essays

Why You Are Better Than Robotic Willpower

There are many tools around that make sure you’re only doing what you’re meant to be doing. Let’s say you’re supposed to be writing. To help you stay writing, there’s software that cripples your Internet connection, that removes your social network access, and that generally takes control of what you can and can’t do.

photo by jakedobkin

photo by jakedobkin

Instead of willpower, you can set tools to force you away from temptation.

But this is damaging.

Doug Belshaw asked via Twitter:

http://twitter.com/dajbelshaw/statuses/60691447883632641

I responded:

While software like Quiet Hours will automatically switch off email and social apps for you to get on with more important tasks, it’s not all roses and butterflies:

  1. You stop working naturally – The forced nature of your work can scupper creative thinking. There’s nowhere else to go, but you’re made very aware of the fact. Choice is more open than force, so aim for that as often as possible.
  2. It feels like a punishment – Where’s the fun in removing all distractions so clinically? There’s a fine line between giving yourself a bit of peace and pissing yourself off.
  3. A ‘no ifs, no buts’ approach is restrictive – Need to quickly look something up for a reference? Well you can’t. I tried a ‘no ifs, no buts’ practice in the past, but quickly stopped. When you’re busy working and find your restrictions stop you working, it’s a bigger distraction than everything else put together. I didn’t end up screaming, but it was a close thing…
  4. Tools can’t eliminate the problem of forgetting what you were meant to be doing – I’ve walked away from writing something in order to find a quotation in a book. Half an hour later, I’m still looking through books and I suddenly remember what my initial purpose was. A five minute job took much longer than necessary. An automated shut-down tool will remove a couple of these problem points. However, it won’t stop the problem itself.
  5. You may end up believing that you cannot rectify these problems manually (i.e. yourself) – The more you rely on tools to kick you into shape, the less you’ll be in touch with your own talent and power to push on.

There’s nothing wrong with using software to help eliminate distractions. But reliance on software is dangerous. You have the power to do it yourself:

  1. Keep a to-do/task list – An easy way to train yourself to concentrate on what you’ve set yourself.
  2. Leave plenty of time for important tasks – Left until the last minute results in panic. You may be totally focused on the task, but the deadline hovering over you like a guillotine blade will be more than enough distraction.
  3. Do things in small chunks – Rather than commit to an hour on an essay, try to work for just ten minutes. Then take a minute or two off to check social networks and other distractions. Multitasking doesn’t work, so try ‘minitasking’ as an alternative.
  4. Keep ‘valid disruptions’ in check – I’ve said before, “disruptions aren’t always unwelcome, even if they are disruptive”. Be aware of this and you can work more effectively. Give yourself time to spend on the good stuff and mix it up with your other work. There’s nothing like a bit of variation!

What do you think? Would you rather automate the process of removing distractions? Do you feel better when you have control yourself? What tips do you have to stay focused?

Less Homework, More Coursework

Homework. Whether you loved it or hated it, you couldn’t get away from it.

photo by TheAlieness GiselaGiardino
photo by TheAlieness GiselaGiardino

At university, much of your coursework is similar to homework. You do it in your own chosen time, outside of lectures/seminars/tutorials, and with particular deadlines.

New research has come to the conclusion that age and gender differences play a part in how students complete their homework. Younger students seemed to prefer working with friends and outside the home. Older students were happier on their own, in the house. Girls, regardless of age, were more stressed working on their own, preferring to work with friends. Boys, on the other hand, weren’t as interested in working with others.

At uni, you have far more flexibility over your study environment. That includes whether or not you work with other people, when you choose to study, and where you wish to do the work.

Because coursework is like an extended type of homework, it pays to examine what situations work best for you. Surrounded by quiet fields or in a loud and busy setting? With others or away from the rest of the world?

If you found homework a hassle and you’re struggling to find coursework much better, a change of setting may be all you need to alter your attitude for the better.

Not all study is equal. Be sure to set aside time to discover what study environment works best for you. Keep improving it the whole time you’re learning to make sure you don’t grow complacent.

The more you enjoy your work, the less you’ll think of it as ‘homework’.

What to do when you get your marked essay back

Don’t assign that assignment to the back of your mind just yet.

Before you let go, give your work a bit more daylight. It’ll help your future study to shine more.

photo by Jerrycharlotte

photo by Jerrycharlotte

Here’s what you can do when the grade is set and the feedback is here:

Check the tutor’s comments (and grade). Let it sink in – The gap between seeing the mark and getting over the initial shock will take longer for some than for others. Especially if you’re unhappy. But don’t bother dissecting the feedback until you’re past the initial shock/joy/sadness/confusion.

Read your essay again – What sticks out? Do you remember it differently now? How do you feel about it as a reader? What feedback would you give yourself if you were marking the essay?

Note down areas you’d like to improve and what you want to do differently next time – This marks the start of preparation for your next assignment. The sooner you spot what’s holding you back, the quicker you can tackle the problem.

Note down what you’re especially happy with so you can work in a similar way for future essays – As with the weaknesses, it’s just as important to focus on your current strengths, otherwise you risk forgetting how to shine consistently.

List what you agree and disagree with about your tutor’s comments – If you still feel slighted by the feedback, briefly point out where and/or why you have been misunderstood so you can discuss with your tutor.

Speak to your tutor for extended feedback – One you have a list of points and questions to explore, why not ask the marker for greater insight? Discuss what’s missing. Find out how you can be better understood and how to move forward. This type of exploration is far more revealing than having an argument over what has already been said.

Engage as far as you can – Check my list of 20 ways to engage with feedback if you’re really serious about getting the most from your past assignments.

Take the matter further; but only if you must – When you’re adamant that something isn’t right, you may wish to speak with another academic advisor, appeal the mark, or even complain. But remember that your anger and disappointment must be justified through examples that you can highlight. There should be signs of heavy prejudice and/or misunderstanding before you can reasonably weigh in with complaints. Fussing over slightly lower than expected marks or getting bogged down with minor detail is rarely worth taking ‘all the way’.

Still have questions? – Clearly define any outstanding issues you want assistance with and arrange to speak with your tutor for more specific feedback. If they extend beyond the essay, your tutor should still be able to help take you further.

How to read around a subject

When tutors suggest you ‘read around’, what do they really mean?  When you get a reading list with hundreds of books on it, where do you start?

 

photo by Valentina_A

photo by Valentina_A

Reading around covers a lot of ground and is important for undergraduate work:

“Reading will be a crucial element of your study in higher education…There is a much greater expectation and requirement, if you are to be successful, to read more independently and more widely than you may have previously.”
Studying and Learning at University – Alan Pritchard (p28)

So, reading needs to be ‘independent’ and ‘wide’.  Let’s go further:

“University work needs more than simple reproduction of facts.  You need to be able to construct an argument and to support this with evidence.  This means that you need to draw on the literature that you have read in order to support your position…What is important is to present a tight, well-argued case for the view you finally present as the one you favour.”
The Smarter Student – Kathleen McMillan & Jonathan Weyers (p226)

What you say must be backed up.  That’s where reading around comes in.  Your aim isn’t to get a unique view on the world.  That’s almost impossible.  You need to refer to what’s already out there, which is why you can’t rely on a small number of sources unless you’re content with a bare pass (or worse).

Here’s what reading around does for you:

  • Reading around helps you fill in the missing gaps you didn’t realise were there;
  • Reading around lets you know the subject, rather than just the facts;
  • Reading around is like filling up a jar in stages.  You start with big rocks of information.  When the big rocks fill the jar, you can still put in small stones of detail that fall between the big rocks.  When the small stones fill the jar, you can still put in fine sand of specifics to fill in the smallest, unclaimed areas in the jar.

How do you start reading around?  Here are a few ways:

  1. Read more than the key texts on reading lists – When tutors list ‘further reading’, ‘extra’ texts, or ‘suggested’ materials, they aren’t giving you anything that’s surplus to requirements.  The purpose of further reading is so you can learn more, not to read more stuff you don’t need to know;
  2. Highlight research that considers similar issues and explore their findings – You are discovering what has gone before.  How have we reached where we are today?  Is research still going on, or have we reached a dead end?  What is influential and why?;
  3. Don’t rely on textbooks alone – Read up online, in journals, in textbooks, in the news, and so on.  Check for the most recent research going on, even if that means no more than a quick Google Scholar search for papers in the last year or two;
  4. Find links between your subject and another field – If you stick to your subject alone, you can’t appreciate the bigger picture.  How does your subject impact upon others and vice versa?;
  5. Don’t think ‘answers’, think ‘questions’ – You’re finding what fits with your argument and how matters can move forward or be explored further.  Research wouldn’t be necessary if we had all the answers;
  6. Check bibliographies of the most useful books – When you find a corker of a book, or you rely heavily on a general textbook, the bibliography and references within can help in the same way a tutor’s reading list does.

Reading lists are detailed for a reason.  For first years especially, they need to show variation, given that students will be coming from many backgrounds and with varying levels of understanding around the subject.  You’re not expected to read everything from cover to cover. You’re not even expected to check every single title out.  But you are expected to use the list to explore and make your own discoveries.

Some books will sing to you like beautiful music, while others relentlessly scream nonsense at you. If a book’s content confuses you, don’t despair.  It doesn’t mean you don’t understand the subject; it means the book isn’t a good fit for you.

To get an idea of how a book or article speaks to you and if it’s important to your research, check out:

  • Chapter titles;
  • Abstracts;
  • Introductions;
  • Conclusions;
  • Headings/Sub-titles
  • Lists, activities, images & tables;
  • First & last paragraphs of chapters.

If certain texts aren’t available in your library, make reservations and remember to do some quick and easy online research about the book.  You can often find a lot of content long before you get your hands on the text.

Whatever you’re studying, a lot of reading is involved.  With so much out there, you may be stuck for a starting point.  John Kay explains that there’s no point in making a specific plan at times like these.  Just jump in:

“When faced with a task that daunts you, a project that you find difficult, begin by doing something.  Choose a small component that seems potentially relevant to the task.  While it seems to make sense to plan everything before you start, mostly you can’t: objectives are not clearly enough defined, the nature of the problem keeps shifting, it is too complex, and you lack sufficient information.  The direct approach is simply impossible.”
Obliquity: Why our goals are best achieved indirectly – John Kay (p175)

Kay’s point can be taken further.  You may worry that you couldn’t possibly read everything.  If you’re meant to read around, how can you do that when there are millions of potential reads?

The answer is to read enough and know when to stop.

How are you expected to know that?  Well, there’s no magical answer to finding a time to stop.  However, as you read around and research, there comes a time when your viewpoint is more confident and you have plenty quotations, references, similar views, and so on.  At this point, it’s pretty safe to start.

If you need to go back later, then do it.  Reading around doesn’t happen in one sitting.  It’s an ongoing process throughout your degree.

Part of the reason why you’re given reading lists in the first place is so you can see what is already viewed as important in your field.  You’ll see the big names, be introduced to the crucial concepts, be handed the most influential texts, and get an idea of what authors/books other academics have heavily referenced.

Reading around gives you a chance to be independent in your research, whilst being pointed in the right direction so you don’t veer too wildly off topic.  There’s no trickery or punishment involved, even if you do feel overwhelmed at first.

As with most things, the more you practice, the more you’ll get into the swing of things.

What experiences have you had with ‘reading around’?