Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Seriously, Chemistry is Frying my Brain!
So this week is my first exam in my environmental chemistry class. The good news is that it is an at home, non-proctored exam and is open book, open anything. The bad news is that it consists of doing research and writing 4 separate essays. I emailed the professor today to ask how long he wants these essays to be, because the questions that he poses could easily be 3-5 page research papers and I'm not sure how to condense it all down into an "essay". I haven't heard back yet.
I started the first one today and it's just exhausting. I think it's because I have absolutely no interest in the subject matter. The test is due next Tuesday, which wouldn't be a problem except that we've decided to take an impromptu camping trip this weekend. Nate has a rare three days off in a row, so we thought we'd take advantage of it. We're leaving early tomorrow and will get back on Sunday. So I guess my Monday and Tuesday will be fabulous cramming days finishing up this test. Hooray!
I can't wait for this semester to be over. I'm usually such a stickler for getting A's, but with this class there will be rejoicing in the land if I can at least pass it. Eight weeks. Eight weeks.
I started the first one today and it's just exhausting. I think it's because I have absolutely no interest in the subject matter. The test is due next Tuesday, which wouldn't be a problem except that we've decided to take an impromptu camping trip this weekend. Nate has a rare three days off in a row, so we thought we'd take advantage of it. We're leaving early tomorrow and will get back on Sunday. So I guess my Monday and Tuesday will be fabulous cramming days finishing up this test. Hooray!
I can't wait for this semester to be over. I'm usually such a stickler for getting A's, but with this class there will be rejoicing in the land if I can at least pass it. Eight weeks. Eight weeks.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Writing yet another paper that feels pointless
I have a paper due this weekend that I have been putting off for a few weeks. Why? Partly because procrastinating is something that I'm really good at and I think that I sort of crave that little bit of drama that comes with getting things done at the last minute, but mostly because it just feels like a pointless assignment.
It's for my middle childhood development class. It's a library paper. I have to use the university's online library system to do a series of searches and find an article, any article as long as it as to do with middle childhood. I have to document every search I do, which keywords I use, how many results I get, etc. Then I have to pick an article and write a review about it. My professor says that the purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate that we know how to look up a scholarly article on the library's database. Here's what irks me. This is an upper division class! If you don't know how to look up a peer-reviewed journal article on a subject that you're interested in, you really should go back to your freshman year and retake that library class that they make you take or the research class that we've all taken already in order to get to this class.
Yes, I feel like this assignment is a waste of my time. I can find an article in one search, but she wants us to do at least 4 and document what we learned with each search. Seriously?!
Anyhoo, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Guess I'll get back to reviewing the article that I found in my first search and then did three more "searches" for just so I could put in on my search log. I really don't think I'm going to have 5 pages worth of things to write on what I learned from doing this assignment. Oh well, I'm sure I'll come up with something so that I can please the professor and get that 'A'.
It's for my middle childhood development class. It's a library paper. I have to use the university's online library system to do a series of searches and find an article, any article as long as it as to do with middle childhood. I have to document every search I do, which keywords I use, how many results I get, etc. Then I have to pick an article and write a review about it. My professor says that the purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate that we know how to look up a scholarly article on the library's database. Here's what irks me. This is an upper division class! If you don't know how to look up a peer-reviewed journal article on a subject that you're interested in, you really should go back to your freshman year and retake that library class that they make you take or the research class that we've all taken already in order to get to this class.
Yes, I feel like this assignment is a waste of my time. I can find an article in one search, but she wants us to do at least 4 and document what we learned with each search. Seriously?!
Anyhoo, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Guess I'll get back to reviewing the article that I found in my first search and then did three more "searches" for just so I could put in on my search log. I really don't think I'm going to have 5 pages worth of things to write on what I learned from doing this assignment. Oh well, I'm sure I'll come up with something so that I can please the professor and get that 'A'.
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