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Just completed and submitted the final version of my Extended Essay !!! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° 

So I compiled lists of words that I found super super useful in making it easier for me to finish any essay !! Here is a masterpost of some sort with transition words + key vocabs grouped together for easy access as well as an IB IOC ‘cheat sheet’ I used for my english LAL orals last year (though most commentaries follow a similar structure so its generalisable) ~

Good luck with your essays !!!

… oops just realised I forgot to bullet point one of the lists 

[leo-desk]

Things NOT To Do When Studying

I was going through some old papers from freshman year and I was thinking about what I was doing wrong when I didn’t achieve the grades I wanted, even though I got As in my classes. What things could I have done better to get a 100 instead of a 96? I don’t ask myself this so much as to be a perfectionist (even though I am one). I ask myself these questions because: 1) I must not have had a completely solid understanding of the material if I couldn’t get a 100 on it. 2) Maybe my less-than-stellar test-taking skills got in the way. 3) I’m a tutor, so I want to be sure I understand everything thoroughly enough to help others with the material.

I may add to this later, so you can always check out the original post here. As always, feel free to comment or message me if you want to add something to this list!

General:

Don’t simply read over your notes to study. It doesn’t work. You might pick up pieces here and there or even memorize certain things verbatim, but reading something 20 times is very inefficient. Your brain learns by making connections, so if you’re only straight reading the material you’re not making extra connections. You’re much better off going through your notes to make your own questions and quizzing yourself on them, marking down connections as you read (either in the margin or by literally connecting them in the text with a pen), or creating a study sheet (whether in text format or a mind map).

Don’t simply highlight, either. While there is a proper way to highlight, most people I see using a highlighter are doing it wrong. If you’re the person who highlights 90% of the paragraph, I’m talking about you. Okay, so highlighting is physically more active than glancing over your notes 20 times, but it’s about equally as effective if you’re highlighting everything. I recommend instead highlighting (or marking with eraseable pencil) things you want to go back to later. But, again, highlighting and reading alone is not useful. Go back to your highlighted parts to reread something that was hard to understand the first time, a topic you want to revisit to make a review sheet, etc. Whatever you use it for, make sure the purpose is to quickly find information later, not simply so you can read those things again. Try making a study sheet, in your own words, based off of your highlighting.

Don’t forget to write things down. And I don’t mean just in your planner when you have homework or papers due. This isn’t so much about getting absolutely everything down in terms of notes, either, I have a separate post regarding that. But in class you should always write down questions you have and the answer.  If you don’t get a chance to ask during class, ask ASAP whether it’s directly to your teacher or asking a classmate. If it’s that important, do some research on it, too. Also, make sure you write down information on due dates or paper topics. You probably already do that, but I would recommend having a piece of paper with you every day where you can write anything important down like dates and to-dos to organize all in one shot. If you simply write down “paper due” in a block in your planner before rushing to the next you may not see that reminder until close to the due date. I like to take all of the information on the piece of paper (which also has my day planned out and a to-do list) right when I get up in the morning so I’m prepared for the day and don’t forget anything.

What I Did Wrong:

Don’t take it easy at the start of the semester. To be perfectly honest, I’ve pretty much always done that, but my freshman year of college it wasn’t a huge deal since I pretty much already took those classes. Sophomore year, however, everything was new, so memorization and understanding didn’t come quite as easily. The harder your classes are, the more essential this is, especially if you actually want to sleep during finals week. The best thing you can do is start doing work before the semester even starts if you have a syllabus handy, or even just looking through your books to see what’s ahead. While everyone else is doing fun things the night of that first day, make sure you get some work done first before you have your fun. This sets the tone for the rest of the semester and gets you into the habit of working. Don’t let yourself get behind! It’s easier to stay ahead than it is to struggle catching up.

Don’t leave your notes to rot after class. Meaning, do something with them right after class! … or at least ASAP. Mark them up, edit them, rework them, copy or type them (if your handwriting sucks like me), or, best of all, write a short summary. Take the several pages of notes you have and condense them into one or two paragraphs. Don’t worry about the details, just make sure you’re hitting on the key points. As a bonus, you can type up some questions based off of your notes to save for later studying (details are allowed here). Everything will be fresh, making this a much easier process than if you did it right before the test. At the end of the week, make a summary of your summaries and quiz yourself on the questions you made. You’ll probably want to use those questions again, so try to reword them or even combine them into bigger questions that cover many topics. That way you’re being active with the material and will actually understand what you’re answering as opposed to parroting.

Don’t make study sheets by copying off of something else. Yes, I made this mistake. I wasn’t copying initially, but rather, using a review book as a reference to make study sheets. However, the more I was pressed for time the less I started putting things into my own words. Now, this wasn’t a big deal in terms of legality, since I kept them to myself, but it didn’t turn out to be all that helpful in the end. If you want to make study sheets, you could either take concepts you’ve been learning and put them together in different ways or make a summary in your own words. I recommend both, but whatever you do, make sure you’re actually creating something new or else you’re not going to remember it. For example, in organic chemistry I took the reactions and grouped them in different ways (by subtstrate, reactants, products, etc.) as a reference while studying. The act of sorting and looking through the reactions in order to make the sheets helped me remember them, then I had the sheets to look at while doing practice to help me memorize them further.

Don’t save the bulk of lab work for after the lab and don’t wait to write your report. By this I’m referring to the post-lab report. Spend the extra time while prepping your pre-lab materials to start your report! You’re expected to know the theory behind your labs before you perform them, so writing the introduction to your report should not be a problem. If it is, then you’ll be glad you took the time to understand the lab before you tried actually doing it. By doing this you may also find that you have questions that can be answered by the professor before you get confused in the middle of a procedure. Also make sure you have data tables prepared (not just in your notebook, but in the report file to fill in after) and anything else you’ll need to take down data. Once the lab is finished do the report immediately. Everything you did will be fresh and you’ll be glad you finished it well ahead of the deadline. At this point you can show your lab to your professor and get any corrections fixed so you’re ashooin’ for an A!

Don’t try to write a paper in one shot. I understand if you feel like your papers flow better if you do it all in one shot, but at least make sure you plan it out thoroughly ahead of time before you actually write it all out. But even then, you will likely benefit from splitting your paper into chunks to tackle one day at a time. If you have a research paper that’s double-digit pages then you’ll be forced to do that anyway, but be sure you’re splitting up the work for small papers, as well. It may not seem like a big deal to do a short paper in one day, but if you end up having other assignments or tests due around the same time it might up your stress if you’re crunched for time trying to finish that “insignificant” paper while juggling a few other assignments as well as some test prep.

Advice Suggested By Others:

Don’t listen to distracting music while studying. To some degree, the types of music that are considered “distracting” vary when it comes to the subject you’re studying and personal preference. However, the general rule of thumb is that you avoid any sort of music with lyrics if you’re studying a subject that involves language. Art, math, and certain sciences are an exception if you’re working with pictures or numbers, since language usually doesn’t interfere with those things in the brain. But if you’re reading anything, even if it’s worded directions to a math or science problem, lyrics will probably be distracting. Some people suggest that listening to new music with lyrics is okay because you won’t be tempted to sing along with something you don’t know while others get distracted by hearing any type of language. Again, it’s truly up to you, but genres such as classical, jazz, and nature sounds are usually recommended. Heck, if you’re a musician and get distracted by any type of music, silence or brown noise may be the better option for you. (Suggested by aslongasitsfiction)

Don’t study in bed. Scientific studies have shown that doing anything in your bed that isn’t sleep or sex-related affects your ability to fall asleep in your bed. When your brain primarily associates your bed with sleep, it’s much easier to fall asleep. But having trouble sleeping in your bed isn’t the only part of the problem. While studying in your bed is really comfy, you’re also more likely to fall asleep if the association with sleep is strong enough. It’s generally recommended that you don’t even study in the same room as your bed, but as college students this may not be possible if you want to use your desk. So if you don’t want to make the trek out to a more secluded study space, at least try to make sure your desk doesn’t have your bed in view. Because let’s be honest, if you’re exhausted, simply seeing your bed might be enough to make you nod off. (Suggested by rare-footage and ane-mia)

Don’t go on tumblr. Okay, this may seem obvious, but sometimes a reminder is all you need to get off your computer! I suppose it’s better that you’re looking up information to help you study, but I think we both know what the better choice would be. (Suggested by oneofakindgizibe)

Don’t study in a place you can’t focus just because your friends are there. Us humans are social animals. We like being around other people. But this can cause you problems if you’re trying to study. Unless you’re in a productive study group, make sure you separate study time and social time. You’re probably more likely to gravitate towards fun, social things over studying, so make sure studying is a priority and you get it done before seeing your friends. If you have a roommate or two, then your dorm room is probably not the right place to study. Find a few of your focus hotspots and go there for your study time. (Suggested by fitspoforever)

Don’t forget the little things you know you’ll need. This includes but is not limited to things such as chargers, books, snacks, and water. You don’t want to be in-the-zone and all of the sudden realize you need to run back to your dorm room to get a book. And then 10 minutes later realize you’re hungry and need to run to the cafeteria. If you don’t already have certain things that are always in your bag, simply keep a list of things you generally need to bring with you, leave it as a reminder on your desk, and check it over before you hit the library. (Suggested by fitspoforever)

Don’t take naps while studying without setting an alarm. Or even better, avoid naps all together. If you’re like me, 15-minute naps usually turn into 2-hour events. But regardless, if you need to get some extra sleep, get the extra sleep. It’s better to take a nap when you know you need it as opposed to falling asleep on your desk unexpectedly when you have a paper you need to get done for the next day. 15-20 minutes the recommended time for a short nap, but if you need something more robust, try for 90 minutes or use sleepyti.me to figure out the right time to wake up. (Suggested by fitspoforever)

Don’t wear uncomfortable clothes. I personally find that “dressing for success” works really well for going to lectures and virtually everything else, but terribly if you’re hitting the library for a long study session. You’ll probably wanna look cute if you’re heading somewhere public, but just make sure you’re comfortable. Yoga pants are fine for the occasion! (Suggested by fitspoforever)

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I recently got a message asking how to color code notes, and because it was such a hit I decided to expand on the topic!

Color coding your notes is proven to enhance your learning and make you a more efficient thinker. Try using these few tips and see how much your note taking experience improves!

Write your notes using a black pen

Pencils get smudged easily when highlighted, and often fade. Using a fast-drying pen will ensure that the ink does not smudge.

TIP: Write your original notes in pencil, make additions, add diagrams, get all the facts in. Once you get home, rewrite your notes neatly in pen, organizing the topics and making sure you understand the material.

Use highlighters to color code

Choosing to use colored pens is much more time consuming, and can make it hard to find key topics when rereading the notes.

TIP: Although highlighters take up much more space than pens, try to find some travel sized highlighters that save space.

Have a key

Yellow: important points, facts, examples, etc.

Pink: very important factors, key points, definitions, teacher additions, etc.

Blue: undefined words, confusing topics, requires research, etc.

Green: dates, names, places, etc.

Purple: works cited, authors, etc.

Don’t overdo it

Highlighting too many words will in return emphasize nothing. Don’t highlight entire sentences, only key points in the sentences. Try to keep it to a maximum of 4 words highlighted in a row.

Use corresponding sticky notes to elaborate

For example, use a green sticky note on the side of your paper to go into more detail about Abraham Lincoln’s early life.

TIP: As an alternative, use white sticky notes and a pen in that corresponding color.

Keep it short and sweet

Don’t feel like you have to color code your entire paper! Only highlight what is necessary. If you can summarize in a shorter sentence, do so. As long as you understand and can remember the information- that’s what matters.

Hopefully you find these tips to be of some help. Please let me know if you have any questions, or would like to suggest a topic for my next post.

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reblog if you're a studyblr/collegeblr

I’ve been finding lately that my dashboard is quite slow since i only follow around 300 blogs so I’m looking for more people to follow. Also looking for new studyblrs who want more support!!!

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We’ve just finished our 30 icon requests in celebration of our 20K milestone! And we’re so glad that so many of you guys participated ^_^ Making these icons ended up being a lot of fun, so we decided to make a couple extra ones for everyone to enjoy <3 **We would appreciate it if you credit and reblog this post if you use our icons

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It doesn’t always have to look nice. Sometimes you need to get over making everything look aesthetically pleasing and tumblr-worthy and just do the work.

Sometimes it’s late at night and you’re tired and you want to set an alarm and get up early to finish your work. You’ll set the alarm. When it goes off in the morning, you’ll silence it and go back to bed. This strategy very rarely works.

And sometimes it’s late at night and you’re sleep-deprived, exhausted, and want to die because of school. Just go to bed. Missing one homework assignment won’t kill you, and you need your sleep. 

But do your homework. Sometimes you do need to stay up late to finish assignments and you just have to deal with that. Find the happy medium, and always put your personal health first.

You don’t need to stay in every weekend and work. You’re young!  It can be hard, but set aside time to hang out with friends.

Talk to your teachers. They will help you. They were teens once.

You don’t need to have straight A’s.

That bad grade isn’t as big of a deal as you think it is.

Even if you have two weeks to work on an assignment, start it ASAP. You’ll thank yourself later.

Sometimes you just have to break down and cry. Let yourself do it. You’ll feel better afterwards.

Not understanding a unit or a subject does not make you stupid, even if someone explains it to you five times and you still don’t get it. Sometimes it will take ten, fifteen, twenty times for it to click. That’s okay.

Everyone struggles in at least one subject.

Coffee and tea are nice, but sometimes you just need water.

Even if no one is there to tell you, you’re doing great.

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new studyblr!!

Hello, i’m cee from singapore and i’m currently taking my gce o levels in 5 days! I have been active in the studying community on instagram and i decided to have a studyblr as well!  I hope (for now) to be a scientist in the future as i’m quite interested in physics and chemistry, and i also hope to inspire more people to start studying.  (っ˘ω˘ς ) thank you for reading and have a great day ahead!!!  ＼(＾▽＾)／

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General College Essay Masterpost How to Write a Strong College Essay The Real Topic of Your Essay is You 19 Common Application Essay Mistakes and How to Avoid Them College Essay Style Tips Essay Rocket Fuel - The Anecdote 25 Creative College Essay Ideas and Prompts What Not to Write About in Your College Essay Part I & Part II Tips for Answering Common Application Essay Prompts The 7 Worst College Application Clichés And How To Avoid Them How to Approach the Common Application Personal Statement Essay Prompts

Common App Question 1 How to Answer Prompt #1 of the New Common Application Common App 1: Background and Identity

Common App Question 2 The Beauty of Failure: How to Answer Prompt 2 of The Common Application Common App 2: Failure and Success

Common App Question 3 Should You Take the Challenge of Prompt 3 of New Common App? Common App 3: Challenging Beliefs

Common App Question 4 The New Common Application Prompt 4 - What’s Your Problem? Common App 4: Problem Solving

Common App Question 5 Should You Choose Prompt 5 For Your Common App Essay? Common App 5: Accomplishment or Event

Why College X? How to Answer the Most Common Supplement Question: Why College X? How to Write a Perfect “Why This College” Essay Why UPenn College Essay Example 1 – Penn Supplement How to Write a “Why Us?” Essay Part 1 & Part 2 How to Write the “Why Us” College Essay “Why University of X?” College Essay

Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Essays How to Decided Which Extracurricular Activity to Write About How to Handle the Common App Extracurricular Essay How to Improve Your Mediocre Extracurricular Essay in 30 Minutes Make the Most of Short Answer Essays about Extracurricular Activities or Work Experiences

Contribution to College X 4 Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future Those “Potential to Contribute” Essays The Effective Diversity Statement

Influence in Life Sample Essays: Influential Person Your Greatest Influence Essay Tip #2-The “Influential Person” Essay Model Essay on an Influential Person

Why Major X How to Write the UC Transfer Essay - Why This Major? Writing the “Why This Major” Essay (Video)

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Just in case this helps anyone!! Go decorate those notes, friends!!

Instagram

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Words to replace said, except this actually helps

I got pretty fed up with looking for words to replace said because they weren’t sorted in a way I could easily use/find them for the right time. So I did some myself.

IN RESPONSE TO Acknowledged Answered Protested

INPUT/JOIN CONVERSATION/ASK Added Implored Inquired Insisted Proposed Queried Questioned Recommended Testified

GUILTY/RELUCTANCE/SORRY Admitted Apologized Conceded Confessed Professed

FOR SOMEONE ELSE Advised Criticized Suggested

JUST CHECKING Affirmed Agreed Alleged Confirmed

LOUD Announced Chanted Crowed

LEWD/CUTE/SECRET SPY FEEL Appealed Disclosed Moaned

ANGRY FUCK OFF MATE WANNA FIGHT Argued Barked Challenged Cursed Fumed Growled Hissed Roared Swore

SMARTASS Articulated Asserted Assured Avowed Claimed Commanded Cross-examined Demanded Digressed Directed Foretold Instructed Interrupted Predicted Proclaimed Quoted Theorized

ASSHOLE Bellowed Boasted Bragged

NERVOUS TRAINWRECK Babbled Bawled Mumbled Sputtered Stammered Stuttered

SUAVE MOTHERFUCKER Bargained Divulged Disclosed Exhorted

FIRST OFF Began

LASTLY Concluded Concurred

WEAK PUSY Begged Blurted Complained Cried Faltered Fretted

HAPPY/LOL Cajoled Exclaimed Gushed Jested Joked Laughed

WEIRDLY HAPPY/EXCITED Extolled Jabbered Raved

BRUH, CHILL Cautioned Warned

ACTUALLY, YOU’RE WRONG Chided Contended Corrected Countered Debated Elaborated Objected Ranted Retorted

CHILL SAVAGE Commented Continued Observed Surmised

LISTEN BUDDY Enunciated Explained Elaborated Hinted Implied Lectured Reiterated Recited Reminded Stressed

BRUH I NEED U AND U NEED ME Confided Offered Urged

FINE Consented Decided

TOO EMO FULL OF EMOTIONS Croaked Lamented Pledged Sobbed Sympathized Wailed Whimpered

JUST SAYING Declared Decreed Mentioned Noted Pointed out Postulated Speculated Stated Told Vouched

WASN’T ME Denied Lied

EVIL SMARTASS Dictated Equivocated Ordered Reprimanded Threatened

BORED Droned Sighed

SHHHH IT’S QUIET TIME Echoed Mumbled Murmured Muttered Uttered Whispered

DRAMA QUEEN Exaggerated Panted Pleaded Prayed Preached

OH SHIT Gasped Marveled Screamed Screeched Shouted Shrieked Yelped Yelled

ANNOYED Grumbled Grunted Jeered Quipped Scolded Snapped Snarled Sneered

ANNOYING Nagged

I DON’T REALLY CARE BUT WHATEVER Guessed Ventured

I’M DRUNK OR JUST BEING WEIRDLY EXPRESSIVE FOR A POINT/SARCASM Hooted Howled Yowled

I WONDER Pondered Voiced Wondered

OH, YEAH, WHOOPS Recalled Recited Remembered

SURPRISE BITCH Revealed

IT SEEMS FAKE BUT OKAY/HA ACTUALLY FUNNY BUT I DON’T WANT TO LAUGH OUT LOUD Scoffed Snickered Snorted

BITCHY Tattled Taunted Teased

[leo-desk]

Not my printables. They are @katsdesk thank you btw :)

Ya girl Kat is back in town and has some more printables for you! Click here to find out how to get these swanky printables on your desk! Please reblog if you’re using and don’t forget to tag me with #katsdesk. Good luck to everyone taking APs this year! We can do it!!!!!! 

(All work is licensed under a Creative Commons license and is available for noncommercial use only. Please don’t repost or redistribute as your own or I’ll have to call Obama to report you. Thank you!) 

Other Resources: 

AP Prep Masterpost 

April Desktop Wallpaper

Daily Planner Printables 

[leo-desk]

Ya girl Kat is back in town and has some more printables for you! Click here to find out how to get these swanky printables on your desk! Please reblog if you’re using and don’t forget to tag me with #katsdesk. Good luck to everyone taking APs this year! We can do it!!!!!! 

(All work is licensed under a Creative Commons license and is available for noncommercial use only. Please don’t repost or redistribute as your own or I’ll have to call Obama to report you. Thank you!) 

Other Resources: 

AP Prep Masterpost 

April Desktop Wallpaper

Daily Planner Printables 

[leo-desk]

08/18/15 // Taking genetics notes before classes start tomorrow.

[leo-desk]

( 1 9 . 1 0 . 1 7 ) my notes, rilakkuma notebook and wreath post-its from aliexpress match rather well 🌿 [ if you enjoy my content, consider supporting it by getting a tarot reading! ]

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Bones of the hand and wrist ☺️

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Italian For My Girlfriend - Anthology is now officially out! You can get a copy from my Storenvy Store, from Lulu, or from Amazon. If you’re not in the US, Lulu should be where you’ll get the best shipping rate.

There’s also a digital release, which you can get here!

[leo-desk]

HELLO! This is my first ever masterpost. I put together a list with my favorite resources for learning italian and decided to share it with you guys. I hope you like it! Any questions or suggestions? Click here.

APPS:

Duolingo: Android / IOS

Memrise: Android / IOS

TuneIn (you can listen to sports, news, music and talk radio in almost any language): Android / IOS

Especific Apps:

Learn Italian For Begginers: Android / IOS

Italian Phrasebook: Android / IOS

Radio Italia: Android

Radio Italia Spa: Android / IOS

Dictionaries:

Android: Dizionario Italiano (Offline) / Italian-English offline dict.

IOS: Dizionario Italiano-Inglese & traduttore / Italian Dictionary

LINKS:

OneWorldItaliano

ielanguages

MyLanguages.org

OnlineItalianClub

Italian Language Guide

ilnarrastorie (children’s stories - great for begginers!)

MultilingualBooks (read magazines and newspapers!)

LanguageWS (read books and newspapers - registration needed)

WordReference (a nice online dictionary)

BASICS:

Alphabet Videos: for adults (a little dry) - for children (it’s a song - great for auditory learners)

Numbers (video)

Time

Colors

Money

Transportation

Eating

Shopping

Bars

Driving

ItalianForMyGirlfriend (this is a tumblr from a girl that is keeping a sketchbook of illustrated Italian words to teach her girlfriend her native language. so cute!!)

GRAMMAR:

Italian Pronouns

Verb Conjugation - Regular and Irregular Verbs

Italian Verbs Conjugator

The 3 Tenses You Need To Know To Really Speak and Understand Italian

MORE NICE STUFF:

22 Tips for Learning a Foreign Language

1,000 Most Common Spoken Italian Words ( The top 100 words have audio pronunciations if available. )

Vocabulary Lessons

Roll Your R

10 Extraordinarily Useful Italian Phrases