Professor Carney's Sucess Tips• Attend class on time, every day. Class readings and class discussions do not duplicate each other. They work together—but only if you participate in both—and participate fully. If you do not attend, you will certainly miss something crucial. Even arriving five minutes late may cause you to miss a crucial announcement. (If you do arrive late, look to see if you have missed any handouts. Asking for them just compounds your disruption.) • Do not rely on your friends to explain what you have missed. Even the best of friends have a way of not explaining things very carefully. If you absolutely cannot be in class, you might consider having your friend audio-record the class. • Keep up with the readings. The written exercises depend on your having a good understanding of the readings. If the readings seem too difficult for you, consider forming a study group with several of your classmates. • Ask a lot of questions. You may have the impression that asking questions is a sign of weakness or foolishness. This is not true. Active participation in class is an excellent way to learn. Studies indicate that if you sit in class like a vegetable, then you probably won't get much out of it. If you really care about your education, then you will ask a lot of questions and take an active role in discussions and other activities. Teaching is my responsibility. Learning is yours. • Be prepared to challenge a lot of your deepest assumptions about yourself, life, and the way the universe works. College does not exist to rubber-stamp what you think you know. It exists to give you new things to think about and, sometimes, new ways of thinking. • Get to know your instructor. A big part of my job is to help you discover ways to improve the quality of your work. Come to see me often. If I'm not available, come back. And be sure to see me BEFORE you begin work on a project, while there's still opportunity to affect the outcome. If you don't like a grade or you don't understand the comments I've put on a paper, come by and ask me to explain how we can use this as an opportunity to learn something for the NEXT project. • Give yourself plenty of time to revise your writing assignments. You are probably in a writing class, or a class in which writing plays a very large role. If you put the writing off until the last minute, you're defeating the whole purpose. You might as well go home. (I mean it!) If you really want to succeed, start thinking about each project as soon as you get the assignment. Compose a rough draft as early as possible. Set it aside for a while and then come back to make improvements with a fresh mind. Make sure your work represents the best you are capable of. In my experience, students who put work off until the last minute are deliberately creating excuses for failure. • Get extra help with your writing projects. I am an excellent place to start. You may wish to take advantage of other resources as well. Cultivate friends who have done well in this course. Visit the Writing Lab. The tutors who work there are paid to help you improve your writing. That's all they do! And they're pretty good at it. Ideally, you should visit a tutor at the drafting and revision stages of each project. • NEVER ask for extra credit. Do what you're supposed to do. Do it on time. And do it as well as you can. • Above all else, remember this: college is not high school. Being here is a CHOICE. And if you really want to be here, then you should want to do everything possible to succeed. Anything less is a waste of time, cash, and energy. |
