How To Start a Class and Earn a Good Grade

Afraid? Not I.

Obvious steps are often overlooked at the start of a class.

Create a folder on the computer (Windows) for each class being taken.

Save a copy of the syllabus in that folder. The syllabus is actually a contract, so the details matter.

Read the syllabus carefully and mark the assignment due dates on your paper or computer calendar. I prefer a computer calendar because the due dates pop up with the sound of a cracking whip. Maintain just one calendar - not two or three.

Obtain the textbook(s) immediately. They can often be obtained cheaply by knowing the ISBN number, which is the Social Security number for every single book, every single edition of it.

Start immediately on the course and mark the first week's requirements on your 21-segment planning sheet.

Do NOT work on the homework at the last minute, but start at once on any written assignment.

Procrastinators like me - start this way.
English folder - created.
Syllabus saved in folder - done.
Open up Word a file and name it - engwk1.
Copy and paste the explanation of the assignment onto the first page. Erase that when completed.
A good start would be creating a title and a rough outline of the work to be done. Save.

Late work will earn a zero. Note that in the syllabus. Plan ahead and there will be no zeros.

Assume that you be in each class on time, except for sickness and schedule conflicts. Poor attendance guarantees a poor grade. There is an official guideline for an automatic fail. Some have achieved that goal.

Do not bring your digital toys and play with them in class. I will confiscate them for the semester if that happens, and that will be in each syllabus.

Take plenty of careful notes in class, using the original Notebook - the paper kind. Some people type and save their notes because it helps them remember.

"Taking notes means never having to say - I'm sorry - when is that due?" (Love Story) Or - "Are you kidding me, that was due?"

Participation makes a class much more interesting. Be prepared to ask and answer questions. Derailing a class is an old trick, one which Boomers practiced with skill. So beware of scams, because we invented half of them.

We use Populi, an excellent online learning platform. You are required to open it up regularly for all messages, grade reports, assignments, and additional directions.

Time Management Slide Show Graphics

Time Management Is the Primary Factor in Earning a Diploma

The first step in time management is to identify and reduce time-wasting activities, too much -

1. Talking to friends,
2. Listening to music,
3. Texting and tweeting,
4. Playing video games,
5. Watching TV,
6. Dealing with trivia to avoid major responsibilities or scary homework.

Cleaning up clutter around us is another good idea.
Getting Things Done.

But this is the best idea of all, and it changed how I planned and worked.

There are 168 hours in the week, seven days with three segments in each one - morning, afternoon, and evening.

Plan according to the 21 segments, to get one major effort done for each span of time, instead of starting each one with trivial or time-wasting activities. The trivial matters (like tweeting and paying bills) will get done anyway. All of us procrastinators know that trivia can be used to put things off for days and weeks.

Some segments are used for hobbies, relaxation, sports, church, and so forth. So the question to ask for each part of the day is this - What job am I getting done first?

Believe it or not, some students do not consider coming to class a priority. Others come to class with their digital toys, making college the most expensive recess on the planet.

Weekly Tasks Chart: There are 21 periods of time in a week, when pictured this way. If one major project is finished during each period, there will be 21 episodes of satisfaction at the end of the week. Many projects need more periods, so Monday morning (for example) can be: Do research for paper. Another segment is for the outline. Another for the first draft.

Create your own chart in Word.
Fill in the segments.
Doing a major task in each segment
becomes a good habit.

Simply Good Writing - Introduction to the Blog

A college degree is a writing degree.
Breanna Lynn Page graduated as the valedictorian,
summa cum laude, in 2013.

I have the best of jobs and the worst of jobs. Everyone has to learn how to write better and more efficiently to graduate from college. Most people see writing and composition classes as the worst possible form of torture. Making English composition required only increases the pain.

On the other hand, relatively few professors like to teach English composition and this subject will never lack in demand. That is especially true since few students enter college today with the necessary skills to finish the degree. Yale University began offering remedial reading and writing classes to its new students over 20 years ago.

Writing is especially valuable today because of global communication and work teams. Someone involved in Christian ministry can broadcast, blog, tweet, and email the Gospel all over the world.

Written communication is the most coherent form of expressing thought, so it is necessarily the most difficult kind.

• Simply thinking is disorderly, chaotic, with intrusive thoughts and distractions.
• Conversation is verbose, full of incomplete sentences, diversions, and dead ends.
• Writing is focused, coherent, concise, and thematic.

Many do not know the basics of good writing, so I created this blog to store resources for students to use.