[Becky]

I am taking 17 Credits this semester, and so far I have never taken more then 12 credits. These 17 credits include reading 11 books, plus two text books.

Here are my questions, for some of them I have many ideas and I'm just looking for new ideas that may work better then what I've used in the past. Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

1. When taking notes on a Novel, how do you determin what is going to be important?
2. Is it possible to take notes so that you wont have to re-read the book once school starts and your assignment for that book is given?
3. Can you anticipate assignments for a book prior to the class?
4. What is the best method to keeping your classes seporate (material, topics, assignments) physically and more importantly mentally?
5. How much time do you alot for studying and what do you study?
6. How do you:
7. ballance school with other obligations?
8. Prioratize your classes and homework?
9. Decide which books to bring to class?
10. prepare yourself for getting C's without making it a goal?
11. organize your days so that your not doing last minute work or study?
12. What methods do you use to deal with stress?
13. If anyone is really good at room design let me know I'm trying to organize my room for optemal focus.
14. What are other questions I should be asking (if you think of questions but don't have an answer, please don't hesitate to post anyways!!!)?

Thank you so much for your advise! I really appreciate it

[H.M. Murdock]

Hm. These are really questions that you should be able to get help with from your school's advising department, Becky. While we may have tips that you can keep in mind, any good advising department will be able to monitor you and help you in a very hands-on way. Plus they're either trained for the task, or have plenty of schooling experience regardless. *wink*

[Simo]

Hey Becky.

On several occasions during my Arts degree i would have to read in excess on 11 novels a semester. A couple of times when i did two English courses i was required to read at least a dozen novels. Here are some tips from me (relating to your first couple of questions - the numbers don't neccesarily relate to the numbering of your questions.).

1) Are the 11 books novels? If they are, chances are that you can get away with not reading all of them. At times i found it physically impossible to read 2 novels each fortnight (especially when they were 500 pages plus) go to tutorials, plus do reading for two other classes (often in excess of 80 pages each) and maintain my sanity. You should be able to wing it, and read the ones that you need for assignments/exams and not read the rest, or at least flick through them quickly.

2) There are wonderful resources online. While you can't trust every book outline you find online often times they are close to right, and if you can't read the novel in time they at least allow you to understand what people are talking about in class.

3) Sticky notes are good for note taking in novels. It saves you time and doesn't ruin things when your in a reading mood. Simply jot down the main word/theme etc on the note and stick it on the page.

4) I never re-read an entire novel. I did however re-read parts. So long as you get the main idea and themes on your first read when it comes to assignments etc you should have a good enough idea of where events are located within the novel to be able to flick to it and re-read that part.

Umm.. i hope that is kind of partly what you were after. If i think of more, i'll get back to you.

[Sean]

Since this deals with school, homework and studying, I'm going to send it over to School and Homework.

[Insane Drummer]

[*]When taking notes on a Novel, how do you determin what is going to be important?

Things the author devotes attention to, things that show a specific aspect of a character, situation, etc. Focus on major THEMES of a work.
[*]Is it possible to take notes so that you wont have to re-read the book once school starts and your assignment for that book is given?

It depends, for a novel, I would say no. I think it is a VERY good idea to have the text fresh in your mind for class. Although a good note taking system is amazing. Mine is geared toward historical research so it wouldn't be of much help.
[*]Can you anticipate assignments for a book prior to the class?

Of course you can try, sometimes your right sometimes you arn't. With some professors of mine I can tell almost exactly what we are going to be doing each week.
[*]What is the best method to keeping your classes seporate (material, topics, assignments) physically and more importantly mentally?

Not sure exactly what you are asking, but I actually try to build connections between my classes so that they compliment each other.
[*]How much time do you alot for studying and what do you study?

Depends on the class. Although I try to give an hour out of class for an hour in class, about 3 hours a week per class. Although some classes take more/less time. One of my classes this semester I might give an hour a week (counting weekends) to, last semester I had a class a had to give an hour a day to, plus a few weeks practically all day.
[*]How do you: [*]ballance school with other obligations?

Class first, I think of student as my primary occupation/obligation and most other things are secondary.
[*]Prioratize your classes and homework?

Value of work, a test worth 30% of my grade trumps a weekly assignment worth 5%. Difficulty, I like to knock out the hard stuff early, time, get started on the longer stuff first.
[*]Decide which books to bring to class?

Whatever we were supposed to have read, I bring it. If I have/know of any additional resources I bring them too. Sometimes I bring a small dictionary for English class.
[*]prepare yourself for getting C's without making it a goal?

Not sure what you are asking.
[*]organize your days so that your not doing last minute work or study?

Start the homework for a class the night of the day of the class. In this rhythm you don't get behind and if you need extra time, you have it.
[*]What methods do you use to deal with stress?

Music.
[*]If anyone is really good at room design let me know I'm trying to organize my room for optemal focus.

Remove clutter, that is the key. For all things, if you are writing a paper on your computer and don't need the internet, disconnect it. Keep your school books on a different shelf from novels or magazines. Remove any TVs from your study space, etc.

"These 17 credits include reading 11 books, plus two text books."

That shouldn't be a problem if you devote enough time to them. Just keep the book with you at all times and read it. During TV commercials, read a few pages, if you get to one class early read a few pages, in line at the doctors office, read a few pages. This plus the actual time you dedicate to reading should add up.

Although, I am fast reader.

[Becky]

Thanks for the advice Insane and Simo, I really appreciate it. I was starting to get stressed as the time draws closer, but after reading your advise I feel more prepared