[rewritign]

_{Writing an essay without any structure is like trying to find your way around an unfamiliar place without a map; frustrating, ineffective, and a bit of a garbled mess. Structure gives your essay a clear voice and coherency and makes marking a lot easier for your teacher or tutor! Here are a few general tips I often use when writing essays to maximise the effect of my argument and achieve the best results I can both in high school and university.}

_{Text structure
While the content of essays varies, the skeleton structure never changes. In order to clearly articulate an idea, an essay needs a beginning, middle, and an end.} 

_Introduction

• _{Start with a macro sentence - use an interesting quote, fact, or idea which gives the reader a broad sense of what your essay will cover. This is the reader’s first impression of your essay and can determine their whole attitude while reading it, so make it effective!}
  
• _{Briefly outline the main ideas and thesis - in absence of an abstract, your introduction will need to show the main ideas you will be covering so as to support your thesis, or answer the essay question. You will need to clearly express your position and how you intend to argue the point.}
• _{Set the limits - sometimes, the scope of an essay question can be very broad, or perhaps there’s a focus to your thesis not all ready indicated. Define the limits of your essay, whether they be a set of years for a history topic, or looking at specific artists who contributed to an art style.}
• _{Define key terms - if a term is important to the understanding of your essay, or perhaps you’ve taken your own approach to its meaning, be sure to define it in your introduction!}

_Body

• _{Separate each idea into a paragraph - ideas can generally be separated chronologically or conceptually. The section below explores this in more detail!} 
• _{Start every paragraph with a topic sentence - introduce what the paragraph will discuss and how it relates to your thesis. Signpost it with critical words to make it easier to understand exactly what you are addressing. Ensure it is clear and to the point!}
  
• _{Make a claim and the support it - like in reality, when you make a claim you need to provide evidence to support it so it can be taken seriously. Make your claim early on in the paragraph, generally in the topic sentence, give relevant detail and explanation, analyse it, and then justify it with authoritative quotes, sources, examples, etc.}
  
• _{End every paragraph with a linking sentence - refer back to your thesis or question and make sure what you set out to cover in the paragraph actually addresses it! This is an opportunity to draw a link between this paragraph and the next.}

_Conclusion

• _{Do more than just restate your points - your conclusion is more than just a rehash of your introduction. Link ideas together and demonstrate how they are interconnected on a less superficial level. An English teacher once told me, your essay is like a mountain. You put in all your hard work to climb it in your introduction and body paragraphs, your conclusion is a chance to look back, make connections where there were none before, and solidify your argument.} 
• _{Establish the overarching theme and idea - what idea underlies all the points you have made? How does it relate to your thesis?}
  
• _{Draw a profound and insightful conclusion - what are the implications of this? Is there relevance today? This can transform a standard essay into a more profound and overall, more interesting essay.}
• _{Don’t introduce any new information - your essay is complete! All your information should have been expressed in the body paragraphs, so nothing new should be introduced here.}
• _{Reaffirm your thesis - restate it with some finality! Your body has provided all this evidence to support it, remind them of this.}

_{Chronological or Conceptual?
For the most part, an essay can take one of two approaches; a chronological approach, where each body paragraph follows the text, history, etc., sequentially, or a conceptual approach, where the main idea is broken down into its constituent elements, each addressed in their own paragraph(s).}

 _{In my experience, conceptual essays usually score higher, showing a greater sense of understanding of the topic and its inner workings. You can demonstrate a funnel effect more easily, where each element funnels down from its body paragraph to the conclusion, contributing to the overall idea of the essay. A chronological approach, however, can be easier to follow and is occasionally implicit within the essay question. Choosing which approach to use depends on which you are comfortable writing with, the demands of the essay or your teacher, and can vary from essay to essay.} 

_{Continuity and Cohesion
Something I think is highly underrated, yet critical to holding an essay together, is transition words and phrases. They create continuity and cohesion between ideas and paragraphs, and serve as a bridge of sorts within your overall structure. Here are a few posts which have comprehensive lists of transition words and phrases:}

_{Transition Words for Essays - @staedtlers-and-stabilos
Essay Transition Phrases - @study-like-you-mean-it
Transition Words For Your Essays - @soniastudyblr}

_{I hope this can help with structuring your essays and getting the best marks you can! Please message me if you have any questions :)}

_{Other essay writing posts:
How to reduce your word count
Understanding the Question
How to Write a Killer Unprepared Text Essay}

Fidget Tools in Schools

[prolifeproliberty]

(I posted this as a response to another thread about fidgets, but I figured it needed its own post as well)

Hey guys, 1st grade teacher here!

My school banned the fidget spinners almost immediately after they became a thing. However, they let teachers decide how to deal with them in their classrooms.

What I found was that students saw them as toys, not tools, and didn’t know how to use them appropriately. They knew what they were for - to help them focus - but they didn’t use them that way.

My class has a LOT of students (probably a majority) who could benefit from being able to fidget. Some have identified ADHD or Autism, others don’t and probably never will. So rather than banning the spinners, I said okay.

But here’s the catch. I didn’t just let the kids play with them and say “oh, they just need to fidget.”

I took the time one morning to TEACH the kids how to use fidget tools to actually help them focus. It only took one lesson, and my kids are generally not rule-followers.

As someone who uses fidget tools, I was able to demonstrate for them what it looks like when someone is using them to focus. Basically, it means you’re keeping the fidget low and out of sight (in your lap if you’re sitting or down by your side if you’re standing) and your focus is on the task (or speaker) at hand, not the fidget itself.

Now my students know what the expectation is, and they’ve been great with their fidgets ever since. If they start playing with the fidget tools, all I have to do is say “it’s a tool, not a toy,” and they immediately adjust and use it correctly.

Instead of banning fidgets, schools and teachers need to take about 5-10 minutes and teach kids HOW to fidget.

And no, not every kid who needs a fidget is going to be able to get a doctor’s note. That’s just ridiculous.

Why Are People Fidgeting with Fidget Cube

[aslongdeal]

When asking many people what they want to have as a gift for the time being, you are most likely to encounter fidget cube. It’s a little device that will keep your hand busy. It’s able for you to click, flip, roll, and slide its different buttons on different facets. You might be confused why such a small gadget is able to go viral both online and offline. There are a few reasons behind that.

First of all, it helps people to relax. Whether you are aware of the fact or not, almost every one of us fidgets in one way or another. Can you recall a time when you rotated your pen while studying? Have you noticed that we tend to tighten our fist when getting nervous? There are a million other times when we fidget unconsciously. It’s a way for us to relax. Then this small gadget comes with different sides to meet our different fidgeting needs. You can click the buttons on one side and then you can glide the joystick on other side and you can further rotate on the other side and on. There are so many different kinds of way for you to play with. It’s definitely a great gadget for you to stay away from your daily routine for a while.

Secondly, it can be played without much limitation of place and time. It’s actually a small toy that’s suitable for you to carry around wherever you like. You can play it to help you focus when you are out of inspiration for working or you can just fidget with it as a way for entertaining after your work is done. You can take it with you in a journey and it will definitely make it worthwhile. In the airport, when there is nothing else to do or when the time is not enough for other stuff, to fidget with your fidget cube is a good way to spend the time. You can start to fidget with it so long as it doesn’t influence other people.

Thirdly, it’s within people’s reach. With this gadget going viral, it’s not very hard to get access in terms of price and supply. By simply searching online, people can easily find many discount stress balls. There are seasoning discount or e-commerce holiday. So long as people find the right place and right time for buying, they will not disappoint about its value.

There are many reasons why so many people are fidgeting with fidget cube. Its unique way of playing in spite of time and place and easy accessibility are no doubly some reasons behind it.

[fluidnet]

Neurodivergent kids: *tap pencils, shake legs, click pens, hum*

Teachers: you are disrupting class and we need you to stop

Neurotypical kids: god you’re so annoying can’t you stop?

Neurodivergent kids: *invest in tools that have been designed specifically for them to fidget in less annoying, less noisy, more socially acceptable ways*

Teachers: we need to ban these “toys” from class. What did you do before these were invented? This is horrible

Neurotypical kids: this new craze is annoying, I hate my generation, why is everyone so special all of a sudden? *creates memes*

Neurodivergent kids: what the hell do you want us to do?

World: be neurotypical, duh

[coffeesthetics]

Hiya everyone so AP self studying (i.e., taking an AP test without also taking a class on it) is a great way to earn more AP credit (which colleges love), and can be easier than you think. 

So in case you’re interested, or just curious, here’s a masterpost where I’ve compiled a bunch of self-study resources and tips. I hope you find it helpful !!

ESSENTIALS (all of these are gold)

• which AP’s should I even attempt by myself? : vvvvv helpful article. Make sure you have read this before deciding which AP’s to go for; I highly highly recommend it.
• choosing the right prep book : best pdf guide (from a guy who aced 22 ap’s!!) make sure the edition you buy is up to date !!
• free textbooks masterpost : you need a competent, up-to-date, AP-level textbook for the subject[s] you plan to take. it will be the source all of your material, so you need to interact with it (more on that below). your textbook is like your teacher, only the difference is you get to choose whether it’s a good one or not! 
  
• annotating from textbooks : this is a v helpful youtube video. It is a great way to take your own notes from your textbooks interactively without getting bored.
• tutors and study groups : you don’t have to study alone! There is always the option to work with a tutor or study group, which can relieve a lot of your stress.  
  
• plan with excel : time management is the most important part of self studying. No one’s giving you a test, no one’s assigning you homework, and no one is making you show up to class. Sooo it’s up to you to designate some regular time to study. Excel can be an extremely helpful tool for planning (more on how to study below)
• chibird : always cheers me up!
• masterpost of calming things 
• advice on balancing 3+ AP’s
• when you want to give up 

HOW TO GO ABOUT IT (in which I actually give advice)

• You need to put in time and dedication, because the best way to self-study is to literally set up a mini class for yourself.
  
• No, you do not have to take out 50 minutes of every single day! But you will need to designate regular time to read from a textbook, take notes, and even give yourself tests, if you’re up for that. 
  
• Helpful time ideas: My cousin self-studying for AP Psychology this year and she takes out one hour of every Saturday and Sunday to read from her textbook and review! (the moral of this story is that weekends are v good times to self-study!) Find at least one time every week where you are free for at least one hour and use that hour to study! 
• Divide your time into learning and reviewing. I like to use half of my designated study block for learning new material, and half for reviewing old material. 
• Every so often, do a cumulative review. My rec = every 3 weeks. Cumulative reviews are extremely important because you don’t want all the information falling out of your head when you are working so hard to learn it !!
• Use good review methods that work for you! Check out the Feynman method (I just discovered it, it’s neat). Do whatever you want for your review, just make sure it helps you :D +5 super secret study tips omg
• GIVE YOURSELF TESTS!!! This is so important! Studies show that you learn material much better if you write a quiz or test on it. (This is a legit study I swear but I am just too lazy to look it up right now :DD) It’ll be just like real class! And ok if you don’t want to write your own, I would recommend your AP prep book.

• Finally: please remember that there is a difference between losing your motivation, and realizing that you are too are too stressed or can’t handle your workload. Your metal health and your sleep are always more important than an extra AP. If self-studying is costing you sleep or happiness, it is not worth it.
  

I hope you guys found this masterpost helpful; please if you have some wisdom or insight to share, don’t hesitate to add it. And if you do plan to self study this year, I wish you the best luck !! 

[srsfunny]

After The Exam

[emmastudies]

Hi! I got an anonymous ask asking to share photos of my bullet journal set up! I tried about 5 times to get pictures that were in the same spot and the same lighting but damn it is difficult. I ended up shooting these going page by page so hopefully that is okay! I’ll list the pages I included since I missed a couple out because they’re just headers at the moment and I’ll put in brackets ones that I’ll add when my semester starts:

• 2017 overview
  
• 2017 objectives (personal/health/social/academic/blog/career) + bullet journal key/legend
• blog post ideas (this blog and my main @styleselection #shamelessselfpromo)
• printable ideas
• motivational quotes
• movies/tv shows to watch
• books to read
• expenses (more like ‘treat yo self items’)
• wishlist
• january overview/month breakdown
• weekly spread (monday 01 jan-today)
• (semester timetable - my classes, teachers, lecture + tutorial times)
• (grade tracker)
• (assignment date checklist)
• (readings checklist)

At the back of the bullet journal, I have lined paper for note-taking or jotting random things down. I love having space to write important information so that will be useful. Plus I have to specifically get my English relatives to ship me the grid paper so I don’t want to waste it for random notes! At the very end I’ve got to-do list pages where I can note down things for assignments or for over the weekend. Also the little grey thing in the left corner of the second photo, it a task pad which slots into the discs and just gives you another space for writing down bits and bobs when you need to be quick! 

Hope this is useful. I’m happy to do a more in-depth post or a review of the notebook system, if anyone is interested. Just let know in a message or reply! x