Across the Disciplines

On Doing Well in ALL of Your Classes / Professor Lynn Ishikawa, English

Organization

• Have a different folder for each class. Keep assignment guidelines on one side and other course materials on the other.
• Take notes in each class session. 

Time Management

• Decide on a calendar/scheduling system (online or paper) and stick with it.
• Put classes and other obligations in your schedule as well as free time, exercise, days off, etc.
• The day you get an assignment, put the due date in your schedule. Break the assignment into parts (for example, brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising, proofreading) and decide how much time you need for each part. Put the parts in your schedule.
• Have a "to-do" list for each day.
• As much as possible, study for each class each day. Avoid focusing exclusively on one class for an entire day or more as this could cause you to fall behind in other courses.

General

• Review material for each class regularly. For example, make it a habit to arrive early to class and review notes from previous classes and/or from course reading.
• Choose a study spot carefully. Avoid loud public places with lots of distractions.
• Put your phone away (so you can't see or hear it) while studying.
• Proofread writing assignments (if possible, with a printed copy).
• Try reading from the end of the paper to the beginning in order to focus more on language than content