Procrastination in Ploughshares: Turning a Deficit into an Asset
A little extra stress goes a long way and procrastination has its benefits.
Tag: Writing
How to Write an Argumentative Thesis
Let the facts do the arguing.
Graduate level writing and the importance of partial conclusions
Many writers struggle with developing their writing into a more appropriate academic style when they begin graduate school. There are many ways to improve your writing and developing an understanding of partial conclusions and how to use them is something that any writer will benefit from. However, for graduate students it is a necessity to achieve this level of professional understanding in their field.
“Both sides” of an argument
If you are investigating and comparing two ways of looking at something, be sure that you are clear about the fact that you are only examining two groups of ideas, do not pretend that those are the only ideas that exist.
An easy way to improve your writing.
Beginning writers often struggle with developing a more properly academic style in their writing.
Tips for a comparative essay (aka a comparison essay.)
One simple mistake that younger writers make when writing a comparison essay is choosing something they like and comparing it to something they dislike. This often seems like a good idea because it is so much fun to think about something you really enjoy and to pick on something that you don’t like. Unfortunately, that usually makes for thoughtlessness and oversimplification.
The basics of interpreting or analyzing a poem
Poetry is often very daunting even for people who are very comfortable with analyzing narratives. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make poetry less intimidating. Some of what makes poetry more intimidating is often its unusual structure (when compared to other types of writing,) its rhyme schemes, and the prevalence of metaphor. For this post, let us examine the structural issues that many find so off-putting.
How do I make my paper longer!
I’ve seen more than a few students say that they have written everything possible on a given subject in only 600 or 2000 words and that it is impossible to add the two more pages that the assignment requires.
I can’t get started! (Part 2)
The trick with making sleep nonnegotiable is to make “go to bed on time” the stress trigger. If you work better while feeling a bit under the gun, start telling yourself at Noon that bed is only eleven hours away. You’ve only got eleven hours, move move move move. All that stuff you say to keep yourself awake and moving at 1AM? You need to start saying it 1PM. You are the one creating pressure for yourself, not the time of day or night; you can pour it on just as easily at 4PM.
I can’t get started! (Part 1)
Procrastination is a friend and an enemy. First of all, calm down, it really is OK to procrastinate. Some people work better under a bit of stress and sometimes those people have to manufacture it themselves. It’s fine! There are two situations you have to look for, though. 1) You procrastinate too much (it leads to lost sleep, lost fun, self-recrimination, and poorer work.) 2) You’ve lost all motivation and are replacing it with plain old stress.