Study Tips
Writer's block? Having trouble studying? You are not alone. Here are some tips on how to study and some links on writing structure when writing for the social sciences.
Research Tips
All sources have bias. To become knowledgable consumers of knowledge, you must first understand how to find a trusted source. These tips from the University of Wisconsin or these from Easybib.com will help guide your research.
Unfortunately, some times it is just impossible to research controversial issues without getting someone's opinion shining through the facts. In these cases, you should consult multiple sources in order to help you form your own opinion. Here are some sources that do have liberal or conservative slants, but are more reliable. Remember - if you use these sources, you should also check to see how the topic you are researching is being conveyed in another political stance. There are also some nonpartisan sites listed as well.
We must look at the whole picture to understand the full story.
What is higher order thinking?
As young adults, your thinking is increasingly more abstract (as Jean Piaget and my psych students may say, we are moving to the formal operational stage). This means what we are doing in class is more on the levels 3 & 4 on this chart. Part of moving to these stages is knowing what questions to ask. Check out different levels of questioning here to help guide you in creating "higher order questions." Red light questions would fall in the category of "higher order questioning."
Writing Tips
Read your written work out loud before you turn it in. This may make you feel silly at first, but it is the best way to catch simple mistakes.
Use spell check and grammar check. Proper nouns should always be capitalized.
General rules regarding paragraphs
Prewriting will help you organize your thoughts to create a more logical and thoughtful final product.
Rutgers Guide to Historical Writing - Sections 1 & 2 give an introduction of what historical writing is and steps to prepare your essay.
From history.org:
- Helpful hints for historical writing
- Assume your audience knows nothing about the historical topic.
- Historical writing is based on facts.
- Chronology and sequence are important for organizing historical writing.
- Historical facts should support statements or reasons.
- Use the appropriate historical time frame.
- Make it more interesting to the audience by:
- Providing details from the time period.
- Organizing historical information clearly so that it makes sense to the audience.
ALWAYS CITE YOUR SOURCES!!
Any time you use a source in an essay, you should cite it. Information not properly cited is considered plagiarism. Check your student handbook for Holmdel's policies regarding plagiarism.
Rubrics
Rubrics are given out in the beginning of the school year, or with a specific assignment. Below are the rubrics from the beginning of the school year.
PARCC-based DBQ rubric - A more simplified version is here
How to study
The first step to preparing is to take good notes. Notes should be in your own words.
Cramming is not an effective way to study. In order to remember material best, study a little bit each day. Take breaks. Keep your cell phone away and stay off social media so you can concentrate on what you are doing. Before a test, make sure you get a good night sleep - "all nighters" are proven to be detrimental to remembering material.
Many students recommend flash cards when reviewing material. When you are tested on material, you tend to remember it. Test yourself, or have someone else test you, with the flash cards. You may also be able to find some practice tests on quizlet.com, or use the chapter tests from your textbook.