College study manual: how to write an informative essay

Writing an informative essay requires great use of time. Follow these tips in order to handle your schedule in such a way that allows you to write your essay on time:

• In preparing your schedule, it is crucial to be detailed and explicit in how you intend to spend your time. If for example you intend to work on history questions, indicate ‘Page 14, review questions 1-10’ as opposed to simply stating ‘history questions’. Similarly, if you have 3 days to complete 2 chapters, organize the work and divide in a rational way to cover the amount of time that you have. On day 1, for instance, you can allocate ‘chapter 1, questions 1-5’, leaving ‘chapter 1, questions 6-10 + chapter 2 questions 1-3’ for the second day. On the final day, you can indicate ‘chapter 2 questions 4-10’. This allows you to make full use of your study time, as well as valuable time that is often wasted e.g. While on a bus, in a waiting room or during a lunch break.
• It is preferable to use a pencil for your scheduling so that tings can be easily changed or erased. This makes the schedule feel flexible albeit being permanent. During the time that you have allocated for studying, be sure to go through the lecture notes from the classes you attended that day or otherwise from classes attended the day before. This refreshes your mind so that it is easier to remember information. Review of lecture notes is best done during the small instances of free time that seem too short to allocate anything considerable on your schedule. These short periods, like the time spent sitting in a bus, waiting for an appointment, or in between classes, add up to hours in your day.

At around 3am and 3pm, your body is at its lowest temperature. The most tasking undertakings of your day should be scheduled far away from these hours, as you will not be fully alert. Avoid placing difficult activities after lunch, before breakfast, or when you are generally tired.

• The first thing to do when organizing your timetable is to segment blocks of time to be used for studying and other important projects.
• Set aside a large block of time in which you can work uninterrupted, and then allocate the smaller blocks of time to other less demanding activities. Instead of setting aside a whole day for studying or another activity, allow a few hours each day to cater to different social, personal and academic activities.
• Indicate definite times to start and stop, as well as to take breaks in between your blocks of time.
• In order to have a more effective study times, try to schedule them close to class time, ensuring that your lecture notes are still at the top of your mind. This applies to other meetings and reviews e.g. if you have a meeting on Thursday evening, prepare for it on Thursday afternoon.