Throughout my years as a student and after, I’ve edited a lot of papers. Long papers, short papers, theses, letters, scripts . . . I’ve looked at just about every kind of writing assignment that there is. And in looking at all of those pieces of writing, I’ve learned quite a bit about how students write. One of the more interesting things that I’ve noticed is that many people write like they speak.

Writing like you speak isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There is certainly a time and a place for it. There are certain types of writing assignments where it can actually add a lot to your work—in things like scripts, speech notes, and dialogue in stories. Other than these situations, though, it’s probably better to avoid. But to avoid it, you have to be able to recognize it. It’s tough to explain what speech-like writing looks like—the best way to learn to recognize it is to see it yourself. Ask your friends to read their papers, both first and final drafts. After you read a few, you’ll probably start to be able to see and predict the differences between the two. You’ll see better word choices in final drafts, longer sentences, and clearer presentation of ideas. These are some of the hallmarks of better writing, and you’re less likely to see them if you’re reading writing that looks like a speech.

So what can you do to avoid writing like you speak? The first thing that you should do is to a href=”http://www.wikihow.com/Edit-or-Proofread-an-Essay-or-Paper”>edit your paper several times after you write it. Try to have the whole thing written a few days before you have to hand it in; after you’re done writing it, take a day away from it and don’t look at it for at least 24 hours. Then read over it and make edits. And a day after that, do it again. You’ll probably find that the more you look at it, the better you can make it. Keep a dictionary and a thesaurus handy, and make sure that you’re using words that clearly articulate your ideas (as well as vary your vocabulary choices—don’t be too repetitive).

It’s also essential to not forget to have others check over your paper. Ask your friends, family members, co-workers . . . anyone who might have some writing skill or could provide a different perspective. Ask them to make sure that your writing is clear, your ideas make sense, and you present your case well. Also, ask them, after they read it, if your writing is very similar t your speaking. If you are writing that way, see if you can get any opinions on how you might make it less so.

Like I said before, learning to recognize speech-like writing is something that comes with reading a lot. Start reading a lot of other peoples’ papers, and you’ll start seeing ways to improve your own writing.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine days out of a thousand, you’ll have an awesome time at college. It might even be more than that. But everyone, every once in a while, has a rough day. You may even have a couple rough days in a row. And it’s not unheard of to have a bad week. This isn’t something that’s unique about college—it happens to everyone.

Tough times can be caused by many things. Maybe you have a bunch of tests at the end of a single week. Or you have to write a paper that you just really aren’t ready for. Or you’re having relationships issues. Or you’re homesick. It could be any number of things. Everyone has their own reasons. But that’s not what this is about. This is about what to do when you’re have trouble.

Different people have different ways of dealing with stress. Not every method of stress relief works for every person, but there are some pretty common ones that I’ll detail here.

First, a very popular method and my personal favorite, is exercise. Many, many people find that taking a walk, going out for a bike ride, playing a game of basketball, or throwing a frisbee helps them clear their head and feel better when they’re having a bad day. Even if you’re not usually big on exercise, it’s good to at least get outside for a while. Walk around campus, take a nap out on the quad, sit under a tree and enjoy the sunset—just get out and do something under the sky! It’ll help.

Some people find that instead of exercise, they need the opposite: rest. College students are notorious for not getting enough sleep for long periods of time (which you probably already know). If you haven’t been sleeping much, that can amplify any stress that you’re experiencing. And what’s the obvious solution to being overly tired? Sleep! I know that you have a lot of things to do, and that you’ll get behind if you’re not studying. But think about it this way: what’s going to make you lose more time? Your current state, or taking a two-hour nap? It’s worth it.

If exercise isn’t your thing, and you don’t feel like sleeping (which is often the case if you’re really stressed), you can also try reading. For pleasure, that is, not to study. Pick up a novel that you enjoy, or grab a magazine related to something that you’re interested in. Whatever it is, make sure that it’s fun reading. Don’t read a textbook.

I hope that these ideas help you think about what might help you relieve some stress. If you have any other good strategies, leave a comment and let us know!

One thing that many college students have in common is their lack of disposable income. Going to college isn’t cheap—not only do you have to pay tuition, but there’s also housing, food, textbooks, and other necessities to think about. Unless you have a really awesome part-time job that pays a lot (and how likely is that?), you’ll probably feel the crunch and at some point. One of the best ways to get through financially tough times is to pick up a quick extra job over a weekend or a couple evenings a week. Below are several ideas to help you start thinking about things that you could do to make a little extra cash.

Many people and small companies hire college students to help them move. Many students are in good physical shape, and almost all of them need money, so why not? It’s cheaper to hire students than it is to hire professional movers, and it’s not like you have to be really skilled to move boxes from one house (or office) to another. You can actually make a pretty good amount of money if you move enough things, but keep in mind that it can be pretty physically taxing. If you have trouble getting up and down the stairs, or lifting your textbooks is hard, you may want to pass on this one!

Another unskilled-labor-type job you could think about is painting. A lot of people don’t like to paint, so they’ll find others to paint their house (inside or out) for them. Again, you don’t have to be talented to paint a house, so college students serve as effective cheap labor. If you decide to do this, know that you’ll probably be going for quite a few hours at a time, and it may take more than one day. If you’re working outside, it could get pretty hot, and you may be on a ladder for a long time. Then again, you’re getting paid, right?

If manual labor isn’t your thing, you could look into babysitting or nannying. These are more regular than the above jobs, and have the potential to become more of a part-time job than a one-time thing (especially if you’re good with the kids). There’s more responsibility involved in caring for someone’s children than there is for painting there house, so if you have trouble getting to places on time, or following instructions, you may want to reconsider this one. If you have experience from high school, you’ll definitely be a step ahead of everyone else.

These three ideas don’t really begin to scratch the surface of what’s out there, but they should give you an idea of what you might be able to do for someone. You can also find a great deal of odd jobs on Craigslist and local bulletin boards. Keep your eyes open, and you’lls tart seeing opportunities all over the place. Think about what you like to do, what you’re good at, and what other people might not want to do themselves. Then get someone to hire you to do it!

When high school juniors and seniors are exploring options for their post-secondary education, one of the big questions is, “Where should I go to college?” And while I can’t offer advice that will show you exactly where you need to go, I can help you in the exploration process. This blog post deals with a very divisive, confusing, and widely-used aspects of looking at colleges: rankings.

There are many different ranking systems. In the United States, the U.S. News and World Report ranking system is very popular. In other parts of the world, schemas like THE – QS (Times Higher Education – Quacquarelli Symonds), the Academic Ranking of World Universities (the Shanghai Jiao Tong University system), and the Global University System are more common.

So what’s the difference, and which should you look at it? Well, to answer the first question, the difference between the rankings is primarily in how they are calculated. All ranking systems are at least slightly subjective, so it’s good to understand what kinds of things each system values. The Shanghai ratings, for example, heavily favor the natural sciences, so schools with strong natural science programs will rank pretty high. In contrast, the Webometrics system ranks pretty strongly on how many articles the college publishes on the internet (which can be misleading). It’s good to understand the criteria of the list that you’re looking at if you’re going to use it to judge any colleges.

Which ranking you should use comes down to what your priorities are. If you’re looking for a school with a strong biology program, the Shanghai rankings are a good way to go. If you’re not as concerned with that, and want a more balanced approach, Newsweek might be better. The truth is, you can probably find a ranking system that will rank the school that you’re looking at pretty high. Because of the subjective nature of the ratings, you may see a great deal of variation in the rankings across different systems. And because of this, the rankings actually are pretty limited in their usefulness. You can use them to get a general idea of which schools are going to be really difficult to get into, and which have a very strong reputation around the world. Other than that, I recommend talking to a number of different schools to find out what their strengths are. Many schools that aren’t ranked very high have fantastic specific programs, even if their overall academic reputation isn’t stellar.

In short, I recommend against using college rankings to judge different schools. Use them to get a general idea, and then start going to specific schools. This way, you can get a starting point and work out, getting a much clearer picture of your college choices. Don’t put too much stock in these ratings. Choosing a college goes beyond just academics. To get a better overall picture of what the school is like from the students’ perspective, check out stuvu.com.

One of the most valuable things that you can do in college is to complete an internship. Whether it’s paid or unpaid, long-term or short-term, in your field or only close it, interning will provide a big boost to your resume after you graduate. Internships provide applicable job experience and show employers that you’re willing to go above and beyond the norm in an effort to prepare yourself for the professional world. So I highly recommend completing at least one internship—and if you have the opportunity to do more, seriously consider it.

That’s all well and good, but you’re probably wondering, “How do I go about getting an internship?” Good question. If you don’t have some help (or at least an idea of where to start looking), it can be pretty difficult. So I’ll provide a few ideas to get you started.

Getting an internship is really about networking. You’ll probably hear that word a lot in college. What is networking? What it comes down to is knowing a lot of people in a lot of places. But don’t worry—no one expects you to have set up a solid professional network when you’re looking for an internship. That’s why your college will help you out.

One of the best places to begin your search for internships is through your professors. They are likely to know a lot of people in the field that you’re interested in, and being able to get a personal recommendation from a professor will go a long way in getting you the position. Your academic advisor is a great resource for this same reason.

Another way to go is through your college’s career development center. Many companies ask colleges to send them students as interns, and this is where they would go to make that request. The career development center (or whatever its equivalent at your school is called) keeps track of all kinds of job opportunities, and has a wealth of resources that you can use in your search.

Once you’ve found an internship that you’re interested in, apply for it! Apply for several, in fact. Competition for internships is pretty tough, so you’ll have to look (and write) your best to make a good first impression. Having stellar recommendation letters from your professors is worth a lot, as you probably don’t have much relevant job experience. (If you did, why would you need the internship?) So approach professors that you have a good relationship with and ask if they’d be willing to write letters for you.

Colleges have a very large amount of information on internships and jobs on their Web sites and in their career counseling centers. Take advantage of it, and start early!