In the Middle School Maze, we offer homework help tips and adacemic support strategies.
When confronted with a large homework assignment, knowing where and how to begin can be a challenge, especially for middle school students. Today, we turn to note taking, the foundation of any strong essay or academic project. Find a quiet spot - say the central library in Cambridge, your local New York library branch, or the comfort of your bedroom - and let's get started!
Let’s talk for a minute about how note taking can dramatically help with homework completion and academic achievement, overall:
1) Note taking, most simply, is a good memory aid. During a lecture or discussion, students will receive a lot of new information. Even the most active and engaged listener can miss something. Write down the most important facts and any ideas that spring up!
2) Note taking is a great brainstorming tool. Something brilliant might pop into your head during a conversation. 5 minutes later, after the conversation has meandered on to another subject, Poof! It’s gone! Jot it down.
3) Note taking helps keep you organized. In most classes, a teacher’s lecture will follow a set and logical structure. If you can keep up - you don’t have to take super detailed notes! - you will have a natural structure for your next assignment.
Now that you understand how and why note taking can be a key academic strategy, let’s explore how you can transform your notes into a coherent essay, research project, or presentation.
Phase I: Brainstorming Content
1) Take 3 big ideas from your notes and make three columns on a blank sheet of paper.
2) Write for 20 minutes and free associate items from each column.
3) Using the free-associated thoughts you’ve put together, turn each column into a loosely structured personal essay (this could be a short story or an argumentative essay). Try to divide into paragraphs but don't work on greater stylistics/structure, just write.
4) Spend 30 minutes fine-tuning each column into a “micro-essay”. Something short and sweet.
Phase II: Creating the Outline
1) Review your 3 micro-essays. Work with a tutor, parent or teacher to get feedback on your writing.
2) Think about showing and telling in your writing. Here are two examples:
a) Evocative Language: I trudged home slowly and barely made it up the stairs.
b) Explanatory Language: I was really tired going home.
3) Examine the sentences from each of your essays - check for tone, economy of language, rhythm, and pace. Spend 10 minutes going though the essay and color-coding the sentences that were strongest for evoking, and the sentences that were strongest for explaining.
4) Before going any further, think about the objectives of the essay. What are you setting out to do? Is this a creative writing project, a history paper, a literature essay? If you clarify your objective, getting to your argument and conclusion will be much easier - not to mention selecting an appropriate writing style.
Phase 3: Re-writing and Fine-Tuning your Essay
Now you are ready to re-write. Think about your argument, how you will support your thesis, the most appropriate style for your essay (factual, creative, humorous, etc), keeping your sentences clear and engaging, and last but not least, have fun!
P.S: If words such as "objective", "thesis", "argument", "evocative", "argumentative" are unfamiliar, look them up. Understanding and properly utilizing vocabulary is always step # 1 ;)
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