Being an Effective University Student
Part 3 in the University Series
Many Arts students are overwhelmed by the amount of “free time” they have compared to other students. It is often a point of pride and laughter when a science major exclaims “You only have 12 hours of class a week? I have 35!”
However, the illusion can be fatal. This article seeks to help Arts students avoid developing a pendulum work ethic so that they will be effective students.
1. Read
It may seem obvious to say “read the assigned readings”, but this simple duty is so often overlooked that it has become a point of bragging. The goal being to read as little as possible while still writing excellent papers; extra points are added for papers written the night before the due date.
This mentality reflects the commercialization of the university system. It is the attitude that says “I only care about the piece of paper, because that is all my potential employer will care about.” In point of fact, people with this mindset should never have set foot in the Registrar’s office. A little harsh? Perhaps.
Reading is the backbone of university. If you don’t read, you will have nothing constructive and specific to say. Moreover, reading is the primary way of developing critical thoughts of your own. Sadly, true reading is rarely taught. The number of books assigned in many courses is overwhelming such that students are discouraged from reading. Additionally, students forget to linger over a text to determine what a writer is saying, or wrestle with the author’s arguments to see if they ring true.
Reading is not passive, but dynamic. Don’t be fooled though; true reading is not found in the dynamism of post-modern critical theory, where a reader imposes a variety of interpretive grids over a text and determines the meaning of it from that. That kind of reading is like a man focusing all of his attention on the glasses he uses to read, rather than on the book. There is a need to acknowledge the glasses used to read the book, but critical theory often ensnares students so that they no longer see the book, but only the glasses.
2. Write early and often
Don’t leave writing to the last minute, no matter how brilliant and verbose you think you are. Even if you write an A grade paper, it is a sham. Why? You are still buying into the “get a good grade and get out” policy. In other words, you don’t really care about your own thoughts enough to do a thorough job of expressing them.
Some might say “But I remember working my guts out on one paper only to get a B, while I did a haphazard job on another and received an A.” Those who say this are in it for the piece of paper at the end. It is similar to saying, “I will only try hard if I get a good mark.” The cart is way before the horse – in fact, it is half a mile up the road! Remember why you are at university: to learn how to think and communicate those thoughts. Did your thinking develop in your thought at all when you regurgitated that half-digested History book onto the piece of paper you call an essay? Probably not.
Write often. Writing consistently will go a long way to keep you from swinging like a pendulum. Start projects early, well before they are due. You want to know a secret? Due dates can be fatal, just like “free time”. Like every good law, a due date is there as a warning sign. Its encouragement is in the form of a whip or a spur in the ribs. That deadline has the potential to destroy every creative and worthwhile idea you ever had about the text in front of you. To avoid the cold vice of a due date, start writing early. Get out in front of the pack and don’t be worried if you get called a “brown-noser” or some other ancient insult – you will be happy you are not getting whipped.
3. Proofread your work
This is another one of those subjects people give a polite nod to and then proceed to throw out the window. A lack of proofreading is directly related to midnight cramming via a phenomenon known as the illusion of completion. You hammer out the final sentence of your confusion, flip to your school email account (pre-addressed to your Prof. with apologies for the lateness), attach the file and hit ‘send’. Instant satisfaction – which tastes as good as instant coffee.
Give your eyes time to relax before returning to proofread. That means days, not minutes! You will be surprised at how much you change, or how many fresh ideas jump into your head. “You mean, I wasn’t writing at peak quality at 3:00 am?” Wow…
4. Speak with your Professors
Many students avoid professors like the plague. They purposely pick courses with five-hundred people in it and grad students for seminar leaders, so they will never have to make eye-contact with their Prof. In order to be an effective student, you need to seek out continual feedback from your Professors. The best way to go about this is to get to know a few Professors really well and get up the courage to ask them for help in your writing. Smaller seminars will allow you to get specific feedback on your writing and communication, which will enhance your effectiveness.
Please realize that part of being an effective human being, let alone an effective student, is building relationships with people you work with. University is no different. Part of your preparation for graduate studies and later doctoral studies will be effective communication with Professors and advisory boards – demonstrating to them that you take yourself seriously as a student, and you think the work you are pursuing is worthwhile. All of this begins in the classroom as an undergraduate.
Life as a student is fantastic and enjoyable. But in order to be effective you need to take it seriously as well. These things are not mutually exclusive, and those students who recognize this experience great pleasure at being able to work hard at a job they love. Don’t be deceived by the freedom of September, for November is right around the corner!
