keep going

It’s okay to stop doing something if it isn’t making you happy or if it’s taking too much of a toll on you. You aren’t a loser or a quitter. You are brave and strong for doing what you need to do for yourself.

17/12/16 7:08 PM // brainstorming title ideas, thought I’d share it with you guys 💕

last two days 

are you a mango or pineapple person… are you a rose or lavender person… are you a bubble baths or hot showers person

I have been grading math homework and quizzes for the last couple of years, working with a number of professors and graduate teaching assistants, and I see students making the same mistakes over and over again. I hear the same complaints from other professors, GTAs, and graders. I thought I would throw out some advice that might help your grades, or at least endear you to the person in charge of them.

I think these tips will apply to any class in which you turn in problem sets on a regular basis, and you might be able to apply some of this to things like lab reports, but I am mostly focusing on undergrad-level math, computational or proof-based. I hope it goes without saying, but first and foremost you should do what your instructor, not a stranger on the internet, tells you to do.

So, if I am grading your homework, here is what I would like you to do:

The harder it is for me to grade, the less points you are likely to get. That’s not just me being spiteful - if I don’t see your answer to a problem, I can’t read your handwriting, or I don’t understand how you got from point a to point z, it is going to be very hard for me to award you points. I try to be generous, as do most people I know, but we can only do so much for you.

What are you trying to accomplish in these assignments? How do you do that?

 - You are trying to practice the course material to get a better understanding. So, do all the work assigned to you, and don’t just copy it from your friend (we can tell) or a solutions manual (we can really tell)

- You are trying to communicate to me (and to yourself!) that you understand the course material. I don’t need to see all of your scratch work or first attempts, but I need to see how you arrived at your answer, and I need to know what your answer is. I urge you to type or neatly rewrite your finished assignment before you turn it in. Please highlight your answers with a box, a circle, or some other indicator. If you’re writing a proof, start with “Proof:” and end with “QED” or a tombstone (or even a smiley face!) so I know what I’m supposed to be evaluating. Your work should be readable - in terms of handwriting, spacing, and yes, even grammar. It should follow a logical order so that someone reading it can understand what you’re doing. Explain your steps if you think you need to. And if a problem tells you to use a certain formula, theorem, or method, use it.

 - You are trying to learn from your mistakes. Of course this varies from grader to grader, but in general, we spend a lot of time giving you feedback, so please write something!!! I can’t help you if you don’t even attempt a problem. And for what it’s worth, while this isn’t true of everyone, a lot of people (myself included) will almost never give 0 points if it looks like an honest attempt has been made. If you have no idea what to do with a problem and it’s the last minute, it might be worth it to write down what you’re confused about - “I thought I could do this using integration by parts, but I couldn’t work out what to use for u and dv” is something I can respond to, and hopefully give you some help!

Most of the time, I can and will take off points for style. Some instructors have a certain number of points worked into their grading rubric for style. Here are some suggestions!

 - Staple your f&*%ing homework!!!!! No, do not fold over the corner. Don’t tape several sheets together. Staple it. With an actual, metal staple.    –> It never hurts to write your name on every page, and number your pages as well. Just make it as hard as possible for me to lose a page.

 - Do not turn in paper with those spiral-bound frills on the edge. Most spiral-bound notebooks are perforated, so tear along the perforation! Otherwise, please use printer paper, loose-leaf binder paper, or really anything else…

 - …anything except neon pink paper. I’m only saying this because it’s in my grading pile right now and I am dreading it. Use conventional paper!!!! I don’t care much about the ruling, but it should be white, or very nearly. Yellow legal pad paper is pushing it. Engineering paper is fine.

 - And on that note, please write in a conventional color. Black, blue, gray, or very near those colors. It should be dark. It should be readable. It should definitely not be red. I personally don’t grade in red, but a lot of people do, and regardless of that, it is hard to read large chunks of red text.

 - I know I said this already, but: rewrite your homework. Seriously. If it is anything but straightforward computations, it is going to get messy, and fast. Do your scratch work on a separate sheet of paper, and then write up a final copy with everything you want me to see, and nothing you don’t.    –> If you can, type it! Here is a post by @munirastudies to get you started with LaTeX, which is very useful for typesetting technical and symbol-heavy text. The benefit to typing your homework is that it’s easy to go back and edit!

That’s all I have for now! Please feel free to message me with any questions or suggestions you have! I hope this is helpful to someone :)

edit: here are suggestions other people added! [x]

11.28.16 buying pastel moleskines is the best decision I’ve ever made 🌸

i wish i had like really great friends who were spontaneous and loved me and we could go to museums on saturdays?? hikes on sundays??? study together at the library on mondays?? we could go see movies and critique them together. draw and paint on friday nights, help each other decorate our rooms, we could read books together then discuss like i just want some pure and positive friends…where y'all at

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

writing adult emails is awful

its like

hi [name of person], 

this formatting is making me uncomfortable but I have to tell you something / ask you something that is vital to my career as a student. 

I re-read and edited that sentence for an hour, but you’ll probably just glance over it for half a second.

thanks! 

- [name]

k

-professor

I have a stock format and structure I use.

Dear Person I am Writing To:

This is an optional sentence introducing who I am and work for, included if the addressee has never corresponded with me before. The second optional sentence reminds the person where we met, if relevant. This sentence states the purpose of the email.

This optional paragraph describes in more detail what’s needed. This sentence discusses relevant information like how soon an answer is needed, what kind of an answer is needed, and any information that the other person might find useful. If there’s a lot of information, it’s a good idea to separate this paragraph into two or three paragraphs to avoid having a Wall of Text.

If a description paragraph was used, close with a restatement of the initial request, in case the addressee ignored the opening paragraph.

This sentence is just a platitude (usually thanking them for their time) because people think I’m standoffish, unreasonably demanding, or cold if it’s not included.

Closing salutation,

Signature.

People always ask me how I can fire off work emails so quickly. Nobody has figured out yet that it’s the same email with the details changed as needed.

reblog to save a life holy shit

too busy watering my own grass to check if yours is greener

ok but normalise going to coffee shops alone, eating dinner alone, going to the cinema alone. i’m okay & i’m not particularly sad or lonely. i feel bad that you’re feeling bad because i just happened to enjoy the company of myself today.

March 15, 2016 - Making notecards for my physiology exam!  Spot my mistakes?

[3.1.16] had an interview today for a job, I think it went great!

anyway, I hope you all enjoy this upcoming month ~~

It seems the question I’m most frequently asked is what pens I use! Here are the ones I use the most. Also if anyone’s interested, I’ve made a youtube channel and might do a more in depth video on all the supplies I use soon!  🖊 

 From left to right: