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Feeling the pressure in the final weeks of the term? Keep Calm and Study On!
Running in the Fall and Winter terms, this program offers a ton of great workshops, destressing fun and downloadable resources to help you succeed in studying for finals and focusing on your own personal wellness. The goal of Keep Calm and Study On is to remind you to start studying early, be intentional about planning breaks and to take care of your wellbeing during the exam period.
All events are free and registration is not required unless noted in the schedule. Note that all Laurier students are welcome to attend these events.
Don't forget to follow @laurierstudentsuccess on Instagram for daily updates and chances to win some great prizes!
In addition to these events and resources, your student success services offer a variety of academic supports and resources to help you finish the term strong.
Thank you to everyone who engaged with our Winter 2022 events and resources. We wish you the absolute best of luck on your final exams and papers!
Easier said than done – we know – but you’re in the driver’s seat and need to stay accountable to yourself. You may encounter distractions like your roommates interrupting or your phone buzzing.
Here are strategies for sticking to the plan:
Once you get into study mode it’s important to take breaks and give yourself time to absorb new information. Taking a walk, grabbing a snack, doing a 7-minute workout, or just chatting with a friend can help you stay on task longer and ultimately be more productive.
For more tips on how to take effective study breaks, watch this video on How to Be Lazy and Still Get a Ton of Work Done.
The biggest killer of productivity is procrastination. When you procrastinate and push off tasks, ask yourself, “What am I avoiding and what am I doing instead?”
Everyone has procrastination triggers - those things we choose to do instead of the work that has to get done. Make a list of your procrastination triggers and create a pre-determined action for how you will deal with each trigger. For instance, if you know you watch Netflix for hours when you have a looming assignment deadline, write down “I will finish my assignment first and then reward myself with one episode”.
Remember that procrastination is a choice, so choose to be productive and stick to the plan instead! If you’re curious about why we procrastinate, check out The Science of Procrastination and How to Manage It.
Remember, it’s not about achieving perfection – it’s about developing your skills and knowledge. This may take some practice! Monitor your plan and note what’s working and where you may need to adapt your strategies.
Some questions to ask yourself:
In uncertain times, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed. Being concerned and anxious about the unknown is normal. However, these feelings may increase discomfort - impacting your concentration and productivity. It’s crucial that you maintain consistent sleep patterns, eat healthy, and practice self-care.
Easy self-care strategies include:
Depending on your academic discipline and the genre of writing, “I” can actually be encouraged! Writing genres like Op-Eds and reflections often even require the use of “I”. If you aren’t sure whether you can or should use “I,” you can always ask your professor or TA.
If you went to high school in Ontario, you were probably taught that every essay has exactly five paragraphs: one introduction paragraph with a thesis, three body paragraphs with different sub arguments, and a conclusion paragraph. In university, you should use as many paragraphs and sub arguments as you need! Each new paragraph should be a change in idea or example, not necessarily a change in sub argument. As a general rule, if your paragraph is longer than about ¾ of a double-spaced page, you probably have at least two paragraphs. To make your essay easier to read and follow, you can split this long paragraph where you notice a shift in idea or example.
Think of it this way — if you are writing a 500-word discussion post and 100 of those words are your quotes, that’s already 20% of the post that isn’t showing your own knowledge and understanding. It’s showing someone else’s words and ideas, not your own! Direct quotes can be effective when you can’t change words without changing meaning, but paraphrasing and summarizing are often more effective. No matter whether you use a direct quote, paraphrase or summary, make sure to put a citation!
University-level writing is almost always about your own analysis or findings. Simply restating everything you learned in class is very rarely enough to succeed. It may help to think of academic writing as a conversation. What are you adding? A new example? A confirmation of a previous experiment? How do pieces come together, in your opinion? It might be scary to rely on your own thoughts or interpretation, but you can take a leap of faith if you are relying on evidence.
Though you always want to take care to act with academic integrity, there is more support for your academic writing in university than there was in high school! Reach out to your professors, TAs, IAs, lab supervisors, etc. if you have any questions or concerns about an assignment. Subject-specific librarians can help you with your research, and we at Writing Services can help you at any stage in your writing process. Just be sure to book your appointments early, especially at the end of term!
The only thing standing between you and your well-earned break is finals. The good news is that you have already made it this far! Keep practicing the golden strategies that brought you to this point. Check out the Staying Golden During Final Exams article for a refresher on what it means to act with integrity while working on final assignments and writing your exams.
Contact Us
Waterloo campus
E:
studentsuccess@wlu.ca
T:
519.884.0710 x2220
Office Location: Second floor of the Peters Building in the Teaching and Learning Commons
Brantford campus
E:
studentsuccess@wlu.ca
T:
519.756.8228 x5736
Office Location: One Market in OM207
Study Space Downloads