection to all the important people in your life. But did you know that the cell phone can actually be a handy device for aiding in homework and studies, and it can be a great safety feature, as well?
1. Cell Phones and Time Management
Reminders and alarms are some of the most useful tools on a cell phone, but they are also the least appreciated.
Most cell phones come with a scheduler to allow you to set an alarm at a certain time of day or on a certain date. You can set alarms to remind you of an established daily homework time to keep you from chatting right through your work time. For instance, you can set up a beeper that goes off every night at 7.
You could also use calendar reminders to notify you when projects and assignments are due. These reminders can be set up weeks and months ahead of time.
2. Group Communication
If you find yourself working on a group project or needing the advice of a few friends as you do your history homework, try using the three-way calling feature. It's available on most cell phones.
You may not even be aware that this feature is available on your phone, so you may want to experiment a little. First call one friend and establish a clear connection. Then enter the number of a second friend on the keypad and press send. If your phone has the three-way feature, then the second call will go through and the first friend will be on hold. Simply press send again to re-connect with the first friend.
3. Cell Phone as Audio Tool
Some cell phones come equipped with a voice recorder. This tool can be priceless if you tend to forget things. You can use the recorder to remember homework assignments, to memorize terms, to practice foreign language pronunciation, and dozens of other tasks. It's a great feature for auditory learners.
If your phone doesn't have the voice recording feature, you can accomplish many of the same tasks by sending yourself a voice message.
4. Pictures and Illustrations
More and more phones come equipped with picture-sharing features. This is important because pictures can be used as illustrations in reports and presentations. If you're in the library or out and about and you see an image that would work for a project, simply capture the image on your phone.
The are several ways you may be able to save and transfer the picture. Depending on the cell phone, you may be able to use a memory card, Bluetooth technology, or a USB cable that connects your cell phone with your computer. You may have to do a little detective work to find the best method for your phone.
5. Podcasts
Right now it's pretty expensive and cumbersome to access a podcast from most cell phones, since many cell phones require the middle step of downloading a podcast to a computer. But technology is barreling along pretty quickly. With the advent of cell phone/MP3 player combos, the prospect of widespread podcast sharing is growing ever more likely. Look for teachers/professors sending podcasts and students accessing them more and more.
6. Cell Phones and Ebooks
If your phone has a built-in Internet browser, you have a whole library at your fingertips! Basically, if you can access the Internet through your phone, you can read ebooks from a variety of great sites.
One good source for ebooks comes from text2ph.com, a site that allows you to access books stored on its server. You just download a few pages at a time. There are hundreds of ebooks available on the site. You don’t even have to download any software to use this service.
7. Sending Money
There may be times when you need to travel to conduct research or to visit prospective colleges. Parents may be interested to know that your cell phone can provide some security while you’re on the road.
PayPal Mobile works with an existing PayPal account to send and receive money. If you find yourself stranded on the road, your parents can send money to you and you can send money to others (like a towing service) via text messaging.
This feature takes some effort and time to set up, so you may want to consider checking it out now, before you actually need it.
8. Getting Directions
Afraid of getting lost on the road? Google Maps may provide the answer. The Google Mobile Web site provides many services, including step-by-step directions to and from locations, complete with satellite photos and maps. This is another free feature that you should check out and practice ahead of time!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Group Memorization Activity
Need to memorize a long list of people, places, or things? This fun activity is much like the Method of Loci mnemonic, but it's also a game. This activity will show you just how easy it can be to memorize a list.
First, write up a random list of ten objects for each person in your group. A sample list would look like this:
- pickle
- frog
- window
- scarecrow
- sea monster
- chicken dinner
- wallet
- carpet
- toilet paper
- banana
As you can see, you can have fun simply creating the lists! Once you have a list for every student, you'll give each person five minutes to memorize the list by making up a story.
Have students imagine themselves standing in a room of their house. Each student will create a story, using every item on the list, in sequence. A sample story for our list might go like this:
"I was standing at the refrigerator, searching for a pickle, when a frog lept from behind the milk jug."
You'll soon find that it's easy to make up a short story using the words in order. You'll also see that this makes memorizing a list incredibly easy. Students should take turns reciting their stories--while others check the lists to make sure they say the items in order.
You'll have a great laugh with this activity!
Can You Follow Directions?
Believe it or not, failure to follow directions properly is one of the most common mistakes students make on big tests.
As you get closer to the end of the term, you should be mindful to read over all the instructions carefully to make sure you understand what the teacher really wants from you. For a little practice, you might want to review a list of instruction words to make sure you understand how to answer each question.
Getting Enough Sleep?
The evidence is pretty clear that students need to get a good night's sleep to do well in the classroom. Yet studies also show that teens are wired to stay up late and sleep later in the mornings. Put it all together, and this means that many students don't get enough sleep!
See also: Should You Stay Up Late to Study?
Footnotes 101
If you're writing a paper in MLA or APA style, you may be wondering if and when you should use footnotes (or endnotes). In fact, the MLA style guides recommend limited use of notes in your papers. Instead, you should stick to the use of parenthetical citations to reference your sources.
Upon occasion, some student writers will desire to make comments and clarifications that might serve to disrupt the flow of the paper. In that case, it is acceptable for the writer to use an occasional note. Any notes should be created with the insert footnote command on your word processor. This feature will ensure that the notes are formatted correctly.
But don't take any chances! As always, you should ask your instructor if you have any questions about the use of special elements in your paper.
On the other hand, students who are writing papers in the Turabian style of writing may be required to use footnotes or endnotes. The notes-bibliography method is preferred in this style, and you don't have to limit your use to source references. In this style of writing you may use footnotes or endnotes to do a few things.
- You can make acknowledgments (generally in the first note).
- You may make clarifications and add special information.
- You can add a cross reference.
If you're wondering about the difference between footnotes and endnotes, you should know that there is not a difference; it is all about preference! If your instructor has a preference, that's the style you should use.
Instructional Words
Instruction words are very important, but they are often overlooked and misunderstood by students during exams and tests. It is important to know what is expected of you when you encounter words such as “analyze” or “discuss” on an exam. Valuable points can be earned or lost, depending on your understanding of instructional words shown here.
- Analyze: Take apart a concept or a process, and explain it step by step. You could encounter analysis questions in any discipline, from science to history. An analysis question is usually a long essay question.
- Comment: If a test question prompts you to comment on a fact or statement, you will need to explain the relevance of the fact or statement. For example, you could be prompted to comment on a particular amendment quoted in a government exam, or comment on a passage that is quoted on a literature exam.
- Compare: Show likenesses and differences when you compare two events, theories, or processes.
- Contrast: Used for showing differences between two processes or theories, a contrast question could appear on a literature exam, a history exam, a science exam, and more.
- Define: Provide a definition of a key term you’ve covered in class. This is usually a short essay type of question. (See Memorizing Terms)
- Demonstrate: If you are asked to demonstrate, you must provide proof of your answer by using an example. A demonstration could be a physical action, a visual illustration, or a written statement.
- Diagram: Demonstrate your answer by drawing a chart or other visual element to illustrate your points.
- Discuss: When a teacher instructs you to “discuss” a topic, he or she is trying to determine whether you understand both sides of an issue. You will need to demonstrate that you know the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. You should pretend that you are having a conversation with a friend and voicing both sides.
- Enumerate: Enumerating is providing a list in a particular order. When you enumerate a list of items, you may need to specify why items go in a particular order.
- Examine: If you are prompted to examine a topic, you will use your own judgment to explore (in writing) a topic and comment on significant elements, events, or acts. Provide your opinion and explain how or why you came to your conclusions.
- Explain: Provide an answer that gives a “why” response. Provide a complete overview of the problem and solution for a particular issue or process. This is a typical form of question used in science exams.
- Illustrate: If you are expected to illustrate a topic, you should use examples to show or explain a topic. Depending on the subject matter, you might use words, drawings, diagrams, or behavior to illustrate an answer.
- Interpret: Interpretation of a subject calls for the ability to read between the lines and draw conclusions. You will be expected to explain the meaning of an act, action, or passage in an interpretation.
- Justify: If you are asked to justify something, you will be expected to use examples or evidence to show why (in your opinion) it is correct. You must provide reasons for your conclusions and opinions.
- List: Lists are used in every discipline. In list questions you must provide a series of answers. If you are expected to memorize a certain number of items for an exam, be sure to remember how many there are in total. (See Dates and Lists)
- Outline: Provide an explanation with headings and subheadings. This is a common instruction word found on literature exams. (See Mind Maps)
- Order: Provide a chronological or value-based answer by listing several items (terms or events) in correct placement. You could be asked to place events in a certain order on a history exam, or you could be asked to put a scientific process in the correct order. (See Method of Loci)
- Prove: To prove an answer, you must use evidence (this could be numbers) or reasoning to solve a problem. Tests that require proof normally appear on science or math exams.
- Relate: Relate could mean a few different things on an exam: 1) You could be asked to show a relationship between two events or items by discussing their similarities; or 2) You could be required to provide a written account of something (as in literature).
- Review: If a test question prompts you to review a process or event, you should recall and repeat all the most important elements or facts that you learned about a specific topic in essay form.
- Trace: To trace an event or process, go over it in detail and explain it step by step. You could trace an event that occurred in history or you could trace a process in science.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Cause and Effect Essay
A cause and effect essay assignment can be challenging. Your job as a writer is to show the relationships between events (how one causes another), but relationships between events are not always straightforward! They can be subtle and/or complex. You will need to demonstrate a number of logical and factual relationships in this type of essay, so you will need to set off with a scientific approach.
Alas, sometimes we have to go with logic when we choose a topic, instead of following our hearts!
You can start off by making a chart to compare several topic ideas. Brainstorm to come up with a causal chain for each possible topic. Try this with a few possible topics to see which one demonstrates a the most straightforward chain of events.
When choosing an essay topic, you may have to compromise a bit. We can't always write about topics that intrigue us. Sometimes we have to choose topics that are easiest to articulate.
Punctuating Titles
Do I underline a song title? What about a painting?
Even the most experienced writers have a problem remembering the proper punctuation for certain types of titles. Books are italicized (or underlined) and articles are put in quotation marks. That's about as far as many people can remember.
Following are guidelines for punctuating titles according to Modern Language Association (MLA) standards.
There is a trick to remembering how to treat titles, and it works well enough that you can commit most types of titles to memory.
It's the big and little trick.
Big things and things that can stand on their own, like books, are italicized. Little things that are dependent or that come as part of a group, like chapters, are put into quotation marks.
For example, a CD or album are major (big) works that can be divided into smaller parts, or songs. The song names (small part) are punctuated with quotation marks.
For example:
- The Sweet Escape, by Gwen Stefani, includes the song "Wind It Up."
Underline any published collection, like a book of poetry. Put the individual entry, like a poem, in quotation marks. However: a long, epic poem that is often published on its own would be treated like a book. The Odyssey is one example.
Punctuating Titles of Works of Art
Creating a work of art is an enormous task, isn't it? For that reason, you can think of art as a big accomplishment. Okay, that might sound corny, but it will help you remember! Individual works of art like paintings and sculptures are underlined or italicized:
- Michelangelo's David
- Mona Lisa
- The Last Supper
- The Pieta
Note: A photograph, which is much smaller than a work of art, is placed in quotation marks!
Titles and Names to Italicize
- A novel
- A ship
- A play
- A film
- A painting
- A sculpture or statue
- A drawing
- A CD
- A TV Series
- A cartoon series
- An encyclopedia
- A magazine
- A newspaper
- A pamphlet
Titles to Put Into Quotation Marks
- Poem
- Short story
- A skit
- A commercial
- An individual episode in a TV series (like "The Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld)
- A cartoon episode, like "Trouble With Dogs"
- A chapter
- An article
- A newspaper story
More Tips on Punctuating Titles
Some titles are merely capitalized and not given additional punctuation. These include:
- Religious works, like The Bible or The Koran
- Buildings
- Monuments
What Is Procrastination?
Do you put off your big assignments until the last minute? Do you find yourself doing unimportant tasks when you should be starting on a big research project? This is procrastination, and it is apparently a very common trait among students. One report from 2007, which refers to procrastination as "self-regulatory failure" (ouch!), states that 80%-95% of college students procrastinate!
But even professionals don't fully understand why people procrastinate. Some scholars say procrastination stems from low self-confidence, others say students procrastinate because of disinterest, while others claim that procrastination can stem from perfectionism.
What do you think? Do you procrastinate? Take a procrastination quiz to see if you are a procrastinator. Then let me know how you overcome the urge to put things off.
Graphic Organizers
Sometimes it's easier to organize and expand your ideas when you have a visual tool. Graphic organizers will help you identify, organize, and label your thoughts by putting them into patterns and shapes.?
Click on any image to print.
1. Expanding an Idea
Grace Fleming
Sometimes you have to start small, with a single idea, and then open your mind to new possibilities. This tool gives you a visual method for expanding on a single idea for research or other assignments.
2. Sequence of Events
Grace Fleming
It can be difficult to figure out a sequence of events until you put pencil to paper.
3. Main Idea and Supporting Ideas
Every project, big or small, will involve a big idea and supporting evidence. This tool helps you separate facts and supporting ideas from your main point.
4. Building Blocks
Grace Fleming
Many concepts and events become clear when we use building blocks to describe how they came to be. From historical events, to laws, and even to nutrition--we can understand many things more readily when we see them as building blocks.
5. The Cycle
Grace Fleming
Life is full of cycles. Weather cycles, life cycles, rock cycles--many natural events can be understood when we see a visual representation of the cyclic process.
Panic Paper
Have you ever put off writing a paper until the day before it was due? You’ll be comforted to know that we all have. Many of us know the panic of settling in Thursday night and realizing suddenly that a ten-page paper is due at 9 a.m. Friday morning!
How does this happen? No matter how or why you get into this situation, it’s important to remain calm and clear-headed. Fortunately, there are a few tips that will help you get through the night and still leave time for sleep.
1. First, collect any quotes or statistics that you can include in your paper. You can use these as building blocks. You can focus on writing descriptions and analyses of the separate quotes first and then tie them all together later.
2. Review the main ideas. If you are writing a book report, reread the last few paragraphs of each chapter. Refreshing the story in your mind will help you tie your quotes together.
3. Come up with a great introductory paragraph. The first line of your paper is especially important. It should be interesting and relevant to the topic. It is also a great opportunity to get creative. For examples of some outstanding introductory statements you can consult a list of great first lines.
4. Now that you have all the pieces, start putting them together. It’s so much easier to write a paper in pieces than to try to sit down and write ten pages straight. You don’t even have to write it in order. Write the parts you feel most comfortable with or knowledgeable about first. Then fill in the transitions to smooth out your essay.
5. Go to sleep! When you wake up in the morning, proofread your work. You will be refreshed and better able to spot typos and awkward transitions.
Good News About Last Minute Papers
It's not unusual to hear veteran students claim that some of their best grades have come from last-minute papers!
Why? If you take a look at the advice above, you'll see that you are forced to zero in on the most impressive or important parts of your topic and stay focused on them. There is something about being under pressure that often gives us clarity and increased focus.
Let's be perfectly clear: it is not a good idea to put off your assignments as a habit. You'll always get burned eventually. But once in awhile, when you find yourself having to throw together a panic paper, you can take comfort in the fact that you can turn out a good paper in a short amount of time.
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