Okay. So. Homework. The tutoring tool of the teacher and the scourge of the student. And yes, it happens at Wash. U. A lot. And often in big chunks (read: lots of readings, major papers, and too many tests.)
I don’t mean to scare anyone, since I love Wash. U., but there’s really no getting away from the grind. At Wash. U. we all want the grade and the knowledge with the least amount of torture possible, so the only way to deal with homework is to work with it, not against it. It doesn’t have to be your enemy. I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject, but I am a seasoned veteran and semi-workaholic. Here are my suggestions:
For long term papers there are several ways to avoid the agony of working on them in the short term. First and foremost, pretend the paper is due a week before it actually is. It’s incredibly difficult to write a 10 to 20 page paper the night before it’s due. So if you write it the night before the pretend due date, there’s a little pressure taken off if you fall asleep on top of your computer at 5:00 a.m.
Along with the leeway, you will then have additional time to proofread and avoid stupid mistakes that make you seem like a complete ditz. Case in point: my friend in high school turned in a history paper that she had not proofread very carefully. In class, when the papers were handed back, as the pages touched her fingertips, she noticed lots of red circles. Turns out every time she had meant to write “opinion,” she had instead written “onion,” leaving our teacher quite bewildered until the second page.
For research papers, I know this has been said, but I’ll say it again: it’s really important to start your research early. I mean early-bird early, like it’s barely spring and the ground is still frozen and you’re digging for that worm with your sniffling beak. You want to avoid the embarrassment of calling your parents who have connections to a different university five days before your paper is due, whining that the school does not have the articles you need and you ordered them off MOBIUS or ILLIAD (inter-library loan systems), but they’re not due to come in for a week and a half and you are desperate. We are independent, semi-adults and we do not need this cruel and unusual type of humiliation.
Wash. U. has a great library (the name is Olin, by the way, and believe me, you’ll come to know it and love it), but despite its many wonders, it does not have materials on every topic, and if you’re going to order sources, you have to do it way ahead of time. You may find your articles two weeks before the paper is due, but that doesn’t mean anything unless the textual copies are in your hands or on your computer when it comes time to write the paper. Another alternative is to pick paper topics which can be fully researched at Wash. U., of which there are many.
As for readings, well, I’m going to take a chance at my professors’ rage here when I say you don’t have to do all of the readings. Even some professors admit that there is no way to complete all the readings they assign on their syllabi in addition to the work for your other classes. There’s just so much information in any given course that you must pick and choose what you learn. (Granted, you should try to learn what is going to be on the test.)
My advice is, especially for discussion classes, to at least skim through the readings enough to 1. learn a little something about the topic, and 2. be able to discuss something about them. You don’t have to eat the entire enchilada to know what it tastes like. If you have the time, by all means try to do all of them; for some courses the readings are fascinating and I actually wish I could read them all. But for those of us who enjoy sleeping, eating, and having a little fun once in a while, taste tests are much better than trying to wolf down five course meals.
For exams, all I have to say is that all-nighters are no fun-I can’t actually physically do them. Starting to study at least three days before, although it is often hard to make yourself do it, makes for a much less painful process, both before and during the test. Plus, you’ll probably get that A or B because you slept some on the material.
And remember to have FUN sometimes. It comes in handy when you reach those rare studying moments when you can’t help but ask, “Whyyyyyyyy?”