Confession is good for the soul

[lotusbiosm]

I have a confession to make. It's not something I've really kept as a deep secret or anything, it's just something people aren't aware of.
I'm not actually a good student. Oh, I do well in school- I try to do at least some of my reading, and my work is always turned in on time and is usually done according to the instructions. (I have a problem sometimes with hitting page minimums) I participate in discussions and I do well on tests and all that stuff. Professors like me, classmates think I've done all the reading (and even ask me for advice on papers), all is well. But really, I'm not as studious as I should be, or as many people seem to think I am. What I have gotten by on so far is the intellectual equivalent of sitting there and looking pretty. I have a really good memory, and I'm good at picking up the thread of discussion and at expounding on things. I'm a good writer, and for a good many years that meant I could avoid having to worry about any actual content.

And I have to write upwards of 65^* pages this semester, not including my writing requirement or comps. *gulp* Part of what makes this hard is that I've never been very good at writing long papers. I'm good at 3-5 page papers, and I'm great at exhibit labels (which is good, because that's what I want to do). I'm not good at finding ways to fill 20 pages, especially on research papers, because I am such an excellent procrastinator that despite having checked out all the necessary books weeks in advance I will not start a paper until it is really too late. I'm good at essays and analyses and book reviews and the like though.

*one 20-page paper, two 10-page papers, one 8-10 page paper, and one 15-page paper, plus incidental extras.

ETA: I'm not looking for paper-writing advice- I know how I should do these things, I just don't do them the way I should (well, I probably could use advice on how to be less concise).
I'm also not looking for reassurance that I am, indeed, smart. My intelligence is one of the only things I have been consistently confident about my whole life. And that's not me trying to sound arrogant, that's me saying that I know that I'm smart, and I've been told it many a time. I just make the argument that one can be good at school and be smart without necessarily being a good student, meaning someone who is studious and who does all his/her work in an organized, timely fashion. In the same way that you can be naturally athletic and perform better on the field than someone else who trains harder but isn't as naturally talented. But I do thank you for the support. :)

Comments

[em-porium.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...this sounds slightly...familiar to me! I must admit that I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to doing the reading. I may attempt it from time to time, but read the whole thing? I very rarely accomplish that.

I think that you have to give yourself a wee bit more credit. If you can bullshit your way through most anything, you should be able to do wonders when you have done the research. The trick is just not getting overwhelmed with the amount of information that you'll have to take in. Setting parameters on research is often hard to do because information usually connects to one another. That's why for the larger papers, I like to split them up into mini-papers.

For instance, say you have a 20-page paper to write on one topic. After doing my initial research, I would decide on 4 or 5 sub-topics. Each of those sub-topics is like a very small paper in itself, but it contributes to the whole paper. So, the template that I have used for my papers goes something like this:

Introduction (one page)
Topic One (4-5 pages)
Topic Two (4-5 pages)
Topic Three (4-5 pages)
Topic Four (4-5 pages)
Conclusion (one page)

I often cross-reference subtopics, but it's the intro and the conclusion that really tie the whole thing together. It's just easier to think of a paper in small chunks. Looking at it as a whole huge project can be very intimidating.

Good luck this semester!

[lotusbiosm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I definitely do the thing where I break longer papers into several shorter ones. The problem is really starting the research in advance. Usually what happens is I break out my notebook and take a few notes, and then I start writing, sitting on the bed surrounded by books, looking at the different books each time I need a new point. Which works, but isn't the best way to do it, and every time I do I swear I won't do it again, but I know that I will. Because every time I get away with it only serves to support my bad habit.
I can't wait to graduate. (which is funny, because two years ago, as an undergrad, I was so happy that I was going to be doing more school, because I wasn't ready to be done)

Can't fool me!

[gabespring.livejournal.com]

This is what I think. I think that maybe compared to the greatest writers/intellectuals of all time you are a "slacker". But to Evelyn Chester, you are great. It is hard to see awesome intellectuals and constantly compare yourself to them. Just remember that 90 percent of people will look at you and say you are smart, and they aren't just "being fooled" by your academic "fascade". Some people are easily fooled, but not everyone. I'm not - and I say you're smart.

Re: Can't fool me!

[lotusbiosm.livejournal.com]

OH, I know I'm smart (but I still appreciate hearing other people say it).
It's that I'm not studious. And people think that I am because I'm good at school (but you're Evelyn, you always do the reading!), and I felt that it was time to make sure that every one knew that I spend too much time watching TV and reading LJ and not enough time doing homework. But it's gotten me this far, so hey, I can't be that incompetent.

[em-porium.livejournal.com]

Yep, I know how you feel! I do the same thing sometimes. The way I've gotten through recently is by a reward system that I have with myself. Do one thing for school, do one thing for me. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it so doesn't!